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As Patrick Murphy celebrated Alabama softball's third Women's College World Series trip in four years, he looked back.
He started at the beginning, before the 60 wins, before the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Murphy knows this roster and coaching staff better than anyone, listing off a handful of attributes he said has defined the Crimson Tide from Day 1.
"This team has just been unbelievably selfless," Murphy said. "They've been full of gratitude, they've been hard working, gritty. I mean, all the words that you love as a coach, this has been this team."
RHOADS STADIUM: How Alabama softball’s home-field edge starts outside Rhoads Stadium
Alabama showed that grit over six-and-a-half hours and multiple rain delays, securing the Tuscaloosa Super Regional sweep against LSU with a pair of games that never were truly competitive.
These list of intangibles define who Alabama has been, and who the Crimson Tide plans to be in Oklahoma City. To Murphy, no player represents who Alabama wants to be in the Women's College World Series more than Larissa Preuitt.
Murphy said she is Alabama's glue. Her long-term legacy is secured, one built over four years and three Women's College World Series appearances.
But to Preuitt, she feels she's one of many.
"This has been the most fun year for me, and I think the biggest thing that stands out to me is just like how everybody has bought into the team. There's been no selfishness, and I think that it really does matter, like being on the mound or being in the box. Like knowing that's 21 on one, and I think that's a huge role in this team's success."
Murphy isn't one to jinx anything. And he didn't after Alabama softball earned its latest trophy. Any team can beat any team. But those attributes, those intangibles he says Preuitt represents, seem to be a recipe that's working, even if it's not what Murphy is focused on.
"When we go to the World Series, it's like icing on the cake," Murphy said. "There's no such thing as a bad day at the Women's College World Series. There isn't. So we are going to have the most fun we've ever had in our 16 trips."
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: How Alabama softball feels about Women's College World Series berth
Continue reading...
He started at the beginning, before the 60 wins, before the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Murphy knows this roster and coaching staff better than anyone, listing off a handful of attributes he said has defined the Crimson Tide from Day 1.
"This team has just been unbelievably selfless," Murphy said. "They've been full of gratitude, they've been hard working, gritty. I mean, all the words that you love as a coach, this has been this team."
RHOADS STADIUM: How Alabama softball’s home-field edge starts outside Rhoads Stadium
Alabama showed that grit over six-and-a-half hours and multiple rain delays, securing the Tuscaloosa Super Regional sweep against LSU with a pair of games that never were truly competitive.
These list of intangibles define who Alabama has been, and who the Crimson Tide plans to be in Oklahoma City. To Murphy, no player represents who Alabama wants to be in the Women's College World Series more than Larissa Preuitt.
Murphy said she is Alabama's glue. Her long-term legacy is secured, one built over four years and three Women's College World Series appearances.
But to Preuitt, she feels she's one of many.
"This has been the most fun year for me, and I think the biggest thing that stands out to me is just like how everybody has bought into the team. There's been no selfishness, and I think that it really does matter, like being on the mound or being in the box. Like knowing that's 21 on one, and I think that's a huge role in this team's success."
Murphy isn't one to jinx anything. And he didn't after Alabama softball earned its latest trophy. Any team can beat any team. But those attributes, those intangibles he says Preuitt represents, seem to be a recipe that's working, even if it's not what Murphy is focused on.
"When we go to the World Series, it's like icing on the cake," Murphy said. "There's no such thing as a bad day at the Women's College World Series. There isn't. So we are going to have the most fun we've ever had in our 16 trips."
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: How Alabama softball feels about Women's College World Series berth
Continue reading...
