Ashley Prange shares key to Alabama bouncing back after loss

Four-seed Tennessee (50-8) defeated five-seed Alabama (45-21) 10-5 during the opening game of the Women’s College World Series action Thursday afternoon.

A scoreless start led way to a four-run second inning set the tone for the Lady Vols’ opening victory. The Crimson Tide’s Ally Shipman and Kenleigh Cahalan drove in one RBI a piece before Tennessee opened its lead wide open and never looked back.

Now facing elimination, Alabama’s Ashley Prange revealed the key to the Tide keeping their season alive past Friday afternoon.

“I think building off the adversity we faced all year, it’s kind of in our team story from day one, coming out of the gate with the loss the first game of the season,” Prange said after the loss. “How well can we truly rely on each other and pick ourselves back up when we do get punched and how hard can we hit back in those moments?

“I think it’s something our team has taken a lot of pride in, is really kind of just I guess took pride in making it a staple of our team this year.”

Prange went 0-2 in the box Thursday afternoon, but drew two walks despite leading the team in batting average (.320). Amid Prange’s lack of hitting, Alabama still managed to score five runs off of seven hits. They ended up leaving five players on base across the end of multiple innings, which would have subtracted the difference in the final score.

Even though she is by far the Tide’s biggest home run threat with 16 on the season, Prange can’t help but notice the pressure of college softball’s biggest stage. Unable to record a base knock in game one, she’s due for a big outing during Friday’s win-or-go-home game two.

“I never made it out of a regional before, so all of this has been kind of new and something different to take in,” Prange said. “I’m super, super excited and super grateful to be here with these girls. Like I always say, there’s nowhere else in the world I’d rather be than here.”

The Crimson Tide will take on a tough nine-seeded Stanford squad coming off a 2-0 loss to the top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners. The Cardinal played stout defense, holding OU scoreless through the first four and a half innings. First pitch of Friday afternoon’s game in Oklahoma City is set for 6 p.m. ET live on ESPN.