No. 1 overall seed Alabama played Friday afternoon’s NCAA Tournament regional opener like the heavy favorite it is to go far in pursuit of a national championship this spring.
That one and only NCAA title came in 2012 for Alabama softball, but 14 years later the Crimson Tide have a great chance to duplicate that feat and they quickly showed why in an 8-0 run-rule victory over South Carolina Upstate. The Tide improved to 50-7 during a so-far magical season that could include a lot more magic if they continue on the road they’re lined up to travel.
Alabama is the host of the Tuscaloosa Regional and gave the home fans plenty to cheer about on Friday without any drama. That could change though because on Saturday the Crimson Tide will face Belmont, which blanked Southeastern Louisiana, 2-0, in the other regional game in Tuscaloosa on Friday behind Maya Johnson. The star pitcher earned her 28th victory and 15th shutout of the season.
Belmont will go head-to-head with Bama on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET in the winners bracket. If the Tide prevail again, they’ll advance to Sunday’s championship game, with a second game after that if needed in the double-elimination format.
But before Alabama can worry, if at all, about facing Johnson, it had to take care of business in Friday’s regional opener. They did just that and, as a bonus, preserved SEC Pitcher of the Year Jocelyn Briski and pitcher Vic Moten by calling on freshman and No. 3 pitcher Kaitlyn Pallozzi. All the freshman did was toss a complete-game shutout, allowing 4 hits, walking 2 and striking out 2 in her 5 innings of work.
While Pallozzi handled things on the mound, Bama got plenty of offense. The Tide only needed 4 at-bats to get to run-rule territory, scoring 6 times in the second inning and adding 1 run each in the third and fourth innings.
One of Alabama’s offensive highlights came in the third inning, when Audrey Vandagriff belted a 1-out solo home run to give the Crimson Tide a 7-0 cushion.
Griffy Gone @SECNetwork | t.co/WAGo8wcjHA#Team30 #RollTide pic.twitter.com/mJJ0HwVXHd
— Alabama Softball (@AlabamaSB) May 15, 2026Brooke Wells chipped in with a 2-run single for Bama that made it 4-0 during that 6-run explosion in the second inning.
In the fourth, with the Tide needing more offense to get the game into run-rule territory, Alexis Pupillo provided just that with an RBI single to right field that gave Alabama its 8-0 cushion.
Bama pounded out 10 hits in just those 4 trips to the plate on Friday, and the Tide also played error-less ball as they opened what they hope becomes a long NCAA Tournament journey this spring.
No. 1 overall seed Alabama opens NCAA Tournament with run-rule victory Saturday Down South.
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