Grounds crew removes tarp at Devon Park, ESPN announces WCWS first pitch at 1:36 pm ET

The tarp is being lifted and live softball is right around the corner at the Women’s College World Series at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

After a weather delay prevented the first pitch from going off on time, we now know the game between Alabama and UCLA will begin at 12:36 p.m. local central time.

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You can see the tarp coming off in this video right here:

A positive sign as the tarp is coming off at Devon Park. #Rounding3rdSB #WCWS pic.twitter.com/GBxEzcNdcU

— Rounding Third Softball (@Rounding3rdSB) May 30, 2024

Alabama softball is in the Women’s College World Series for the second straight year and the third time in four seasons. UCLA is also in the WCWS for the third time in four years, although the Bruins missed out last season.

Other games slated to take place on Day 1 of the Women’s College World Series on Thursday include No. 2 seed Oklahoma against No. 10 seed Duke, No. 1 seed Texas against No. 8 seed Stanford and No. 4 seed Florida against No. 5 seed Oklahoma State.

Oklahoma enters the WCWS having won three consecutive national titles.

Alabama made history in last NCAA Tournament game

By Nick Schultz

Saturday afternoon, Alabama and Tennessee set a record for the longest Super Regional game in NCAA Tournament history. But it also set a new viewership mark.

The marathon contest averaged 1.08 million viewers, making it the most-watched softball Regional or Super Regional game in ESPN history, the network announced. All told, it took 14 innings before the Crimson Tide finally came away with the victory to force a decisive Game 3 in the Knoxville Super Regional.

It’s more positive momentum for ESPN, which was looking to continue its positive ratings momentum from the regular season – the most-watched campaign since 2015. Alabama also drew record numbers, with the Crimson Tide’s win over Arkansas bringing in 570,000 viewers to become the most-watched game of the year heading into the SEC Tournament.

Alabama struck first in Saturday’s matchup, but Tennessee answered back to make it a 1-1 game in the second inning. In the fourth, the two teams traded solo home runs to keep things tied at 2-2 – and those turned out to be the last runs for another 10 innings.

By going 14 innings, the game not only became the longest in Super Regional history, but also the longest NCAA Tournament contest between two SEC opponents since the 2011 Women’s College World Series. Appropriately, that game also featured Alabama in an eventual loss to Florida.

The Crimson Tide finally broke through in the 14th, though. That’s when Kristen White delivered the winning run on a walk-off single with the bases loaded, not only giving Alabama the 3-2 victory, but also forcing a decisive Game 3 with a spot in the WCWS on the line.