Previewing the Women's College World Series: Stren...

playTennessee's elite pitching vs. Texas' super sluggers: Which will give in WCWS? (2:18) Defending champion Texas played with fire, defending runner-up Texas Tech really played with fire, and for the first time in over a decade, Oklahoma, the dynasty, got burned. It looked for a little while Sunday as if each of the top three teams in the preseason softball poll was going to miss out on a trip to the Women's College World Series, but even if two of them managed to survive, the Sooners, six-time champions in the past decade alone, won't be in Oklahoma City. Who will take advantage? Will we see a Longhorn repeat? Will Tech rediscover its pitching and take the final step? Will top-ranked Alabama keep rolling after outscoring its first five NCAA tournament opponents by a combined 31-1? Can Nebraska keep riding the great Jordy Frahm to a first title? Is it finally Tennessee's turn? Will Arkansas keep run-ruling almost everyone it sees? Can UCLA bash its way to its first title in seven years? After taking down the big dog, is Mississippi State simply destiny's team? The WCWS will feature lots of heavyweights (and plenty of SEC teams). Who best manages the moment? Here's what you need to know about each quarterfinalist. Jump to: Alabama | Texas | Nebraska Arkansas | Tennessee | UCLA Texas Tech | Mississippi State Record: 54-7 Head coach: Patrick Murphy (1,371-403 career) Best WCWS result: National champion (2012) First WCWS opponent: No. 8 UCLA (Thursday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2) The Alabama softball program has existed for 29 years and Patrick Murphy has been the head coach for 27 of them. His Tide are almost always excellent, but they might now be staring at their best chance at a national title since their last finals appearance in 2014. With other favorites struggling last weekend in the super regionals, Bama simply mauled LSU, winning two drama-free games by a combined score of 11-1. Biggest strength: They're the No. 1 seed, and they look like it. It's hard to top a 0.21 ERA, but that's what Bama has posted in the postseason so far. Jocelyn Briski (23-3 with a 1.03 ERA for the season) has pitched 17 scoreless innings with 23 K's, while freshman Vic Moten (21-4, 1.66) has given up just one run and seven baserunners in 10 innings. Their bats haven't quite sizzled like some others', but they've still gotten a combined six postseason home runs and 17 RBIs, with a 1.361 OPS, from the combo of center fielder Audrey Vandagriff, second baseman Jena Young and catcher Alexis Pupillo. First baseman Brook Wells hasn't gotten going in the NCAAs yet -- she's 3-for-18 with eight K's and nine left on base -- but she still has a 1.364 OPS and a team-leading 23 homers for the season. Potentially fatal flaw: Swing-and-misses. There are some excellent strikeout pitchers in the WCWS, and Bama's batters are more than happy to whiff a bit. Out of 308 Division I teams, Bama ranks 195th with a 14.1% strikeout rate for the season, and Ambrey Taylor (23.4%), Vandagriff (19.0%), catcher Marlie Giles (17.0%) and Wells (14.6%) are even higher than that. Briski and Moten don't need a ton of help, but it's possible that the bats go cold at an inopportune time. Record: 47-11 Head coach: Mike White (363-104-2 career) Best WCWS result: National champions (2025) First WCWS opponent: No. 7 Tennessee (Thursday, 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) After a brilliant 31-1 start, Mike White's Longhorns wobbled, losing seven of 11 games at one point and dropping a series to Arkansas late in the regular season. They won the SEC tournament and swept three NCAA regional games by a combined 25-1, but then they lost the opening game of the super regionals to Arizona State and fell behind 3-2 heading into the sixth inning of the second game. Victoria Hunter's two-run, pinch-hit home run saved the day, however, and after a Game 3 win they're heading back to OKC. play0:24Victoria Hunter gives Texas the lead with a 2-run homerVictoria Hunter gives Texas the lead with a 2-run homer Biggest strength: Knowledge. Of the eight teams in this WCWS field, only Texas and UCLA have won a national title in the past 10 years, and five have never won it at all. Of the 10 starters from last year's title decider, seven are still on the Texas team. This roster is the most battle-tested in OKC. Ace Teagan Kavan has been knocked around a few times this season, but she shut out ASU in last weekend's decider. For the season, Texas has had basically the fourth-best offense of any WCWS team and the fourth-best pitching, but the Longhorns are as likely as anyone to raise their game when it matters. Potentially fatal flaw: Do we trust the bats? No WCWS team has struck out more in the NCAA tournament than Texas, and no team has swung and missed more. The Longhorns are clearly good offensively, but they have a couple of blind spots near the bottom of the lineup, and Reese Atwood -- among the biggest standouts of last year's title run -- has swung at almost half the pitches she has seen this y

Previewing the Women's College World Series: Stren...

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