- 7Innings Live: WCWS Preview Sparks Coverage, Wednesday, June 2, at 7:30 p.m. ET
Celebrating two decades of comprehensive softball coverage, ESPN will highlight every pitch of the Women’s College World Series (WCWS) for the 20th consecutive postseason. Live from USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla., the WCWS #MAYhem begins Thursday, June 3 with a four-day, eight team, double-elimination round robin tournament, advancing two teams to the finals. The best-of-three championship series begins Monday, June 7. WCWS games will be available on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, with all games streaming on ESPN App via connected devices.
7Innings Live
7Innings Live, ESPN’s WCWS studio programming, will provide full tournament coverage live from Hall of Fame Stadium, just behind the right field wall of OGE Energy Field. Courtney Lyle will host, joined by analysts and national champions Kayla Braud and Jenny-Dalton Hill. Braud was a three-time All-American at Alabama, winning the WCWS in 2012. Dalton-Hill was a three-time All-American and National Player of the Year at Arizona, taking home the national championship in 1993, 1994 and 1996.
The team will begin studio coverage from site on Wednesday, June 2, at 7:30 p.m. ET with 7Innings Live: WCWS Preview on ESPN2.
All-Star Lineup
The first four days of the tournament will feature two commentator teams:
The primetime team will feature the Voice of Softball Beth Mowins, two-time Olympic medalist and four-time All-American Jessica Mendoza, two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time All-American Michele Smith, and Hall of Fame Stadium reporter Holly Rowe. This team has a storied history with the WCWS, working as a booth team for more than decade, as Mowins calls her 27th WCWS, Smith and Rowe their 17th and Mendoza her 14th. This team will also call each game of the best-of-three championship series.
The dayside team will consist of play-by-play voice Kevin Brown, two-time All-American Amanda Scarborough and on-field reporter Jalyn Johnson. Scarborough is calling her sixth WCWS, while Brown and Johnson make their Oklahoma City debuts.
SEC Now
SEC Network’s flagship news and information show, SEC Now, will also be live from Oklahoma City beginning Wednesday, June 2, to document the progress of the two SEC teams participating – Alabama and Georgia – and will remain on site as long as at least one SEC team remains in the tournament. SEC Now will feature host Alyssa Lang and analyst Madison Shipman, who was a three time All-American and SEC Player of the Year (2014) at Tennessee.
All ACC
ACC Network will document Florida State’s run nightly during its flagship news and information show All ACC, hosted by Kelsey Riggs, Jordan Cornette and Dalen Cuff. Katie George and a cast of analysts will report live from Oklahoma City, providing full analysis following each of the Seminoles’ games.
Telecasts Tout Tech Innovations
ESPN’s industry-leading softball coverage will be on full display in Oklahoma City with several technological enhancements added throughout each telecast. These elements include:
- Telestration will be used throughout the telecasts both live and during replay.
- A two-point cable camera system that will fly from the top of the press box down the left-field line, giving a wide view of the field and catching runners as they round third base for home.
- A rail camera will run 80 feet along the left and centerfield wall to capture the incredible defensive plays made in the outfield.
- A drone will provide aerial coverage, showing off the newly-expanded Hall of Fame Stadium and the atmosphere within.
- The home plate umpire will wear a mask camera in every game of the tournament, giving viewers a first-person look at what the umpire sees from behind the plate. All four umpires on the field will also be mic’d up for every game of the tournament.
Shaggin’ Stats
The eight teams featured in this year’s field are No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Alabama, No. 5 Oklahoma State, No. 10 Florida State, No. 11 Arizona and unseeded Georgia and James Madison.
- Georgia and James Madison are the first unseeded teams to punch a ticket to the WCWS since 2012.
- Alabama is currently on an 18-game win streak, the longest active win streak in Division I softball.
- UCLA is making its 31st WCWS appearance, the most of any team in history, followed by Arizona making its 24th appearance.
- James Madison will make its first-ever appearance in the WCWS, hoping to become the first team to win a national championship in its WCWS debut since Oklahoma took home the title in 2000.
| Date | Time (ET) | Game | Network |
| Thu, June 3 | Noon | James Madison vs. No. 1 Oklahoma | ESPN |
| 2 p.m. | Georgia vs. No. 5 Oklahoma State | ESPN | |
| 7 p.m. | No. 11 Arizona vs. No. 3 Alabama | ESPN | |
| 9 p.m. | No. 10 Florida State vs. No. 2 UCLA | ESPN | |
| Fri, June 4 | 7 p.m. | No. 5 Oklahoma vs. James Madison | ESPN2 |
| 9 p.m. | No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 2 UCLA | ESPN2 | |
| Sat, June 5 | Noon | No. 1 Oklahoma vs. Georgia | ESPN |
| 2 p.m. | No. 11 Arizona vs. No. 10 Florida State | ESPN | |
| 7 p.m. | No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 1 Oklahoma | ESPN | |
| 9 p.m. | No. 10 Florida State vs. No. 5 Oklahoma State | ESPN | |
| Sun, June 6 | 1 p.m. | No. 1 Oklahoma vs. James Madison | ESPN |
| 3 p.m. | No. 3 Alabama vs. No. 10 Florida State | ESPN | |
| Mon, June 7 | 4 p.m. | James Madison vs. No. 1 Oklahoma | ESPN |
| 7 p.m. | No. 10 Florida State vs. No. 3 Alabama | ESPN | |
| Tue, June 8 | 7:30 p.m. | No. 10 Florida State vs. No. 1 Oklahoma | ESPN |
| Wed, June 9 | 7 p.m. | No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 10 Florida State | ESPN |
| Thu, June 10 | 3 p.m. | Women’s College World Series: Championship Series Game 3* | ESPN |
*If Necessary
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