WCWS Preview: No. 4 Nebraska vs. No. 1 Alabama
OKLAHOMA CITY – No. 4 overall seed Nebraska softball (52-6) is going head-to-head with top-ranked Alabama (55-7) in the Women’s College World Series. In the winner’s bracket, the Huskers and Crimson Tide battle on Saturday, May 30 at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.
Nebraska advanced after winning a thrilling 10-inning late-night battle against No. 5 Arkansas. Hannah Coor‘s solo home run tied the game 3-3 in the bottom of the eighth. Ava Kuszak‘s two-run shot walked it off in the bottom of the 10th for a 5-3 victory.
The Husker clinched its first win at the WCWS since 2002. They tied the program record with 52 wins in a single season. Nebraska extended its win streak to a program-best 27 straight. They also set a new record with six NCAA Tournament wins and counting.
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Alabama Crimson Tide (55-7)
Season overview:
Alabama earned the No. 1 overall seed after going 19-5 in the top softball conference. They were the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament but fell to No. 4 Texas 7-1 in the championship.
Right-handed pitcher Jocelyn Briski is Alabama’s only NFCA First-Team All-American. She is the 2026 SEC Pitcher of the Year. Head coach Patrick Murphy was named the SEC Coach of the Year. First baseman Brooke Wells made the second team and utility player Alexis Pupillo is a third-team selection.
The Crimson Tide have two pitchers in the top 10 with ERAs of 1.37 (Briski) and 1.47 (Kaitlyn Pallozzi). They rank second nationally with a 1.51 team ERA. Nebraska is fourth with a 1.82 ERA. On offense, Alabama is hitting .325.
Path to OKC:
In the NCAA Tournament, Alabama outscored its five opponents 31-1. LSU was the only team to score in the Tuscaloosa Regional and Super Regionals. In the Supers, the Crimson Tide dominated LSU 7-0 and 4-1 to advance to its 15th WCWS.
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On Thursday, Alabama scored five runs after the fourth inning to beat No. 8 UCLA 6-3. Pupillo smashed a two-RBI homer in the fifth, and Wells added a three-RBI home run in the sixth to take a big lead. Briski allowed six hits, three runs and struck out nine in seven innings.
3 Takes: Nebraska starts WCWS with thrilling victory behind homer heroes, Frahm
Player to Watch: Brooke Wells and Alexis Pupillo
Alabama batters Wells and Pupillo have been on fire during the postseason. Their home runs were critical in the Crimson Tide’s win over the Bruins.
In the NCAA Tournament, Pupillo has seven RBIs, eight hits and is hitting .363. The senior from Crystal Lake, Ill. has hit a home run in three straight games. Wells also has seven RBIs in the NCAA Tournament. The All-SEC First Team pick has three games with two or more RBIs.
History with Nebraska:
Alabama leads the series with Nebraska softball 3-1. The teams haven’t met since 2014, when the Crimson Tide took down NU 2-0 in the NCAA Super Regionals at Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa. Alabama won game one 6-5 in 12 innings after the Huskers took an early 4-0 lead. The Tide claimed the series with a 2-1 victory.
The Huskers’ only win over Alabama was a 3-2 victory in 2002.
