OKLAHOMA CITY – Alabama softball’s 2024 season came to an end Sunday night at Devon Park, as the Crimson Tide lost to Florida, 6-4, in an elimination game at the Women’s College World Series.
For the 15th time in program history, Alabama (39-20) ends its season at the Women’s College World Series, as one of three programs in Division I softball to have qualified more often than it hasn’t. The Crimson Tide made its trip to OKC courtesy of its 13th Super Regional round win in 18 opportunities since the format was adopted in 2005.
Alabama and Florida (53-14) traded runs back and forth in the second and third innings, heading to the fourth tied at 2-2 after a Marlie Giles RBI single. The Gators pulled ahead 3-2 in the fifth on an RBI single before a sixth-inning home run tacked on three more for Florida to make it 6-2. Alabama didn’t go down quietly, scoring a pair in the sixth to make it 6-4 and bringing the go-ahead run to the plate but a fly out ended the inning. The Gators couldn’t add to their lead in the top of the seventh, but Alabama went down in order in the bottom half, unable to mount a rally.
From Head Coach Patrick Murphy
“I tried to think of the right analogy to tell the team in the locker room. When you’re trying to make wine and you’re stomping grapes and get to the bottom of the barrel, you have all these grapes at the bottom and you’ve worked hard and have gotten every ounce of juice out of them. That is this team. They squeezed every ounce out being a great teammate, being great leaders and being great representatives of the University of Alabama. They worked their butts off and got here, beyond anything that I could have ever imagined. It’s been one of the most enjoyable teams to coach in my career.”
Highlights
- This year’s trip to the Women’s College World Series was Alabama’s 15th, with the Crimson Tide as one of three Division I schools to play in the WCWS more often than it hasn’t
- Alabama made it to OKC courtesy of its 13th Super Regional round victory in 18 opportunities since the format was adopted in 2005
- Jenna Johnson and Marlie Giles each finished with two hits, their 11th and seventh multi-hit games of the season, respectively
- Riley Valentine drove in two of the team’s four RBIs, giving her seventh multi-RBI games this season and her third of the postseason
Scoring Summary
- B2 | Bailey Dowling scored from third on an RBI groundout (1-0, 1 Out)
- T3 | Jocelyn Erickson tied it up with an RBI single (1-1, 1 Out)
- T3 | A Gator run came home on a fielder’s choice (1-2, 1 Out)
- B3 | Marlie Giles tied it up with an RBI single up the middle (2-2, 1 Out)
- T5 | Reagan Walsh hit an RBI single up the middle (2-3, 0 Out)
- T6 | Jocelyn Erickson hit a three-run home run (2-6, 2 Out)
- B6 | Giles scored from third on a fielder’s choice (3-6, 1 Out)
- B6 | Kali Heivilin pulled an RBI single through the left side (4-6, 2 Out)
