After the Sooners defeated James Madison Monday afternoon to advance out of the loser’s bracket and return to the WCWS championship series, Alabama and Florida State faced each other to determine the final team for the championship series. FSU jumped on Bama ace Dakota Fouts early, getting a 6-0 lead before Fouts was pulled. The Noles would eventually go up 8-0 in the 3rd before the Crimson Tide battled back to within 3. The Noles endured, winning 8-5 to finish their own improbable run to the title matchup.
This marks the first time that both teams reached the final series through the loser’s bracket after losing their first game in the WCWS. The last team to drop their WCWS opener and still advance was also Florida State in 2018, in which they also won their first ever WCWS national championship, defeating Washington.
How FSU Got Here
The Noles finished second in the ACC regular season, and lost to eventual ACC Tournament champ Duke Blue Devils in the ACC conference tourney semifinals.
Awarded a 10 seed, FSU hosted a regional with Kennesaw State (26-25), with UCF (39-17-1) and Auburn (27-22), advancing to Baton Rouge Super Regional to take on #7 seed LSU. The Noles knocked off LSU 2 games to none, including a dramatic extra inning comeback to take the series.
WCWS
Like the Sooners, FSU started the WCWS with a loss, dropping to the losers bracket after a 4-0 result to #2 seed UCLA. The Seminoles then won four straight elimination games, defeating #11 seed Arizona 4-3, #5 seed Oklahoma State 4-2, and then winning two against #3 seed Alabama 2-0 and 8-5.
Championship Series
Sooners – Seminoles Game 1 is set for Wednesday at 6:30PM Central on ESPN
