The Alabama softball team has hosted an NCAA regional in every year since 2005, but a home regional is not a certainty this season.
The Crimson Tide fell two spots to No. 16 in the official NCAA RPI (ratings percentage index) rankings released by the NCAA on Monday. The RPI, which is derived from a formula that includes a team’s record, the record of its opponents and the record of its opponents’ opponents, is a criteria used by the committee that chooses participants and seeds teams for the 64-team NCAA Tournament field. The top 16 seeds will host regionals.
Another criteria that might not play in Alabama’s favor is how teams have performed over their last 10 games, with UA going 5-5 heading into Monday night’s game against Ole Miss.
Alabama is 7-9 against teams ranked in the Top 25 of the two major polls. UA’s record breaks down to a 26-5 record at home, 9-8 on the road (before Monday night’s game at Ole Miss) and 4-0 at neutral sites.
Going into the series finale, Alabama carried a 39-12 record, 11-8 in SEC play. The 13th-ranked Crimson Tide split the first two games with the 20th-ranked Rebels, winning 2-0 and losing 1-0. The teams played a doubleheader on Saturday in Oxford, Mississippi, due to weather that was coming into the area on Sunday. Alabama was still fifth in the league standings going into Monday’s game.
Alabama will host No. 9 Auburn this weekend for a Friday-Sunday series to close out the regular season, then play in the SEC Tournament in Knoxville, Tennessee, next week.
