No. 5 Alabama softball advances to super regionals, downs MTSU 1-0

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — For the 17th season in its last 18, Alabama is going to the NCAA Super Regional round. After being pushed to the brink after a brutal offensive showing, the Crimson Tide mustered up just enough offense to down the Blue Raiders 1-0.

The Blue Raiders forced a winner-take-all Game 7 after they defeated Alabama 4-1 earlier on Sunday. In the first game of the doubleheader, Alabama turned to Laura Esman in the circle in lieu of the injured Montana Fouts. In the senior's debut outing of the Tuscaloosa Regional, she allowed four runs on nine hits before being chased in the fifth inning.

Alex Salter came in relief but it was too much of an obstacle to overcome as MTSU's pitcher Gretchen Mead kept the Alabama offense off-balance, yielding just one run on five hits.

Here are a few takeaways from Sunday's regional finale.

Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy "didn't know what the hell to do" when his team wasn't playing during the final week of May. After a run of 16-straight super regional appearances, the Crimson Tide crumbled against Stanford losing both games on elimination Sunday. It marked the first time in program history the team didn't advance to the next round after hosting regionals.

"It feels really good to be back because it's almost like that's where we're supposed to be," Murphy said. "You did it for so long, for so many years, the only school to play in every single one except for last year and I felt so lost. ... I'm very happy that we're back to the next weekend. It's not gonna get any easier but it just feels like we're in the right spot."

The Crimson Tide's falter to the Cardinal was a piece of motivation for the entire team, especially the seniors. After the team's 4-1 loss earlier in the day, Ally Shipman said the team knew what it needed to do to ensure what happened in 2022 didn't become a new trend.

"We knew what it felt like from last year," Shipman said. " ... I knew this could have been my last game and so I really wanted to give it everything that I had and I know that everybody else on the team felt that and they all knew."

Alabama will host super regionals for the first time since 2021 and will host Northwestern when play begins on May 25

A lot can happen in the span of three minutes and the Alabama catcher proved it on Sunday. Shipman had two of Alabama's key plays both of which came in the sixth inning or later.

In the bottom of the sixth, MTSU got its lead-off hitter, Shelby Echols, on base with a single. Echols is one of the Blue Raiders' quickest base runners, swiping stolen 27 bases this season which is the second-high mark on the team. Needing to desperately get a runner into scoring position, Echols attempted to steal second only to see Alabama shortstop Kenleigh Cahalan's glove impeding her progress. The throw from Shipman was right on time and in the perfect spot as Cahalan tagged Echols out at second.

The senior then followed with the play that would ultimately send Alabama to the next round, sending the first pitch of her at-bat over the left field wall for the team's lone run of the game. It was Shipman's sixth long ball of the season and her first since the LIU game on Friday.

"I really wanted to do it for Jaala (Torrence)," Shipman said. "I mean she pitched a heck of a game out there. She was giving everything she had out there and as her catcher, I just wanted to be there for her. Going up to the box in that last inning there, I just really tried to hit a line drive. We were popping up a lot and I was just like, 'Cut the ball in half, cut the ball in half' and it ended up going out. I just tried to get on base and do something for her because she did a great job."

One of the major storylines for Alabama at the Tuscaloosa Regional is the emergence of Torrence. With Fouts' absence, it was Torrence who got the nod to start in key games and was the only Alabama pitcher to appear on all three days.

Torrence had another pitching masterclass in Game 7, shutting out the Blue Raiders after it tallied four runs on nine hits a mere hour before the weekend finale. She picked up her second shutout of the weekend and now has a streak of 18 scoreless innings.

"I've been feeling good this whole weekend," Torrence said. "I really wanted the ball, I wanted to get it done for this team and the seniors. To be able to do that was a blessing."

The Dothan, Alabama's scoreless streak started against LIU where she picked up her sixth career shutout against the Sharks. Once she found her rhythm on Friday, she was almost unhittable, retiring 12 consecutive batters before yielding a double in the sixth inning. Torrence used her shutout to propel her to a dominating relief outing against MTSU on Saturday. After Alex Salter struggled through 2 1/3 innings, Torrence came into the game with the bases loaded, needing to limit the damage.

She allowed a two-RBI single to the first batter she faced, both of which went unearned, but after that, she was able to strand two runners on base and then slam the door for the remaining four innings.

"It was huge," Murphy said. "I can't tell you how big that is honestly. ... She's continued to improve, she's continued to work, she wasn't a Debbie Down when she didn't get her shots. She just continued to work and obviously, it paid off."