By: Brett Greenberg
The third-seeded Crimson Tide (50-7) took a 2-0 lead in the first inning and extended it to 4-0 with two runs in the fourth. Lexi Kilfoyl (13-3) pitched a complete game, finishing with 105 pitches against the 14th-seeded Wildcats (43-15).
“Kilfoyl was outstanding and we got two big hits when we needed them,” said Alabama coach Patrick Murphy. “That's the name of the game. We played great defense all weekend.”
KB Sides and Montana Fouts shine in game one: Alabama softball uses four-run fourth to beat Kentucky in Game 1 of Super Regional
Experts from around the nation pick super regional winners: Who's going to the Women's College World Series? Predicting every NCAA softball Super Regional winner
Here are some things we learned in the Crimson Tide’s sweep of the Wildcats:
Rhoads Stadium has been a party
Rhoads Stadium opened to full capacity for the Super Regional in accordance with the NCAA's announcement to have 100% capacity in Oklahoma City for the World Series.
Alabama fans were lined up for seats in the brickyard as early as 9 a.m., and one hour before first pitch at 1 p.m., the line wrapped around the entire stadium. Nearly no green was left to be seen with 30 minutes until first pitch in the brickyard and the stadium seating was all but filled.
"The reason we're 43-0 in regional play and win a lot in super regional is because of the fans," said Murphy. "We had four consecutive weekends in a row at Rhoads and each week there were more fans here creating more noise.”
Bats awake early; more fourth inning runs
Kaylee Tow got things started for Alabama in the first inning with a two-run double scoring Alexis Mack and Bailey Hemphill. The Crimson Tide took advantage of two errors, produced two hits and two walks.
Maddie Morgan hit her first home run of the season, a two-run shot to give the Crimson Tide a 4-1 lead in the fourth.
Hemphill walked three times and added a run while the lineup totaled five walks and three stolen bases.
Another grind-it-out performance in the circle
Kilfoyl had 35 pitches through just two innings, 20 of which were strikes. The Wildcats had the leadoff batter reach base each of the first three innings. The freshman settled down in the fourth, sitting down the Wildcats in order.
Kilfoyl had four strikeouts in the final three innings, finishing with seven total.
The Crimson Tide pitching staff combined for 18 strikeouts in the two games.
"I know my offense always has my back," said Kilfoyl. "Going out there and helping the team in any way I can is my sole job."
Win streak rolls into OKC
Alabama has won 18 games in a row, 16 against a ranked opponent and swept the Regional and Super Regional rounds. Friday’s win also marked the seventh time Alabama has won after its opponent scored first.
This marks Alabama's seventh Super Regional sweep in Tuscaloosa (21-5 overall record).
The Crimson Tide won the program’s first championship in 2012 and earned runner-up honors in 2014.
“They are the grittiest most resilient team I’ve ever had," said Murphy. "They could have given up after all the injuries and COVID too. We weren’t able to have a lot of the team-building activities and everything else involved so it's a great feat to be able to go to OKC."
What’s next
The Crimson Tide begins play in Oklahoma City on Thursday in the double-elimination, eight-team tournament.
Comments