Late Steal, RBI Hit Push No. 14 Alabama Softball Past USC Upstate in Regional Opener

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— The breakthrough finally came with two gone in the bottom of the sixth inning. That’s when the No. 14 Alabama softball team got its first run across in the Tuscaloosa regional, a game-winner against USC Upstate on Friday. The Spartans, champions of the Big South, got two seventh inning hits but failed to plate either in a 1-0 victory for Alabama at Rhoads Stadium.

Third baseman Bailey Dowling sent left fielder Jenna Johnson home after the latter’s second hit of the day, and an ensuing steal of second base. The Crimson Tide (34-17) had seven hits on the afternoon, but that one was by far the biggest. The game-ending double play induced in the final inning by Kayla Beaver closed the book on USC Upstate and also locked up head coach Patrick Murphy's 1,300th career win.

"This is the old survive and advance, whether it's 1-0, 8-0 or 10-9, it doesn't matter," Murphy said following the milestone triumph. "You've just gotta score one more than the other team."

Beaver was not the starting pitcher in a game that lasted an hour and 32 minutes; freshman Jocelyn Briski was. She carried a no-hitter through 6.1 innings before finally letting one up, a standout performance in her NCAA Tournament debut. Her main goal was to keep her team in the game and get outs however she could. After a single by the Spartans' Celeste Delorenzo, Murphy went to Beaver. Both teams threw a combined 145 pitches: Alabama 70, USC Upstate 75. "I don't think I've ever seen it before, especially two freshmen," said Murphy.

"One of our goals was... throwing strikes early in the count," Briski said. She knew there was a zero in the hits category but didn't let it get to her one way or another. "That's something I take a lot of pride in [being calm]," she said. "I tell myself to be confident and to be fearless." Freshman USC Upstate second baseman Abby Polk, who had a key role in her team's defensive effectiveness, said Briski mixed up her spots well.

"My first at-bat, she went all outside," Polk said. "My second at-bat, she jammed up." She added that Briski confused batters through the approach she took in the circle.

Johnson and Dowling each went 2-for-3 off freshman Upstate (30-22) pitcher Sierra Maness. When it came time to get the timely hit, the Crimson Tide veterans were there to string together a couple big at-bats. Alabama had hit into two double plays before that (including one off the bat of Dowling), but Johnson took a third out of the equation with a steal which Murphy said was by design. Dowling did the rest.

"There's a lot of times this season that I've stepped in the box and I haven't been able to get the job done," said Dowling, who chalked up her poise in the moment to having the experience of being there before. "Jenna got on, just having that confidence in myself knowing I could do it and getting it done."

That senior 1-2 stretch of the batting order could be playing its final games at Rhoads Stadium, and the name of the game is capitalizing on opportunities to have another home contest. Dowling said ending the season isn't something the players overly want to talk about.

That prospect is now front and center for the Spartans, who had two runners on and one out in the ninth before Beaver shut the door. First baseman Cassie Norris, the first batter Beaver faced, got the other USC Upstate hit of the day. "Sierra did a great job pitching to their spots," head coach Chris Hawkins said. He placed blame on himself for the two-hit outing, getting so candid as to say the job he did as hitting coach was "not very good."

The Crimson Tide will face Southeastern Louisiana, which won its first-ever NCAA Tournament game against Clemson just before Alabama took the field. Murphy has pointed out the respect he has for the Lions as both a conference champion and a first-time tournament team. First pitch is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. CT, moved up from the afternoon due to weather concerns.