A weekend of high drama and it finishes with Alabama’s softball team travelling to Oklahoma City and the Women’s College World Series for the 15th time. After Coach Patrick Murphy’s Crimson Tide dropped the first game of the NCAA Super Regional in Knoxville Friday, rallied back with a 14-inning game winner on Saturday, Bama received a grand slam home run from Riley Valentine in the first inning and excellent pitching to win 4-1 Sunday.
The last game of the best-of-three series didn’t arrive quickly, either with a three-hour rain delay between the top of the first inning – when Bama got all its runs – and the bottom of the first.
Finally, Jocelyn Briski threw six shutout innings before the Vols began a seventh inning rally. Kayla Beaver came on in relief with Tennessee with one run in and the bases loaded to get the final two outs.
‌ Alabama, a team that was on a generally downward roller coaster during much of the Southeastern Conference season and judged by many not worthy of hosting an NCAA Regional, coasted through its regional before shocking the Vols and earning their trip to the WCWS, which begins Thursday.
Alabama is now 38-18, while Tennessee, SEC champion, ends 44-12.
‌ The Tide could not have gotten off to a better start, but ominous when the first two Bama batters struck out.
But Kenleigh Cahalan blooped a single into short left center that was nearly grabbed for the third out. Instead, two successive Alabama players – Jenna Giles and Marlie Giles – were hit by pitches – to load the bases.
‌ Riley Valentine dumped them with a home run down the left field line.
And then everyone waited. Lighting in the area in stormy East Tennessee led in a delay that lasted for two hours and 58 minutes.
Alabama had one more promising inning in the top of the fifth when Cahalan collected her third hit of the game, followed by Jenna Johnson’s two-out single. A wild pitch put them at third and second, where they were stranded.
There were only infrequent base-runners until Tennessee’s last chance in the bottom of the seventh.
The Vols got the leadoff hitter on with a hit-by-pitch, followed by a bloop single that placed runners and first and third. A bunt was misplayed, the throw too late to first, and the relay too late back to home.
It was 4-1 with runners and first and second. A ground ball to short got the runner at third, but that was it for Briski.
‌ Beaver came in and loaded the bases with a hit-by-pitch, but got the next two on a pop up and ground out.
The celebration was underway, the dog pile, the Gatorade shower, and even a few cigars, proper for a win against Tennessee.
Alabama softball survived, and now it could progress.
The Tide entered Saturday’s second game of the NCAA tournament’s Knoxville super regional with its season on the line and lived to play another day, walked off in the bottom of the 14th inning to beat Tennessee, 3-2. It was the longest game in super regional history, spanning four-and-a-half hours as the SEC rivals dragged through nine-and-a-half scoreless innings before Alabama broke the 2-2 tie as the designated home team to force a vital third game of the series.
Sunday’s finale in Knoxville will begin at 3 p.m. CT and air on ESPN.
‌ Alabama concluded the regular season with its worst-ever SEC record (10-14) and dropped its single game of the SEC tournament, but after winning its NCAA regional as the No. 14 seed, it now has a chance to shock No. 3 seed Tennessee and earn a spot in the Women’s College World Series. It would be the Tide’s fourth trip to Oklahoma City in the past five years the world series has been staged.
Keeping the Tide alive Saturday was the right arm of Kayla Beaver. Alabama’s ace pitcher took the loss in Friday’s series opener despite not allowing an earned run, and after tossing 66 pitches Friday, she relieved Jocelyn Briski in the fifth inning Saturday. Beaver held the Vols scoreless for the next 10 innings, allowing only six hits and four walks over that stretch while striking out four. She threw 165 pitches Saturday, pushing her total to 231 for the first two games of the super regional.
Beaver forced a groundout to escape from a two-out, bases-loaded jam in the top of the 14th. That laid the stage for Alabama’s offense to win the game. The Tide had produced only seven hits through the first 13 innings, including a game-tying home run by Bailey Dowling in the fourth. But Lauren Johnson led off the bottom of the 14th inning with a single and progressed to third base on a double by Riley Valentine. Tennessee walked Kali Heivilin to load the bases and create a force-out situation at home plate, but when Kristen White chopped a ball into the infield, the throw was too late to beat Johnson sliding into home.
Saturday’s game was the longest between two SEC opponents in NCAA softball tournament history. It was also tied as the second-longest of any game in Alabama softball history, matching three other 14-inning finishes in 2011 (at LSU), 2019 (vs. Kentucky) and earlier this month in the SEC tournament vs. LSU. The Tide’s longest-ever game was 19 innings in 1999 versus Arkansas.
