Despite a disappointing 7-1 loss to Texas in Saturday's SEC Tournament Championship Game, Alabama softball still managed to grab the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Softball Tournament for the first time since 2010.
But that's the extent of the favors done for the Crimson Tide by the selection committee.
Despite being the No. 1 overall seed, the committee tossed several treacherous landmines in front of Alabama's path to the Super Regionals.
Joining the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa this weekend will be Southeastern Louisiana, Belmont, and USC Upstate. That might not look like a murderer's row of opposition in the Regional round, but Southeastern Louisiana and Belmont have two of the best pitching staffs in the country, ranking 4th and 5th, respectively, in team ERA nationally.
Belmont and Southeastern Louisiana are scary Regional opponents for No. 1 Alabama
Belmont features arguably the best pitcher in the country in Maya Johnson, who led the nation with a ridiculous 0.66 ERA on the season. She put together a 27-2 record and is the type of pitcher who can blow up a Regional bracket all on her own.
Obviously, the competition Johnson faced at Belmont on a night-to-night basis wasn't the same as what Jocelyn Briski and Alabama faced, but she did face off against two SEC opponents in Georgia and Tennessee this year and posted this combined stat line:
13.0 innings, 13 hits, 1 ER, 1 BB, 23 SO
Southeastern Louisiana also has a pitcher in the Top 5 in the country in ERA in Cera Blanchard. She comes to Tuscaloosa for this weekend's Regional matchup with a 1.08 ERA, which ranks 3rd in the country.
Alabama is battle-tested and brings an elite pitching staff of its own into the Regional. The Tide ranks 2nd in the country in Team ERA this season, led by its pair of aces in Briski and freshman phenom Vic Moten.
But the selection committee certainly didn't make things easy on Alabama, and putting three of the country's Top 5 teams in ERA in the same regional was certainly a choice.
Murphy's team is going to have to bring its best. This draw won't be a cakewalk. Briski and Moten will have to be sharp, and Alabama can't afford any missed opportunities when it has chances to plate runs against some of the nation's best arms.
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