Alabama Softball ends season short in WCWS but not on expectations

Alabama Softball fought but fell short in the WCWS. However, the Tide went far and above expectations with an extremely bright future.

Alabama Softball did not give up on their season for one second. After losing to Oklahoma in the opening round, the Tide ousted both Florida and Arizona to make it out of the losers bracket. They then won a pitchers duel off an extra-inning Carolina Hardy single to walk off with the 1-0 win and force an if-necessary game. Oklahoma was ready, however, and took the final game to send the Sooners to the Championship Series.

Alabama shouldn’t be disappointed. They should look back and see that there were lots of opportunities that they made for themselves, even when expectations were low.

Team 23: A season of growth

When the season started, Alabama was projected to finish 8th in the SEC. That lit the fire that brought the Tide to a 33-0 start the 2019 season.

However, there were signs the commonly-dubbed Team 23 (representing Alabama 23rd softball season) was a special group. Even we predicted before the season began that Alabama had a great shot at making the WCWS this year. What we didn’t predict is how hard of a road they would take to get there.

It took a road sweep of a good LSU Tigers team on the last weekend of the season to get them to win the regular season championship, beating the expectations of an eighth-place finish. When they fell short of taking their fourth win over the Florida Gators in the SEC Tournament Final, there may have been some saltiness but Alabama was generally regarded as one of the top contenders in the NCAA Tournament. A firm top five team, most pundits said.

Then the bracket came out. Alabama was barely given top-seed status with the eight seed. Many around the softball committee were shocked. Even we said that it was a complete failure by the committee to barely give Alabama super regional host privileges.

Eight seemed to be a great number for the Crimson Tide. Hashtags such as #Domin8 and #EightIsGr8 were common among Alabama softball social media. The eight seed gave Alabama the motivation it needed to take both the regional and super regional championship and return to Oklahoma City.

Even though the fell short in OKC, this team was nothing short of special. It also proved the NCAA was completely incorrect on seeding Alabama eighth. Even Oklahoma Coach agreed after playing them three times:

Looking ahead

If there was a point where we can definitively look at and say where the turning point of the season was March 8th in game 2 of a doubleheader vs. Missouri. Missouri went up 8-3 and had all the momentum in Rhoads Stadium that evening. Then, Alabama fought back, not allowing another run and scoring 11 of their own to take the win 14-8. It was at this point the defining word for this team was tenacity.

As the book closes on the season, that will be something that will define the next few Alabama teams. Schroder, Hardy, Dykes and Gettins will all depart Alabama this year to graduate, but a lot of the key pieces will remain.

If we have just one player to be really excited about, it’s Montana Fouts. The SEC Freshman of the Year came up the be the ace for Alabama this year in a great pitching rotation. That was just in her first year here. Imagine what she will be able to do in the next three years.

An early prediction: Alabama Softball won’t expect anything less than a Championship Series in the next year. The expectation is one thing, but Alabama also will have the talent and the tenacity to back it up. If Alabama and Oklahoma play again as top-seeded teams next year, it will be a very different team than what Oklahoma saw this year. Alabama will be back in Oklahoma City this time next year.