Alabama Softball: Patrick Murphy comments on NCAA Regional comeback
By Chris Dodson
It certainly wasn’t an easy weekend, but Alabama Softball managed to sweep the field and take the NCAA Regional Championship in Tuscaloosa. It came down to clutch plays and fantastic hitting that sealed the weekend for the Tide.
With the trophy in hand, Alabama Softball will head to its 15th straight Super Regional, an NCAA D-1 record. Unfortunately for the opponent (which will be either Houston or Texas), the Tide will also host it at the always-rowdy Rhoads House. The 9-8 win to secure the championship was Alabama’s 40th-straight regional win.
It was not a breeze for Alabama. Always competitive, Arizona State managed to give Alabama a run for its money in the two games it played. But, it came down to some clutch decisions and even more clutch batting that sent the Tide to the Supers.
Alabama’s bats catch on fire
It all started Saturday. Alabama was tied 4-4 in the bottom of the third with the bases loaded in two out. Patrick Murphy makes an interesting call to put in Caroline Hardy to pinch hit, who hadn’t had more than one plate appearance a game.
As she stared down a 0-2 count, Hardy bombed one to the wall to bring home three runs. The three RBI double ended up being the difference maker for the Crimson Tide as they won 7-4. Head Coach Patrick Murphy gave some insight about Hardy’s big moment:
"“We’ve talked about all year long about when it’s your time, blessings will be bestowed upon you. And (Caroline) has stuck with it from day one, never complains, (and) is the ultimate teammate. She would get robbed and we’d always say ‘Blessings are coming.’ And today she got ’em. Couldn’t have happened to a better kid.”"
Hardy wasn’t the only star of the team for the weekend. The Tide saw two stars emerge in both Elissa Brown and Bailey Hemphill. Brown went 6 for 9 for the weekend, including a perfect 3-3 and two bases on balls in her five appearances. Brown also came across the plate to bring in six runs for Alabama. She has been cool as of late so it was great to see the leadoff batter get at it.
Bailey Hemphill was also a cool bat before entering the weekend. She had not hit a non-solo home run since early April against UAB. Sunday, with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth, Hemphill sent a bomb to the center field wall for the grand slam that tied up the game 5-5 and changed the atmosphere at Rhoads Stadium in an instant.
Final thoughts and looking ahead
Alabama’s bats got hot when they needed to be. Had it not been for the performance of the offense, Arizona State would have easily moved on to Super Regionals. It was the work of Hardy, Brown and Hemphill that helped lead Alabama to this championship. Make no doubt about that.
However, moving forward, Alabama has to shape up its pitching game no matter who it ends up facing in the Super Regionals. Too many times, Murphy was forced to bring out more relief, especially in Sunday’s game. While it wasn’t a disaster in the circle, Alabama has been better in that area throughout the season.
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Alabama Softball will go on to face the winner of the Austin Regional, who will either be Houston or ninth-seeded Texas. As of the time of this posting, Texas beat Houston 5-2 to force the winner-take-all game in that regional. Either way, the Super Regional game will be held at Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa. Dates, times and television assignments will be announced after the bracket is finalized.