2023 Women's College World Series schedule and results
After a year away from the Women's College World Series, Alabama is making its way back to Oklahoma City this week as one of the final eight teams competing for the college softball national championship. The Crimson Tide is the No. 5 seed in the tournament and will begin play Thursday against a very familiar foe.
"As excited as the first time. I'm being sincere when I say that," Alabama coach Patrick Murphy said. "This has been the most gratifying season of my career. This group is selfless, servant leaders. They are filled with Mudita. I just cannot say enough good things about this group."
Murphy spoke on the peaks and valleys during this season which has included some offensive slumps, key injuries and the team's most conference losses in five years. Alabama has already faced three elimination games during the postseason but the team is still standing and is just a few wins away from a national title.
This is Alabama's 14th trip to the Women's College World Series in program history but the Crimson Tide has just one national championship to its name, beating Oklahoma in 2012. Alabama has made the final series just one other time, losing in 2014.
"Let's finish this," Murphy said. "This is 14 but we need to win another one right? That percentage needs to go up. We're going out there with one purpose is to win it. I wouldn't put it past them."
SEE ALSO: Alabama wins back-to-back elimination games to secure spot in WCWS
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Tuesday, Alabama boarded the team flight to Oklahoma City in front of a crowd of fans at the Tuscaloosa airport. Murphy said the fans showed out for the previous two rounds of the postseason with Tuscaloosa recording the biggest crowds for a regional and a super regional this season.
"I know we're going to have a really good fanbase following us. I know it's difficult because there's another school 29 minutes from (USA Softball) Hall of Fame Stadium that usually has a good crowd but we're just going to pretend they're going to cheer for us."
The other school Murphy was referring to is Oklahoma who is the two-time defending national champion. The Sooners have won 48 games in a row, setting a new NCAA softball record with the streak. The team is a staple in the Women's College World Series, making the final eight in 11 of the last 12 seasons. Oklahoma has six national championships to its name, four in the last six seasons.
"I think with every team there, the margin of error is tiny," Murphy said of this year's field.
Alabama begins play against Tennessee at 11 a.m. Thursday. The Crimson Tide has won just one game in four meetings with the Volunteers this season including a loss which knocked Alabama out of the SEC Tournament earlier this month. Alabama also is on the same side of the bracket as Oklahoma which means if both teams have the same result Thursday, the two teams would face each other in the next round.
The Women's College World Series is a double elimination bracket with two teams meeting in a best-of-three championship series. You can see the full schedule below.
Note: Keep an eye on this page for the updated schedule with results from Oklahoma City.
2023 NCAA Women's College World Series
Thursday, June 1
Game 1: No. 4 Tennessee 10, No. 5 Alabama 5
Game 2: No. 1 Oklahoma 2, No. 9 Stanford 0
Game 3: No. 3 Florida State 8, No. 6 Oklahoma State 0 (6 innings)
Friday, June 2
Game 4: No. 7 Washington 4, No. 15 Utah 1
Elimination Games
Game 5: No. 9 Stanford 2, No. 5 Alabama 0 - Alabama eliminated
Game 6: No. 6 Oklahoma State 8, No. 15 Utah 0 (5 innings) - Utah eliminated
Saturday, June 3
Game 7: No. 1 Oklahoma 9, No. 4 Tennessee 0 (5 innings)
Game 8: No. 3 Florida State 3, No. 7 Washington 1
Sunday, June 4 - Elimination Games
Game 9: No. 9 Stanford 1, No. 7 Washington 0 - Washington eliminated
Game 10: No. 4 Tennessee 3, No. 6 Oklahoma State 1 - Oklahoma State eliminated
Monday, June 5
Game 11: No. 1 Oklahoma 4, No. 9 Stanford 2 - Stanford eliminated
Game 13: No. 3 Florida State 5, No. 4 Tennessee 1
Championship Series
Wednesday, June 7: Game 1 - No. 1 Oklahoma 5, No. 3 Florida State 0
Thursday, June 8: Game 2 - No. 1 Oklahoma 3, No. 3 Florida State 1 - Oklahoma wins the 2023 championship