Alabama Softball gets much needed 3-2 win over Auburn as postseason begins

Alabama softball may have lost the series, but the 3-2 win over Auburn Sunday gave the Tide a much-needed boost. The focus now is the SEC Tournament, which starts Wednesday.

The sounds heard Sunday were sighs of relief from Alabama softball fans after the final out came on a groundout to first base.

Alabama softball finished the season 40-15 and 13-11 in the SEC. Alexis Osorio got the win, improving her record to 20-7. Senior Sydney Littlejohn entered for the last out of the game and got the save. Murphy sent her out to pitch her final out at Rhodes Stadium for the regular season.

It has been a long SEC season for Alabama. Since the March 31st weekend against Missouri, it has been disappointment after disappointment as games were lost on just a few runs. Series after series were dropped,  based on just one or two mistimed plays. The win over Auburn Sunday puts all of that in the rearview. It could not have come at a better time.

SEC Tournament Starts Wednesday

The postseason begins with the SEC Tournament, which is May 10th-13th. It will be held in Knoxville, TN. Alabama just missed a first round bye, seeded at No. 5. The top four seeds in the field in order are Florida, Auburn, Tennessee and Texas A&M. Alabama will be in the same half of the bracket as Texas A&M and Florida.

Alabama will be facing Arkansas, seeded at No. 12, at 11:00 AM on Wednesday. The Crimson Tide swept the Razorbacks for their only SEC sweep of the season. Despite the sweep, it was a very tight series.

A win would send Alabama softball to play 4-seed Texas A&M on Thursday. The two teams have not met this season. The Thursday game would be at 6:30 PM on the SEC Network.

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If the Tide were to get past Texas A&M, up next will likely be regular-season champion Florida. Florida is 50-5 and 20-3 in the SEC. A win against the Gators, though improbable, would see Alabama in the championship game Saturday.

What are Alabama’s chances to host a regional in NCAA Tournament? Odds are about 50-50 as it stands now. A few wins in the tournament would be helpful, but an early exit spells trouble. Alabama has to be seeded in order to host. Either way, Alabama is virtually locked into the field.

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Here’s hoping this win gives Alabama the momentum to make a big run in the postseason. It was a great weekend for softball in Tuscaloosa with fans setting an all-time attendance record.