After a Yearlong Wait, Alabama Seniors Punch Ticket to Women’s College World Series
This is why Alabama’s seven seniors opted to return for another season.
Crimson Tide players and coaches celebrated another Super Regional title, the program’s 10th, with a 4-1 decision over Kentucky on Saturday. The win sends Alabama to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City. It’s the Crimson Tide’s 13th trip to the WCWS.
It was an especially sweet celebration for the Alabama seniors, now graduates. Their final season at Alabama was well under way in 2020 when it was disrupted by a global pandemic. At the time of the season’s cancellation, it was assumed the Crimson Tide seniors, as well as seniors across the country, would have to accept their collegiate careers were over.
The NCAA swooped in and granted an extra year of eligibility to those who wanted it. For the Crimson Tide’s seniors – Alexis Mack, Bailey Hemphill, Elissa Brown, Sarah Cornell, Claire Jenkins, Krystal Goodman and Taylor Clark – the option to return was an emphatic yes.
“To have seven seniors who missed last year and come back and six of them get masters degrees, one with a double major and graduate from the University of Alabama, that’s the heart of the whole story,” Alabama coach Patrick Murphy said.
It was a no-brainer of a decision because there was unfinished business for the Class of 2020.
"Going back to OKC feels like a dream, especially with the uncertainty of last year," said Alabama catcher and SEC Player of the Year Bailey Hemphill. "And everything that we've gone through this year, COVID protocols and adversity faced, to end my career at the World Series is a blessing. I'm so proud of this team and can't wait to see what else we will accomplish."
The team started the season with World Series expectations, a stacked roster, and a No. 1 ranking. After two weeks, Alabama sat at 4-5 and had allowed nearly five runs a game. The Crimson Tide won 10 of its final 13 games before the season was halted – just as the it was just starting to find its identity.
With a clean slate in 2021, the seniors didn’t waste the second chance. Alabama won its first 19 games and finished the SEC 18-6. The Crimson Tide breezed through the SEC Tournament to win the title, and did the same in last week’s regional.
It was the Class of 2021 seniors that punched the Crimson Tide’s ticket to Oklahoma City. Kaylee Tow knocked in the first two runs with a double in the first inning while Maddie Morgan hit a two-run home run, her first of the year, to right field in the fourth inning.
Now all the Alabama seniors inch closer to the goal that was set a year ago before their world was turned upside down – winning the Women’s College World Series.
“We get to continue to play,” Murphy said. “One of the girls said after the game, ‘I don’t have to turn my uniform in. That’s what you love to hear, too. She gets to play another day in a Crimson Tide uniform.”
