Bama Central

Briski Throws Gem as No. 22 Alabama Softball Evens Series with No. 2 Oklahoma

Alabama ace Jocelyn Briski only allowed two hits in the complete-game victory as the Crimson Tide ties things up with the Sooners.

Katie Windham

Alabama Softball Player Kali Heivilin (22) celebrates a homerun with her teammates against Oklahoma at Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa, AL on Sunday, Apr 13, 2025.
Alabama Softball Player Kali Heivilin (22) celebrates a homerun with her teammates against Oklahoma at Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa, AL on Sunday, Apr 13, 2025. / Alabama Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Facing one of the best offenses in the country, Jocely Briski pitched her best game of the season.

Kali Heivilin and Abby Duchscherer provided the big blasts on offense, and Briski did the rest in the circle as No. 22 Alabama beat No. 2 Oklahoma 6-1 to even the series with the Sooners at Rhoads Stadium on Sunday.

"We've been in every series that we've played so far, and so I really think this is a great win," Briski said. "It really shows us what we're made of. We've known what we're made of, but being able to finally put all the pieces together on the offensive and defensive side in one game–– I think if we can consistently play like this throughout the season, we're going to win a whole lot more games."

The only run Oklahoma scored came on a solo, two-out home run from Sydney Barker in the seventh inning. It was just the second hit and third baserunner Briski allowed all game in the complete-game victory.

The Crimson Tide has struggled all seasons with errors and free passes in games that have been major contributors to a lot of the losses. The Alabama defense played error-free ball on Sunday, and after a two-out walk in the first inning, Briski didn't have another free pass the entire game.

"I loved that Jocelyn sat down 12 in a row from like the third to the top of the seventh," Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy said. "No traffic whatsoever. Obviously, you guys saw that she can do that last year, and by far her best game of the year against a really good hitting team.

"Made some plays in the outfield. Did not commit an error, which is a good thing. No freebies, I think only one walk. It's just a clean game. When you do that, it goes fast. It's a great game to watch."

Alabama got the scoring started early with RBIs from Lauren Johnson and Kristen White in the second inning. The Crimson Tide's other run came on an RBI sac fly from Audrey Vandagriff in the fourth inning to make it 4-0.

After only getting three hits total in Game 1 against the Sooners, Alabama had three hits and two runs in the second inning of Sunday's game.

Heivilin's solo home run led off the third inning, and Duchscherer's two-run shot in the fifth inning put the game out of reach.

"Maybe yesterday we were a little timid waiting for the perfect pitch because she has a good variety of pitches, but today we came out swinging," Duchscherer said. "I feel like our execution was really what made today way better than yesterday."

The series will be decided Monday at Rhoads Stadium when Alabama (29-16, 6-8 SEC) and Oklahoma (36-4, 10-4 SEC) meet for Game 3 at 6 p.m. on SEC Network.

"You keep preaching that the best is yet to come," Murphy said. "We've made mistakes. OK. We can fix it. We can get better. Hopefully we're going to be on the upswing here."

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Katie Windham
KATIE WINDHAM

Katie Windham is the assistant editor for BamaCentral, primarily covering football, basketball gymnastics and softball. She is a two-time graduate of the University of Alabama and has covered a variety of Crimson Tide athletics since 2019 for outlets like The Tuscaloosa News, The Crimson White and the Associated Press before joining BamaCentral full time in 2021. Windham has covered College Football Playoff games, the Women's College World Series, NCAA March Madness, SEC Tournaments and championships in multiple sports. 

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