When the 2023 NCAA Women’s Softball bracket was released, not one person who follows the sport was surprised when they revealed the team that would get the #1 overall seed. The 2-time defending champion Oklahoma Sooners have been the #1 team in the country all season long and it hasn’t been all that close. Now, things are set up for the Sooners to where they could win their 3rd straight title without even leaving the OKC metro.
Regionals were announced for the 2023 NCAA Women’s Softball Tournament yesterday and the both the Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State Cowgirls will be hosting regionals as they try to punch their ticket to the Super Regionals. Regionals are a 4 team double elimination tournament with the first games of those tournaments starting Friday afternoon. The winners of the regional will advance to the Super Regionals where they will take on the winner of the regional on the bottom of their bracket in a best 2 out of 3 series at the higher seed’s field.
Oklahoma’s regional (the Norman Regional) will see the Sooners, Missouri, California, and Hofstra battle it out for their shot to advance to the Super Regionals. Friday will see the Sooners take on Hofstra at 4PM with Missouri taking on Cal at 6:30PM to try and get into the winner’s bracket. Oklahoma is the only ranked team in that regional so the road to the Super Regional shouldn’t be too difficult for the Sooners. California and Missouri were receiving votes when the last poll was released last week so they’re no slouch. However, this may be one of the most dominant teams in softball history so things still should be smooth sailing for OU.
For OSU, things may be a little trickier. The Cowgirls are hosting a regional that consists of #20 Wichita State, Nebraska, and UMBC. A month or so ago, you would’ve looked at that regional and thought the same thing you’re thinking about the OU Regional…this should be a cakewalk for the Cowgirls. However, things are a little different now for OSU. Oklahoma State comes into the playoffs losers of 5 straight including a stunning 8-7 loss to Kansas in the 1st round of the Big 12 Tournament. Earlier in the season, the Cowgirls were the #2 team in the country and were keeping pace with OU for a shot to win the Big 12 regular season championship. On April 16th, the Cowgirls lost an 11 inning game to Iowa State and OSU hasn’t been the same since. The Cowgirls finished their season losing 10 of their last 12 games and fell in the polls from #2 to #8 (for now…a new poll comes out tomorrow). And looming in the Regional is a Wichita State team that the Cowgirls lost to on April 18th (game 2 of the 1st 5 game losing streak). The Cowgirls could take on the Shockers if both teams are able to win their 1st round games Friday night (OSU plays UMBC and WSU plays Nebraska). The Stillwater Regional will definitely be the more competitive regional that will be taking place in the state of Oklahoma this weekend. Should be interesting who will be able to punch their ticket to the Super Regional.
