TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Games at Rhoads Stadium are done for 2024, but Alabama’s softball team is still at work. At practice this week, coach Patrick Murphy stood between home plate and the pitcher’s mound and fired off pitches to his players to replicate the hard-throwing style the team will face this weekend against Tennessee in Knoxville in an NCAA Super Regional.
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The next day, he moved back a little bit and added some movement to his pitches to imitate the other style of pitches his team will see.
The level of detail is expected at this stage of the season, with a trip to the Women’s College World Series on the line, but it’s necessary. Alabama’s offense broke through what has been a near season-long slump offensively during the Tuscaloosa Regional, averaging 6.3 runs per game with a .341 batting average (the team batted .257 during the regular season).
Alabama’s perfect run through three regional games was somewhat of a statement after it won just one SEC regular-season series and was the No. 14 national seed entering the tournament. The upcoming challenge is more daunting: No. 3 Tennessee, which took two of three from Alabama during the regular season.
It’s not often a program of Alabama’s stature is an underdog, but it will be this weekend, which is perfectly fine for Murphy’s team. Winning the regional is hardly the benchmark by which Alabama measures success, but coming out of that round undefeated and breaking the dreaded offensive slump has removed the dark cloud that has been hanging over the team.
“It’s completely different, 100 percent,” Murphy said. “Free and easy, that’s the way the last few days of practice have been. I think everybody’s just feeling good. We have no pressure on us. We’re (No. 14), they’re (No. 3), and they’re at home. So I like being the underdog.”
Was the offensive explosion in the regional a breakthrough moment or just an aberration? Tennessee finished in the top four of the SEC in batting average, RBI, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, among other categories. Alabama won the regional playing against teams that prioritized small ball — bunting, stealing bases, etc. — to get runners in scoring position.
Behind ace Jocelyn Briski, right, Alabama’s pitching staff has a 1.98 ERA. (Gary Cosby Jr. / USA Today)
In Tennessee, it will see a more aggressive approach (the Vols finished third in the SEC with 82 home runs).
“Hardly any bunting, no (left-handed hitters), not a lot of stealing outside of (outfielder Kiki Milloy),” Murphy said. “Basically, straight up, base-to-base to base (offense), and they do hit a lot of home runs. I think that’s the biggest worry for me, we got to keep the ball in the park. And we have to make them work on defense because their pitchers are terrific.”
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Alabama needs offensive support to win, but leaning into the team’s identity of pitching and defense could be more important: Alabama’s 1.98 team ERA is one of the best in the country.
An example from the team’s regular-season series stands out. In a 2-0 defeat on April 27, Alabama surrendered the runs via an unforced error and a solo home run. The pitch that led to the home run, off freshman ace Jocelyn Briski, was right over the middle of the plate and made for an easy target. Alabama lost that series by a combined score of 7-1, and while one run won’t cut it this weekend either, the Tide can’t afford to give up easy runs on careless mistakes.
“The number one thing from (the regional) was team defense,” Murphy said. “We only had one error. Three games, a lot of balls in play and just really good defense. I think that’s what carries us is the starting pitching and the defense, and then eventually as you saw, the offense came around. … But the defense and the pitching has to be consistent.”
Murphy feels comfortable unleashing a litany of pitchers against Tennessee from regular starters like Kayla Beaver to Jaala Torrence, the hero from last year’s postseason run who pitched a scoreless inning last weekend. She’s a right-handed pitcher who could prove to be an X-factor against Tennessee’s lineup.
A win this weekend would send the Tide to their second consecutive World Series and a third in the past four seasons. In some ways, it was unlikely that Alabama would make it to this point, and flying under the radar is something that the team has embraced.
Admittedly, it has been a nice change of pace.
“Coming out of this regional, nobody chose us, and we wanted to shock the world,” senior infielder Bailey Dowling said. “We’re excited to get the chance to do that again.”
(Top photo of Bailey Dowling: Gary Cosby Jr. / USA Today)
Kennington Lloyd Smith III is a Staff Writer for The Athletic covering Alabama football. Kennington most recently covered University of Iowa football and men's basketball for the Des Moines Register. He is a three-time state press association award winner in feature writing, enterprise writing and podcasting. Kennington attended The University of Georgia and originates from Atlanta, GA. Follow Kennington on Twitter @SkinnyKenny_
