Alabama players explain how they will build off loss to UCLA

Alabama dropped its first game of the 2024 Women’s College World Series on Thursday, unable to overcome UCLA in the 4-1 loss.

After the game, head coach Patrick Murphy revealed the Crimson Tide’s mission for the rest of their stay in Oklahoma City, noting that they’ve faced elimination before: “We’re going to fight like hell.”

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“Like [head coach Patrick Murphy] said, we’ve been here before,” third baseman Bailey Dowling said postgame. Alabama lost its first game of the Knoxville Super Regional against Tennessee last weekend before besting the Volunteers on their home field during the next two days.

“It allows us to play more free than we already are. Nobody thinks or thought that we were even going to get here. Here we are. At this point we’re just having fun. We’re ready to win. Come out tomorrow and go get ’em.”

Dowling did her best to keep the Crimson Tide in the game down the stretch, recording two hits during her three plate attempts. She was the only player in the Alabama lineup that recorded more than one hit on the afternoon. Perhaps her performance could be a catalyst for a stronger performance from the rest of the lineup on Friday.

“We were in this situation last weekend,” Crimson Tide pitcher Kayla Beaver agreed. “We came back the next day fighting. We know how to play with our backs against the wall. There’s a lot of stuff on the line.

“At the end of the day, the pressure is on them. Again, we weren’t even supposed to be here. Going off that, we can play free, enjoy the game, see what happens.”

Looking ahead of Friday evening’s elimination matchup — the Crimson Tide will face Duke in a win-or-go-home scenario. Oklahoma, who is looking to win its fourth-straight national championship during the tournament, run-ruled the Blue Devils 9-1 in six innings on Thursday to advance in the Women’s College World Series.

As coach Patrick Murphy said, there is no bad day at the College World Series. Alabama will look to put its best foot forward beginning on Friday as the next time the Crimson Tide are on the losing end of a game — they’ll be heading back to Tuscaloosa empty-handed. It seems Murphy’s players understand the task at hand.

First pitch between the Crimson Tide and Blue Devils is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN2.