Senior-Day Sweep: No. 15 Alabama Softball Shuts Out Mizzou in Series Finale

Crimson Tide ace Jocelyn Briski had one of her best starts of the year as Alabama picks up its first SEC series sweep.

Alabama Softball Player Brooke Ellestad (0) celebrates home run against Mizzou at Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa, AL on Sunday, Apr 27, 2025 / Crimson Tide Photos

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— How sweep it is.

For the first time this season, Alabama softball picked up an SEC sweep as the Crimson Tide completed the three game series with Missouri on Sunday with a 2-0 victory at Rhoads Stadium on Senior Day.

Before the series began, Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy gave his team a "state of the union" address showing the Crimson Tide where it stood in the SEC standings. His team responded with one of its best weekend of the season and is now back above .500 in SEC play.

Jocelyn Briski was brilliant in the circle. She threw Alabama's first complete-game shutout since she did it on March 7 against Louisiana.

After some late-inning drama on Saturday in Game 2, Missouri once again brought the tying runner to the plate after a one-out single. Briski was able to induce a ground ball, and the Alabama defense turned its 29th double play of the season.

"You go from having five walks on Friday to having none today," Briski said after the game. "Just trying to get ahead of batters... Just really trying to stay efficient, keep my ball in the zone and really just trusting the defense. Ending the game on a double play like that was huge."

Alabama's sophomore ace only allowed five hits with no walks on just 80 pitches. However, Briski was locked in a pitcher's duel with Missouri starter Marissa McCann through 4.5 scoreless innings.

The Crimson Tide finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning courtesy of the offensive speed at the top of the order. Audrey Vandagriff reached with a two-out single and scored all the way from first on a groundball up the middle off the bat of Lauren Johnson to make it 1-0.

Johnson tried to simplify her approach at the plate after striking out in her first at-bat against McCann and was able to make hard contact up the middle. Vandagriff handled the rest.

In her final regular season home game, senior Brooke Ellestad added some insurance with a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth, but it turned out Briski didn't even need it.

"I really was concerned because they [Missouri] are fighting for their lives and the postseason" Murphy said. "So for her [Briski], Riley Valentine and Lance [McMahon] to do what they did pitching wise was awesome."

Alabama now sits at 35-18 (11-10 SEC) heading into the final week of the regular season.

"We have more [conference] wins now than we did last year with a series left," Murphy said. "That was pretty cool for this team with a very, very young group–– nine newbies and 11 returnees, so that's a lot of new faces, and I think against a better league, too."

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