Eight teams are just hours away from taking the field on the first day of the 2021 Women’s College World Series. It has been two years since softball played on the sport’s premier stage, and this year’s tournament features some history-making teams and some Cinderella stories.
Let’s take a look at the paths that these eight teams took to Oklahoma City.
#1 Oklahoma
The Sooners finished the regular season with a 42-2 overall record, losing just twice during the year, to Georgia and Oklahoma State. The Sooners went 3-0 in the Big 12 Conference tournament before running the table in both the Regional (which included Wichita State and Texas A&M) and Super Regional (vs. Washington) rounds. The Sooners also played a 3-game series against Team Mexico during the year, beating the future Olympians in all three matchups.
#2 UCLA
Crowned PAC-12 champions yet again, the Bruins finished the regular season 41-4 overall, with a 19-2 conference showing. Lacking a conference tournament, the Bruins play every other team in their conference during the regular season. During the Regional round, UCLA went undefeated in a Regional that included Minnesota and Fresno State. The Bruins lost Game 1 of the Super Regional to Virginia Tech before winning back-to-back elimination games to advance to Oklahoma City.
#3 Alabama
Despite seeing their difficult opening week slate cancelled due to a February ice storm, the Crimson Tide finished the regular season 42-7 overall and finishing 3rd in the SEC with a 18-6 league showing. The Tide went 3-0 in the SEC tournament, beating Kentucky, Tennessee, and Florida en route to the tournament crown. The Tide were undefeated in their regional, which included ACC regular-season champions Clemson, and beat Kentucky in two games during the Super Regional to advance to the WCWS.
#5 Oklahoma State
The 2nd-place finishers in the Big 12, the Cowgirls finished the regular season with a 40-8 record and a 15-3 conference mark; their conference season included ended archrival OU’s years-long winning streak in Big 12 play. The Cowgirls went 2-1 in the Big 12 tournament, losing in the championship game to Oklahoma. The squad ran the table with a 3-0 record in the Regional round and were matched up with conference foe Texas in the Supers. The Cowgirls won game 1, dropped game 2, and rebounded for the series-clinching game 3 victory and their 2nd WCWS berth in as many years.
#10 Florida State
For the 2018 National Champions, the return to Oklahoma City has been a long time coming. The Noles posted a 44-10-1 regular season record, with a 26-5-1 showing in ACC play. The Noles went 1-1 in the ACC tournament, besting NC State and losing to Duke. After earning the 10th overall national seed in the NCAA tournament, the Seminoles went 3-0 in their Regional, including two wins over in-state rival UCF. The Noles traveled to face frequent Supers-foe LSU and bested the Tigers in two games to return to Oklahoma City.
#11 Arizona
Mike Candrea’s club went 41-13 during the regular season and 12-10 during conference play, which does not include a 4th game against each league foe that did not count toward conference records. The Wildcats also dropped a 3-2 game against Team Mexico in an exhibition contest midway through the year. During the Regional round, the ‘Cats went 3-0 with a pair of wins over Ole Miss; on the road at Arkansas during the Super Regionals, Arizona won the series in two games to return to OKC for the second straight year.
Georgia
One of two unseeded teams in the World Series field, the Bulldogs have had one of the most circuitous paths to the World Series stage. The team finished the regular season 34-21 overall, with a 7-17 conference record. The squad dropped games to South Alabama and Longwood in the season’s first two weeks and lost 13 of their last 18 games during the regular season. The Dawgs lost to Kentucky in their first game of the SEC Tournament, and hosted a Regional where they earned the regional 2-seed due to the NCAA’s predetermined site criteria. The Dawgs ran the table in the Regional, beating top-seed Duke twice, and swept the first two games of the Gainesville Regional to upset the rival Florida Gators and advance to the World Series.
James Madison
Despite being limited to a shortened schedule and a unique conference slate, the Dukes had an impressive regular season, finishing the year 39-2 with a 17-1 conference result. The Dukes were undefeated against Power 5 teams and teams that participated in the NCAA tournament, going 1-0 in each category. The Dukes went 3-0 in the CAA tournament, throwing three shutouts and outscoring their opponents 32-0. Earning the regional 3-seed in the Knoxville Regional, the Dukes ran the table, going 3-0 with a victory over hosting Tennessee and a pair of wins against Liberty. On the road at the Columbia regional, the Dukes won game 1 against hosting Mizzou and rebounded with a convincing 7-2 win in game 3 to clinch a World Series berth.
