Three Takeaways from Alabama Softball's Undefeated Weekend at Florida State

A perfect game, two ranked wins and a late-inning comeback highlighted the Crimson Tide's 4-0 weekend at the Dugout Club Classic.

Alabama Head Coach Patrick Murphy and Alabama Softball Player Alexis Pupillo (31) in action against Florida State during the Dugout Club Classic at Joanne Graf Field in Tallahassee, FL on Saturday, Feb 21, 2026. | UA Athletics

Alabama's first two weekends of the season were impressive, but the Crimson Tide had yet to be tested by a ranked opponent. That is no longer accurate as Alabama not only faced a ranked opponent for the first time but beat a top-10 team in a true road environment twice over the weekend.

No. 9 Alabama swept through the Dugout Club Classic in Tallahassee, Florida over the weekend with two wins over the host Seminoles (8-0 on Friday and 5-1 on Saturday), a perfect game from freshman Kaitlyn Pallozzi against Elon in the opener on Friday and a late-inning comeback win over Dartmouth on Sunday.

The Crimson Tide is one of five remaining undefeated teams in Division 1 softball, and Alabama will likely be ranked within the top five of the national polls when they are released on Monday and Tuesday.

Here are three of my biggest takeaways from the Crimson Tide's performance over the weekend:

Briski is back

Alabama Softball Player Jocelyn Briski (23) in action against Florida State during the Dugout Club Classic at Joanne Graf Field in Tallahassee, FL on Saturday, Feb 21, 2026. | UA Athletics

Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy was really pleased with the progress Jocelyn Briski made this offseason and how she looked by the end of fall ball. However, a leg injury kept her from being at full availability to start the season, but she was able to get some innings in both of the first two weekends.

The staff felt confident in Briski to start Game 2 against Florida State, and she delivered with a very efficient seven-inning performance in the 5-1 win. The only run she allowed came on a solo home run in the seventh inning.

Briski was a strike-throwing machine. She only needed 84 pitches for the complete game and 70 of the 84 were strikes. She struck out nine batters and looked the part of an ace while facing her first ranked opponent of the season.

Yesterday against Florida State, @Jocelynbriski whipped out a gasp-worthy changeup for a strikeout looking to end the sixth inning.

The GoPro wasn't on, but the reaction was certainly lively from the @UA_CTSN booth: pic.twitter.com/CuIDrXHFXm

— Out of the Box (@OutoftheBox_Pod) February 23, 2026

Bonus takeaway while we're on the subject of pitching: Alabama's freshman pitchers are legit and create a balanced pitching staff. Pallozzi pitched the perfect game on Friday, and fellow freshman Vic Moten shut out the Seminoles on Saturday, allowing just three hits over seven innings. She made her first relief appearance against Dartmouth and did not allow a hit.

Power still shows up against ranked teams

Alabama Softball Player Alexis Pupillo (31) in celebrates a home run against Florida State during the Dugout Club Classic at Joanne Graf Field in Tallahassee, FL on Saturday, Feb 21, 2026. | UA Athletics

After hitting 18 home runs on opening weekend, it seemed like Alabama's lineup definitely had more power than the previous few seasons, but would it still be as effective against ranked teams? The Tide answered with a resounding "yes" this weekend.

In the two games against FSU, Alabama mashed seven total home runs. Alexis Pupillo had three home runs herself and leads the team with six on the season. Sophomore Mari Hubbard hit her first home run of the season. There have now been 11 different Tide players to hit home runs this season.

Freshman Ana Roman also homered against Elon on Friday, so Team 30 had eight home runs on the weekend and now has 29 on the season through 13 games. (For comparison, Alabama had 42 total home runs in 59 games in 2024.)

Rocket down the line from Pupillo🚀

📺ACCNX | https://t.co/QLNRf2NQCy#Team30 #RollTide pic.twitter.com/g7ysc15pP5

— Alabama Softball (@AlabamaSB) February 21, 2026

Late-game adversity on Sunday is great for this team moving forward

Alabama Softball Player Vic Moten (00) in action against Dartmouth during Dugout Club Classic at Joanne Graf Field in Tallahassee, FL on Sunday, Feb 22, 2026 | UA Athletics

It has been mostly smooth sailing for the Crimson Tide this season. The team has showed a lot of fight, but there hasn't been a need for a lot of late-game grit until Sunday morning's game against Dartmouth.

Alabama trailed 2-0 heading into the fifth inning and was not getting anything going offensively. A loss to Dartmouth wouldn't erase all the good things the Crimson Tide has done but could've potentially been a black mark on the resumé.

Led by three seniors, the Crimson Tide rallied to put three runs on the board in the fifth inning to take the lead. Moten shut down Dartmouth over the final two innings, but it put pressure on the defense to make the plays to preserve a one-run lead.

The experience of this game will be good for two reasons moving forward. First, it reminds the team to never overlook any opponent. Alabama will have better talent than most teams it plays, but every college softball team has some talented players. Secondly, it will show the team that it has what it takes to dig in to create a comeback and finish out a close game. Once SEC play starts, 8-0 wins will be more rare, so playing in tight circumstances early on with less at stake is a good learning experience to build on for the rest of the season.