3 KEYS TO WCWS FINALS
Top-seeded OU will face third-seeded Florida State at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the championship round of the Women’s College World Series. Wednesday’s contest is the first game of a best-of-three series that continues with a second game at 6:30 p.m. Thursday and a third game, if necessary, at 7 p.m. Friday.
OU reached the championship series by surviving Stanford, 4-2 in nine innings on Monday. Florida State then advanced to the title match later that evening with a 5-1 win over fourth-seeded Tennessee. Both OU and Florida State enter the finals with a perfect 3-0 record in the WCWS.
Here are three keys to the championship matchup:
Seminoles lean on Sandercock
Florida State reached the WCWS finals thanks in large part to the stellar pitching of Kathryn Sandercock.
The senior appeared in all three of the Seminoles’ games and got credited with two wins. She boasts nine strikeouts and just one allowed run in a combined 13 2⁄
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innings pitched.
Sandercock (28-3) ranks fourth in the nation in both victories and win percentage (.903), and she’s familiar with the Sooners.
Sandercock appeared in all three games against OU during the championship round of the 2021 Women’s College World Series. The Sooners emerged victorious, and Sandercock posted a 1.87 ERA with four earned runs given up in 9 2⁄ innings pitched.
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Sandercock then pitched two innings in Florida State’s 5-4 loss to OU on March 14. She surrendered one run and three hits.
Bahl-ing out
Florida State isn’t the only team with an ace up its sleeve.
OU has leaned on Jordy Bahl during its WCWS run. The sophomore has been credited with all three of the Sooners’ wins, and she hasn’t surrendered a run in a combined 14 2⁄ innings pitched.
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Bahl booked OU’s ticket to the WCWS finals with a stellar showing against Stanford on Monday. She racked up six strikeouts in four innings pitched to help her team earn a 4-2 victory.
OU has other pitching options such as Nicole May and Alex Storako. May ranks fourth in the nation in ERA (0.82), while Storako ranks eighth (1.12).
But when the lights are at their brightest, the Sooners will surely turn to Bahl.
Florida State’s high-powered offense
No team has had an answer this WCWS for Florida State’s offense.
The Seminoles are averaging a tournament-high 5.3 runs per game, which is just better than the Sooners’ average of five runs per game.
Junior Kaley Mudge leads the way for FSU with four RBIs and one run on .400 hitting, while sophomore Michaela Edenfield boasts three RBIs and two runs on .375 hitting.
Few teams can hang with OU’s offense, which ranks first in the nation in runs per game (8.2) this season. But Florida State is capable of keeping up, and it’ll look to stay hot at the plate in the championship series.