Every game counts.
That’s always true, but it’s especially true now for the Alabama softball team.
The Crimson Tide is ranked No. 17 in the country with 10 games to go in the regular season, starting with Wednesday night’s home game against Southern Miss. It is Alabama’s last non-conference outing of the season and for a team hopeful of hosting an NCAA regional for the 14th year in a row, it’s pretty much a must-win contest.
Alabama could ill afford a loss to the Golden Eagles, who are ranked 167th in the official NCAA Ratings Percentage Index rankings. The RPI is a key component used by the committee that selects and seeds the NCAA Tournament participants, and a loss to such a lowly-ranked opponent would negatively impact UA’s resume.
Alabama defeated Southern Miss, 11-1, on Feb. 16 in Hattiesburg, Miss.
Alabama lost two of three games at Arkansas last weekend and is looking to gather some momentum for the stretch run against highly-ranked league teams.
The Crimson Tide hosts Tennessee in a three-game series starting Saturday, visits Georgia and then closes out the regular season at home against Texas A&M – all three remaining SEC opponents are ranked in the top 10 nationally.
Southern Miss at No. 17 Alabama
Where: Rhoads Stadium
When: 6 p.m.
Records: Alabama 26-13, Southern Miss 16-29
TV: SEC Network
Radio: 93.3 FM
