Alabama Softball Begins Play at WCWS: 'This is What You Want to Achieve'

The goal Alabama softball has been working toward all year is here, the Women's College World Series

It all comes down to this. Less than one week stands between Alabama softball and the chance at a national championship. 

The journey starts for the Crimson Tide Thursday at 6 p.m. on ESPN when No. 3 Alabama (50-7) opens play against the No. 11 Arizona Wildcats (41-13) in Oklahoma City.

"I just feel blessed right now," said Alabama's recently-dubbed all-American catcher Bailey Hemphill. "I mean this is what you want to achieve when you play college softball is play at the World Series.”

Hemphill is one of 14 upperclassmen on the Alabama roster who has experience at the Women's College World Series. She believes that experience throughout the roster, including a win against Arizona in at the 2019 WCWS, will be an advantage for the Crimson Tide.

"There's like six or seven of us that are seniors in the starting lineup so having that experience, not having that shock factor," Hemphill said. "The excitement is still there obviously playing at the World Series, but being able to control the emotions a little better is going to be key for us.”

Alabama coach Patrick Murphy also agreed that the experience of his upperclassmen will be valuable for his team in Oklahoma City. However, those are not the only players he thinks can handle the pressure. Murphy said the large crowds his entire team played in front of last weekend in super regionals at Rhoads Stadium should be able to help his team in front of the crowds at the newly-renovated USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium.

"That experience of playing in front of that big of a crowd at home will help them this week," Murphy said. "And like Bailey said, we have the seven true seniors and the four other seniors that have been here, so experience kind of is on our side.”

The Wildcats also bring in an experienced team to the matchup, and there is recent history between these two teams. In 2019, Alabama played Arizona out in Tucson and beat the Wildcats 6-1 in a game in which Murphy called Montana Fouts' first big game. Fouts then shutout Arizona 2-0 in the 2019 WCWS to eliminate the Wildcats.

Arizona issued a return trip to Tuscaloosa in 2020 and won two one-run games 2-1 and 6-5. Murphy called this year's matchup an "very intriguing" first round game. 

"They're very similar to us because they have a lot of kids back," Murphy said. "They have a lot of experience in the World Series. Just some great players, obviously they have an Olympian behind the plate who’s one of the best in the country."

That Olympian catcher is Arizona senior Dejah Mulipola, who redshirted the 2020 season to train with USA Softball for the Olympics. She is tied for seventh in the country with 21 home runs and is third in the nation with 63 RBIs. In her career against Alabama, Mulipola is 1-6 with four strikeouts. 

The Wildcats are just the first step in a long journey if Alabama wants to achieve its ultimate goal of another national championship. The WCWS is a double elimination tournament, and then it becomes a best-of-three series once it gets down to the final two teams. 

Play opens up on Thursday at 11 a.m. when the top-seeded Oklahoma Sooners take on James Madison in the morning sessions. The only other SEC school at the World Series, the Georgia Bulldogs will play No. 5 Oklahoma State after the first game. The night will be capped off with No. 2 UCLA and No. 10 Florida State. 

Knowing this her last go-round in an Alabama uniform, Hemphill is up for the challenge of whatever this tournament throws at her, and said the team is excited for the chance to play for a national championship. 

"I thought my career was over last year when the season got canceled, so obviously it was a big blessing that I got to come back this year and to finish my career at the World Series again," Hemphill said. "This is where I wanted to finish out my career at Alabama."