Jocelyn Briski on 'Pitch Limit' for Alabama Softball's Opening Home Series

The Crimson Tide's junior pitcher is working back from a leg injury as Alabama prepares for the Bama Bash at Rhoads Stadium.

Alabama Softball Player Jocelyn Briski (23) in action against Villanova on Saturday, Feb 7, 2026. | UA Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Alabama wasn't even sure if junior pitcher Jocelyn Briski would be able to pitch at all opening weekend after dealing with a leg injury. Not only did she pitch, but Briski threw four innings of hitless relief work in the Crimson Tide's 9-3 win over Villanova at the Buzz Classic on Saturday.

Her four innings of work only required 41 pitches, and she struck out seven of the 13 batters she faced. It was the first live batter Briski had thrown to since the fall.

"Jocelyn came through," Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy said before Tuesday's practice. "She was supposed to go about two innings, and I think one inning was six pitches, and she came in and looked at our athletic trainer, Will, and [pitching coach] Lance, probably begging Lance, ‘Can I go one more?’ And then that was about eight pitches, so she got to finish the game out, which was awesome. Had seven strikeouts, no hits. So that added a boost. At the time, we needed that.”

Now, No. 13 Alabama prepares for its home-opening series this weekend at the Easton Bama Bash with five games in three days against Liberty, Purdue and Georgia Southern. Murphy plans on Briski being ready to pitch on limited availability.

"She only got to pitch four innings, but I think she’s going to be on a pitch limit this weekend," Murphy said. "So the athletic trainer and the team doctor are going to get together, and they’re going to give us the number of pitches for the weekend— not in an outing, just period. We’ll strategize as to when to use those pitches. She was doing so good at the end of November at the end of our fall ball, and it was unfortunate that she had a little bump in the road. That was the first time she pitched to a batter since November in that game, so kudos to her."

Alabama got good outings from its other four pitchers over the weekend, especially freshman Vic Moten, who was named Freshman of the Week by D1 Softball and Softball America. Moten made three starts for the Tide, two against Georgia Tech, and only allowed two runs and seven hits over 15 innings pitched to go along with 19 strikeouts. Kaitlyn Pallozzi, Braya Hodges and Alea Johnson also pitched well.

"“Even though Briski had that little bit of an injury, we felt good about everybody," Murphy said.