How to Watch Alabama Softball in Tuscaloosa Regional

The Crimson Tide has its first game time as regional play begins on Friday and will carry on throughout the weekend.

Christopher Walsh | May 15, 2023

Brett Rojo-USA Today Sports

The brackets are set, and the University of Alabama softball team knows its path and what it needs to do to return to the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.

The Crimson Tide also knows some of the game times as the initial TV schedule was released by the NCAA and ESPN on Monday afternoon.

The Crimson Tide's first game will be at 6 p.m. CT on Friday, when it plays its first game in the Tuscaloosa Regional against LIU. The regional will actually open earlier in the day with Central Arkansas against Middle Tennessee.

Tuscaloosa Regional – Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Middle Tennessee 8, Central Arkansas 0
No. 5 Alabama 5, Long Island 0
No. 5 Alabama 12, Middle Tennessee 5
Central Arkansas 15, LIU 0, LIU eliminated
Middle Tennessee 3, Central Arkansas 0, Central Arkansas eliminated
Middle Tennessee 4, No. 5 Alabama 1
Game 7: No. 5 Alabama (42-19) vs. Middle Tennessee (42-19), 3:55 p.m. ESPNU, ESPN+

The other game times will be announced later.

The regional tournaments, at 16 sites across the nation, are double-elimination and scheduled for this weekend. The 16 winners advance to super regionals and play a two-team, best-out-of-three series either May 25-27 or May 26-28.

The eight winners earn spots in the 2023 Women's College World Series. The WCWS begins June 1 in double-elimination format. The final two teams play a best-of-three series for the national championship beginning June 7.

Alabama was seeded No. 5 in the tournament. The winner of the Tuscaloosa Regional will square off against the surviving team from the Evanston Regional in a super regional. For those who might want to keep an eye on that part of the bracket, here's are the specifics.

Evanston Regional – Evanston, Illinois

Kentucky 9, Miami (Ohio) 1
No. 12 Northwestern 2, Eastern Illinois 1
Northwestern 10, Kentucky 8
Miami (Ohio) 4, Eastern Illinois 0, Eastern Illinois eliminated
Miami (Ohio) 9, Kentucky 0, Kentucky eliminated
Game 6: 4 p.m. No. 12 Northwestern (40-11) vs. Miami (Ohio) (39-19), 3 p.m. CT Sunday, ESPN+
Game 7: 5:30 p.m. if necessary.

This story will be updated as necessary.

Published May 15, 2023

CHRISTOPHER WALSH

Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of BamaCentral, which first published in 2018. He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004, and is the author of 26 books including Decade of Dominance, 100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Nick Saban vs. College Football, and Bama Dynasty: The Crimson Tide's Road to College Football Immortality. He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.