Alabama Pitcher Jocelyn Briski Dazzles in NCAA Tournament Debut

The true freshman took a no-hitter into the seventh inning.

Jocelyn Briski pitches in NCAA Tournament game vs. USC Upstate- May 17, 2024 / Alabama Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— In her first NCAA Tournament start, Jocelyn Briski walked to the dugout showered by a rousing standing ovation.

The true freshman took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of Alabama's opening round, 1-0 victory over USC Upstate on Friday afternoon. Through 6.1 innings, the only baserunner Briski had allowed was a one-out walk. Even with the walk, Briski needed just 60 pitches to get through the first six innings.

USC Upstate third baseman Celeste DeLorenzo broke up the no-hit bid with one out in the seventh inning, and Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy went to retrieve Briski from the circle for Beaver to close out the game.

After the game, Briski said she was aware she had a no-hitter heading into the final frame with her team holding onto a one-run lead after Bailey Dowling's RBI-single in the sixth inning.

"Before every inning, I just do whatever I can to keep my team in the game," Briski said. "It was a 0-0 ball game, and it was just about getting outs any way that I could."

USC Upstate starter Sierra Maness held Alabama scoreless through six innings. It was a freshman pitcher showdown in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

"To have two freshmen in their first postseason starts to do that is pretty awesome to see," Murphy said. "Kudos to [Maness], and kudos to Miss Briski here for just doing a great job for us... Briski was awesome."

USC Upstate hitter Abby Polk said Briski did a good job of hitting her spots and confusing the batters by switching things up from at-bat to at-bat.

The defense was solid behind Briski all game. She induced 11 ground balls and finished the game with three strikeouts. It was the 10th time in her 11 starts that Briski has allowed two earned runs or less. It was her third start without allowing an earned run.

"Jocelyn is always fun to play behind, just her little swag out there on the mound," Dowling said. "Knowing that she gets a lot of ground balls with what she throws, it's always fun for us–– especially with a team that puts it in play a lot."

No. 14 Alabama will now face Southeastern Louisiana in a winners-bracket game on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at Rhoads Stadium.