The 2022 Women’s College World Series has arrived as teams have touched down in Oklahoma City and are getting ready to face off within their respected brackets. Bracket one features powerhouse teams such as #1 Oklahoma taking on #9 Northwestern and #5 UCLA versus unseeded Texas. Meanwhile, bracket two features its own set of surprises in Arizona versus #7 Oklahoma State and #14 Florida taking on Oregon State. The Pac-12 and Big 12 are heavily featured in this year’s World Series with three teams from each conference participating, giving each league a more significant shot at bringing home the glory. This is also the first time since 2007 there has only been one SEC team in Oklahoma City.

Surprises in the World Series

Within the eight teams in the World Series, there are two that I’m definitely keeping an eye on—Northwestern and Arizona. Now, Northwestern is going up against the best of the best in Oklahoma, but they have a few key players that have been great for them this season, including Rachel Lewis on the offensive side and Danielle Williams in the circle. Lewis has a .356 batting average and 1.323 OPS, and she also leads the team with 22 home runs. She also can kick on the jets with 26 stolen bases in 29 attempts. In the circle, Danielle Williams has a 1.86 ERA and has a team-leading .185 opponent batting average. She’s also pitched a grand total of 241 innings on the season, so there should be no surprise that she’ll get the start.

As for Arizona, Allie Skaggs has been getting the job done at the plate with a .371 batting average, 1.278 OPS, and a team-leading .818 slugging percentage. In the circle, Arizona has two options in Hanah Bowen and Devyn Netz, who have both come on strong in the NCAA Tournament. Both Arizona and Northwestern have both had incredible runs during this postseason so far, so expect them to not go down without a fight.

Biggest Headline

The biggest talk of the World Series is going to be about Oklahoma and whether anyone stop their offensive and pitching attack? The Sooners have seven hitters that obtained an OPS higher than 1.000 in power slugger Jocelyn Alo, Jayda Coleman, Grace Lyons, Tiare Jennings, Alyssa Brito, Jana Johns, and Lynnsie Elam. Jocelyn Alo has a whopping 29 home runs, which are second-most in the NCAA, and ranks second in batting average at .497. In the circle, Oklahoma has two fantastic options in Jordy Bahl and Hope Trautwein, who both have an ERA under 1.00 and both hold opponent batting averages under .150. Bahl has yet to appear in the NCAA Tournament thus far, but head coach Patty Gasso did say on Monday that, ”You are going to see her pitch this week.” Oklahoma has an insane softball team and is looking to dominate the World Series.

Besides Oklahoma sitting as the biggest threat in the World Series, all of these teams have faced incredible circumstances and all deserve to be there. The Sooners may be heavy favorites, but, If this postseason has taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected and be ready for anything.