Four-star WR Daniel Odom remains committed through visits
TUSCALOOSA, Ala — For the 20th straight postseason, Alabama softball will begin play in the NCAA Tournament at home. The Crimson Tide earned the No. 15 national seed and will host Virginia Tech, Belmont and Jackson State at Rhoads Stadium in the Tuscaloosa Regional this weekend.
Alabama (37-21) will open play in the tournament against Jackson State (29-23) at 5 p.m. CT on Friday. The regional will begin early on Friday when Virginia Tech (41-11) takes on Belmont (40-14) at 2:30 p.m. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
The full schedule for the double-elimination regional is as follows:
Friday
2:30 p.m. – Virginia Tech vs. Belmont
5:00 p.m. – Alabama vs. Jackson State
Saturday
11:00 a.m. – GM1 Winner vs. GM2 Winner
1:30 p.m. – GM1 Loser vs. GM2 Loser
4:00 p.m. – GM 4 Loser vs. GM3 Winner
Sunday
1:00 p.m. — GM3 Winner vs. GM5 Winner
3:30 — GM6 Winner vs. GM6 Loser *If necessary
Alabama names to know
Audrey Vandagriff | OF | Fr.
Vandagriff bats leadoff for Alabama and leads the team in batting average (.407), hits (66), runs (49), doubles (8) and walks (33). The speedy freshman also leads the SEC with 48 stolen bases, which ranks second nationally and is tied for the fourth-highest single-season total in program history. Vandagriff is one of 10 finalists for the 2025 NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year award.
Kali Heivilin | 2B | Sr.
Heivilin bats third for Alabama and leads the team with 13 home runs. The senior is second on the team in batting average (.368), hits (56) and runs batted in (42). Over her last seven games, she’s 8-for-21 (.380) with one home run, a triple and five RBIs.
Catelyn Riley
Riley has statistically been Alabama’s top pitcher this season. The senior leads the team with a 2.59 earned-run average while posting a 10-3 record over 110⅔ innings. Riley is second on the team with 60 strikeouts and joins Heivilin and Vandagriff as Alabama’s three First Team All-Region recipients.
Jocelyn Briski
Briski might be Alabama’s most dangerous arm. The sophomore has a 16-12 record in the circle with a 2.78 ERA. She leads the team with 110 strikeouts over 153⅓ innings. That includes eight in Alabama’s SEC Tournament win over Auburn.
First things first
Alabama will be heavily favored to begin the regional with a win. Jackson State enters the regional with the lowest RPI in the NCAA Tournament field at 234. The Tigers punched their ticket to the tournament by winning the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Jackson State’s lineup features a pair of .400 hitters in Ka’Liyah Gipson (.445) and Jace Jackson (.436). Meanwhile, Alabama will likely go up against JSU ace Brooklyn Morris, who is 13-8 with a 3.53 ERA.
While Alabama will enter the matchup as heavy favorites, head coach Patrick Murphy said his team will take nothing for granted in the opener.
“The best way to respect your opponent is to play your very best against them,” Murphy said. “So, we’re going to respect the heck out of Jackson State. They’re a champion of a conference. I told them the other night that whoever’s in the NCAA tournament is gonna be good. It doesn’t matter where they’re from, what school. It doesn’t matter. They either won their conference, won their conference tournament or got an at-large bid because you did a great job all season long.”
On deck
After opening the regional against Jackson State, Alabama will be tested at the plate. Both Virginia Tech and Belmont feature ace pitchers.
The Hokies are led by Emma Lemley, who is 17-7 with a 2.74 ERA and 180 strikeouts over 148 innings. The senior had mixed results against Alabama earlier this season.
In her first outing against the Tide, she earned the win in a 2-1 victory, giving up a lone earned run over five hits while striking out six batters in a complete-game effort. Alabama rebounded in the second meeting, roughing her up for five earned runs on six hits over 2⅔ innings en route to a 9-1 win over Virginia Tech.
Belmont boasts one of the best pitchers in the nation in Maya Johnson. The redshirt junior is 24-4 with a 1.24 ERA and leads the NCAA with 355 strikeouts over 197 innings. Johnson’s 355 strikeouts are 73 more than St. John’s Anna Serafinko, who ranks second nationally.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s Emma Lemley or who’s throwing,” Heivilin said. “We’ve faced all the best pitchers in college softball right now throughout the year.”
Looking ahead
Alabama’s full focus will be on the Tuscaloosa Regional this weekend. However, if the Tide does advance, it will likely take on four-time defending champion Oklahoma.
The Sooners earned the No. 2 national seed and will host California, Omaha and Boston University in the Norman Regional this weekend. Oklahoma is heavily favored to advance from that field. If it does, it will host the winner of the Tuscaloosa Regional next week in the Super Regionals.
Alabama won its season series against Oklahoma, suffering a 5-1 defeat in Game 1 before rebounding with a 6-1 victory in Game 2 and a walk-off 2-1 win in the eighth inning of Game 3.
“We’ve proven that we can beat Oklahoma,” Heivilin said. “I mean, yes, it will be tougher at Love’s Field, but it just makes it a little more fun if we get there.”
