Alabama Softball Embracing Underdog Role Heading into Knoxville Super Regional

As the 14-seed facing the No. 3 Lady Vols on the road, the Crimson Tide doesn't feel any pressure.

May 19 2024; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Smiles abound during a 9 run first inning as Alabama batter Bailey / Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.—  There were four letters spread across the table in the Alabama softball clubhouse during the NCAA selection show. Those same letters appeared in the stands during the team's regional championship at Rhoads Stadium last weekend.

LANK. The phrase "Let All Naysayers Know" made synonymous with the Alabama football team in the 2023 season because of Jalen Milroe and Terrion Arnold that have now spread throughout the athletic department with football reaching the College Football Playoff and men's basketball going to the Final Four for the first time in program history. It has been a rallying cry for proving doubters wrong.

No. 14 Alabama felt like it had something to prove in regionals after a disappointing regular season compared to what the program is used to. The Crimson Tide finished below .500 in SEC play for the first time under head coach Patrick Murphy and only won one conference series. Yet, Alabama still earned a national seed and got to host regionals with Clemson, Southeastern Louisiana and USC Upstate coming to Rhoads Stadium.

For the first time in weeks, the Alabama offense came alive, and the team strung together multiple wins for the first time in a month, sweeping through the regional. Now, the pressure is off as the Tide is the lower seed headed to Knoxville, Tennessee for a super regional showdown against the No. 3 Lady Vols with a trip to the Women's College World Series on the line.

"We have no pressure on us," Murphy said. "We’re 14, they’re 3. And they’re at home. I like being the underdog."

Alabama has only made it out of Supers to OKC one time (2005) as the lower-seeded team. Each of the other 11 times the Crimson Tide has played in the WCWS, it was a top-eight seed.

Murphy said he plans on calling Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats when they have their team meeting on Thursday night ahead of Friday's super regional game against a top-three seed. Basketball faced 1-seed North Carolina in the Sweet 16. Murphy spoke to the basketball team earlier in the season about "mudita," or the idea of having vicarious joy for someone else's success as if it were your own. The Crimson Tide basketball players credited his speech as part of the fuel that helped them eventually reach the Final Four, and now Oats will have the opportunity to return the favor.

After the way the regular season ended, Alabama was a popular pick to get upset in its regional. Instead, the Crimson Tide played some of its best softball of the season, knocking a season-high 14 hits in the regional championship game over Southeastern Louisiana. The team looks to carry that momentum to Knoxville.

"Coming out of this regional, nobody chose us, and we wanted to shock the world," senior infield Bailey Dowling said. "We're excited to get the chance to do that again."