Alabama Softball Advances to Women's College World Series for 13th Time with 4-1 Win over Kentucky
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama softball fans began lining up outside Rhoads Stadium hours before first pitch on Saturday.
The sellout crowd did not go home disappointed.
In fact, the crowd of more than 3600 had reason to cheer early and often as Alabama punched its ticket to the Women’s College World Series for the 13th time by beating Kentucky 4-1 in game two of the super regionals.
"The fans were unbelievable," Alabama coach Patrick Murphy said. "The reason why we're 43-0 in regional play, and we win a lot in super regionals is because of them."
It is not often that Alabama softball finds itself as the visiting team at Rhoads Stadium; however, this was the case Saturday afternoon because of the format of super regionals. The Crimson Tide took big advantage of having the first at-bat of the game by scoring two runs in the top of the first to give Lexi Kilfoyl some early breathing room.
Alexis Mack led off with a single, Bailey Hemphill received her first of three walks on the day, and Kaylee Tow drove both runners home with a ball off the left field wall to give Alabama the 2-0 lead.
Some chaos on the base paths in the second inning allowed Kentucky to score its lone run of the game. Making her first start against a Power Five team since April 10, Kilfoyl only allowed one run on five hits and one walk over seven innings. It was her first seven-inning outing since March 20, and it came at the biggest moment of the season so far.
This was also the biggest crowd Kilfoyl has pitched in front of in her collegiate career because SEC play was just getting started during her freshman campaign before the season got shut down by the pandemic. Now, over a year later, she pitched seven shutdown innings to send her team to OKC.
"It's one of the greatest feelings, and we live for those kind of moments," Kilfoyl said.
Maybe the loudest moment of the game came in the fourth inning when Maddie Morgan launched her first home run of the year over the right field wall to drive in two runs and give Alabama the 4-1 lead. Morgan said it was somewhat bittersweet to finally hit her first home run of the year in the last game at Rhoads stadium, but it was special to do it in a game that clinched her team a spot in the WCWS.
"I've been so close all year, so I was so happy to see it go over," Morgan said.
The loudest moment of the day came after the last pitch of the game as Kilfoyl struck out her seventh batter of the day to secure the super regionals series win for Alabama.
"Kilfoyl was outstanding," Murphy said. "We got two big hits. We needed them, Tow's and Maddie Morgan's, and usually that's the name of the game."
The Crimson Tide picked up their 50th win of the season with the Supers-clinching win and will head to Oklahoma City with a 50-7 record.
Murphy said winning is the icing on the cake for the coaching staff, especially for this team, Team 25, which he's called one of his grittiest and most resilient.
"They have done a great job of staying together," Murphy said. "Keeping their eyes on the prize and doing what they need to do on and off the field."
