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Alabama Softball falls to Northwestern 4-0 as Tide starts to tailspin

By Chris Dodson

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - JANUARY 07: An Alabama fan smiles before the 2013 Discover BCS National Championship game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Sun Life Stadium on January 7, 2013 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
MIAMI GARDENS, FL - JANUARY 07: An Alabama fan smiles before the 2013 Discover BCS National Championship game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Sun Life Stadium on January 7, 2013 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /
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Alabama Softball had a rough weekend in Washington, losing to Washington twice and falling to Northwestern 4-0. The weekend performance brings huge concerns as conference play looms.

It’s a tough out to be playing the No.1 team in the nation, twice in their home stadium. A tough non-conference portion of the season did go well for Alabama softball. The Tide looked great when they beat teams such as Florida State. Even in the losses against Baylor and the second FSU game, it wasn’t like they were not competing.

However, Alabama softball simply got whooped in Seattle. A great comeback win against BYU on Friday was overshadowed by the overall performance in the Husky Classic. The 8-inning win over the Cougars now looks like it took desperation to win. As Alabama softball heads home for only the second time this season, stepping up is in order.

Improvements Need To Be Made

Alabama softball will return to Rhoads Stadium next weekend for the Easton Crimson Classic. There is a lot of work to do to salvage a non-conference season before heading into SEC play.

Everyone was willing to give Alabama the benefit of the doubt after the close losses to top-ranked teams. After getting shutout by 65th-in-RPI Northwestern 4-0 to close the tournament in Seattle, many questions pop up. Is this team even talented enough to beat the best? Can they make a deep run to the Women’s College World Series?

It wasn’t just that Alabama got beat by a top-ranked team. It was how they got beat. Washington got off to a quick start in the Friday game and Alabama ended up getting run-ruled.

Alabama put up effort in Saturday’s game but was simply choked out by a talented Washington defense. Washington is clearly the national team to beat. If Alabama played them in the WCWS, odds are stacked against the Tide.

It’s not all doom and gloom, however. Alabama has a chance to build some confidence at home next weekend with a 5-game tournament. That’s all before they travel to Auburn for the SEC opener against the Tigers, who got the series win last year over Alabama 2-1. Alabama is going to have to play well in the conference if they want to make it in the WCWS field, much less compete for an SEC title.

Next: Alabama Basketball Could Still Make The Big Dance

Next for Alabama softball is hosting the Easton Crimson Classic next weekend. The other teams are Boston College, Fordham and Samford. The Tide starts on Friday at 4 pm against the Golden Eagles.

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