Alabama softball once again finds itself in a familiar position with its back against the wall. The No. 14 seed Crimson Tide opened up play in the Women’s College World Series with a 4-1 loss to No. 6 seed UCLA on Thursday in Oklahoma City.
The Tide will now play in an elimination game against No. 10 seed Duke on Friday at 6 p.m. CT. Alabama (38-19) will now need to win its next four games to advance out of the double-elimination stage of the tournament.
"We've been here before," Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy told reporters after the game. "Our backs have been against the wall, so it's no big deal. And we're going to fight like hell."
Ace pitcher Kayla Beaver stood tall in the circle for Alabama until making a fatal error with two outs in the bottom of the sixth when she left a ball up in the zone that UCLA’s Jordan Woolery belted for a three-run home run. Making her WCWS debut, Beaver threw 68 pitches, allowing all four runs while surrendering just four hits and striking out four batters over six innings.
"Beaver was awesome," Murphy said. "I thought her ball was really moving. I never did see miles per hour on the scoreboard, but it looked like it was fast. I thought she was in control of her emotions. It wasn't a rollercoaster. A lot of new kids played for the first time which is a great thing because we're going to be back."
UCLA (43-10) was finally able to rally against Beaver in its third time through the lineup.
Leadoff hitter Maya Brady led off the top of the sixth with a single before Jadelyn Allchin bunted her over to second. From there, Alabama elected to intentionally walk Bruins No. 3 hitter Sharlize Palacios to put runners on first and second with one out. Beaver was able to get Megan Grant looking for the second out. However, the Alabama ace allowed Woolery to lift her 1-1 pitch over the wall in left.
Despite out-hitting UCLA, 6-4, Alabama was once again hindered by its inability to string together success at the plate.
The Crimson Tide’s only real scoring chance came in the top of the fifth inning when it loaded the bases with one out for Lauren Johnson while trailing 1-0. After drawing a 3-0 count, Johnson popped up to second, leaving the bases loaded for Kenleigh Cahalan with two outs.
Cahalan was able to tie the game with a single to right. However, Alabama was limited to just one run as Kali Heivilin was easily thrown out at the plate after trying to score from second.
"I just felt we had to try to push the envelope a little bit," Murphy said of his decision to send Heivilin to the plate.
Murphy challenged the play at the plate, blindly hoping for some form of obstruction. However, none occurred on the play, and the replay confirmed the call on the field.
"You just have to try," Murphy said of his challenge. "But everything was by the book. It was a long shot, and I had a challenge, so what the heck."
The Tide entered the day with the lowest batting average (.252) in the WCWS but had runners reach base in each of the first six innings. Bailey Dowling led Alabama at the plate, going 2-for-3. However, she struck out swinging with two out and the potential go-ahead run at second base in the top of the sixth.
UCLA was able to get on the board first in the bottom of the third inning when Beaver hit Bruins No. 9 hitter Janelle Meonon with one out before giving up back-to-back singles to Brady and Allchin.
Alabama might have had a chance for a play at the plate when Allchin brought Meono home from second on a ground ball through the right side. However, right fielder Johnson didn’t field the ball cleanly, allowing the run to score easily and Brady to advance to third.
Still, Beaver was able to limit the damage, getting Palacios to ground out into an inning-ending double play.
Johnson replaced Larissa Preuitt after the starting right fielder left the game with a hamstring injury after legging out an infield single in the top of the first inning. According to Murphy, Preuitt entered the game with a slight hamstring injury and irritated it while running to first.
"I thought if she stayed in, she would have made it worse," Murphy said. "Hopefully, she's got a day for a little treatment. We'll see how it is tomorrow."
Alabama is no stranger to an elimination setting. The Tide dropped the opening game of its super regional series against No. 3 seed Tennessee last weekend before battling back for consecutive wins against the Volunteers to punch a ticket to the WCWS.
“We know how to play with our backs against the wall,” Dowling said. “There’s a lot of stuff on the line. And at the end of the day, the pressure is on them because, again, we weren’t even supposed to be here. So going off that, we can play free, enjoy the game and see what happens.”
