Friday’s Game 3 of the Women’s College World Series on ESPN drew the highest rating ever for a women’s college softball game. Texas’ 10-4 win over Texas Tech in a winner-take-all final drew an average audience of 2.4 million viewers, the network announced on Monday.
The Game 3 rating continued a strong trend for the WCWS on TV. Featuring two programs pursuing their first national championship and the star appeal of Texas Tech pitcher (and $1 million NIL sensation) NiJaree Canady, Games 1 and 2 each drew 2.1 million viewers, the highest audience for the first two games of a Women’s College World Series.
Game 1’s number was an 11% increase over the previous year, while Game 2 was up 5% from 2024. Both audiences were the fifth-largest for a women’s softball broadcast across ESPN platforms.
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The Longhorns won the national championship after splitting the first two games of the championship. Texas won the opener, 2-1, on a 2-run single from Reese Atwood, hitting a pitch that Canady was trying to throw for an intentional walk. The Red Raiders evened the series with a 4-3 win in Game 2, capitalizing on a wild pitch and throwing error to score the key runs.
In the decisive Game 3, Texas was ready for Canady in facing her for the third consecutive game. The Longhorns jumped out to a 5-0 lead with four straight singles and a 3-run homer by Leighann Goode.
Viewers continued to tune in even though a 10-0 Texas lead was close to invoking the NCAA mercy rule with a lead of eight or more runs after five innings. But Texas Tech scored three runs in the fifth to keep the game going.
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Eventually, the game went the full seven innings with the Longhorns’ Teagan Kavan pitching the entire game and winning Most Outstanding Player honors, leading Texas to its first women’s softball national championship in school history.
ESPN will release viewership numbers for the entire Women’s College World Series slate of broadcasts on Tuesday.
