Dugout Props Add Fun to Alabama Softball Postseason Run

Edwin Stanton | May 29, 2024

Alabama softball players are greeted by a devoted group of fans at the Tuscaloosa Regional Airport as the team leaves for the College World Series in Oklahoma. Kayla Beaver gets hugs from fans as she makes her way to the plane while carrying a stuffed animal. / Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA

It’s got to be the rubber chicken.

Or maybe the inflatable palm tree. 

Could even be the hula skirt. 

Pick whichever silly knickknack--and there are several--the Alabama softball team has piled into the dugout during the postseason. As the collection has grown, so has the Crimson Tide’s confidence. 

The wins are piling up, too. 

Alabama, the No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament, earned its 15th trip to the Women’s College World Series after taking down No. 3 seed Tennessee this past weekend in a best-of-three series. 

The Crimson Tide (38-18) faces UCLA (42-10) on Thursday in Oklahoma City at 11 a.m.  

Punching that WCWS ticket seemed too far out of reach a couple of weeks ago. The Crimson Tide limped into regional play having lost nine of its last 12 games, including five by shutout. 

Then came the spark.  

“Right before the regionals started, I had a conversation with one of the managers,” said Crimson Tide pitcher Kayla Beaver. “I said, ‘Hey, what can we do to make this dugout fun. We need something to let us play loose, enjoy, keep the momentum. Let’s bring some props. We went to Five Below and Party City and got all these props.” 

Along with the rubber chicken, the plastic tree (nicknamed Rally) and the hula skirt, Alabama has collected a crown, a beach ball, the palm tree, a stick with a worm on it, some toy instruments, just to name a few. 

Seems to be working. 

Alabama won three straight in the Tuscaloosa Regional before taking the No. 3 Vols to a third and decisive game in the Knoxville Super Regional. 

"It's a way to keep them involved, but they did it,” Alabama coach Patrick Murphy said. “All of a sudden, things started showing up with their own place in the dugout. 

“It’s fun for them.” 

As the postseason wins mount, so does the number of props. There are up to about 20 with some new ones making the trip to Oklahoma City for the WCWS. 

“One is a giant monkey that we are going to hang on the tree,” Beaver said. 

Beaver hasn’t really needed luck or any sort of talisman to produce during the postseason. The second-team All-SEC pitcher went 2-1 with a save and six runs allowed in 25 innings with 16 strikeouts.  

She pitched nine innings in a win against Southeastern Louisiana and 10 of a 14-inning marathon win against Tennessee. 

Jocelyn Briskie is on fire, too. She’s 3-0 in the postseason, including a must-win performance against Tennesse where she allowed just one run in the complete-game win.