Patrick Murphy and Alabama softball got a double-dose of good news at the SEC softball tournament on Thursday.
Not only did the Crimson Tide look dominant in a 7-1 takedown of No. 5 Arkansas, with Jocelyn Briski holding a potent Razorbacks lineup to just three hits and Alabama launching four home runs in a statement victory, but it got a helping hand from Georgia.
The Bulldogs took down No. 1 Oklahoma, the SEC regular season champions, clearing Alabama's path to a tournament title and the potential No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Alabama has a clear path to the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament
It likely comes down to whether Alabama can take care of business over the next two days to determine whether they'll end up as the top seed in the NCAA Tournament. No matter what, the Tide's path to Oklahoma City will run through Tuscaloosa in both the Regionals and Super Regionals.
The Crimson Tide will face off against Florida at 4pm CT on Friday in the SEC Tournament semifinals. A win would propel them to the championship game on Saturday at 4pm CT against the winner of Texas and Georgia.
Alabama would have a strong case to be the top overall seed with a win over Florida, regardless of what happens on Saturday. Murphy's squad sits at 48-6 overall and is No. 2 in the NCAA's RPI metric. It just knocked off the only team that was ahead of them on Thursday with the 7-1 win over Arkansas.
The SEC is the top league for softball with six teams ranking inside the Top 10 in RPI. Wins over Florida (No. 5) and Texas (No. 4) in back-to-back would erase any and all doubts about the Tide's status heading into the NCAA Tournament.
Regardless of how the next two days pan out, it's obvious that Murphy has a team capable of winning his second national title.
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