Alabama knocked off Tennessee to secure a surprise bid to the Women’s College World Series, and the Crimson Tide did it with pitching. So far, pitching remains Alabama’s heartbeat. Scoring runs has proven to be much more challenging.
The Tide were held to just one run in their College World Series opener against UCLA, and the offense didn’t look much better in a 2-1 win over Duke to send the Blue Devils packing on Friday.
Pitching has been enough to place Alabama among the last six teams standing, but a trip to the semifinals might require a breakthrough performance from the Crimson Tide lineup against a tougher opponent on Sunday. They matchup against No. 4 Florida, which is coming off a 10-0 loss to No. 1 Texas on Saturday. The Gators have a potent offense, but they haven’t quite found their groove thus far at the Women’s College World Series.
Florida has scored just one run in two games and now enters an elimination game vs. Alabama. The Gators will need their offense to wake up if they expect to keep their season alive.
Four different Florida pitchers saw action on Saturday against Texas, but only Ava Brown pitched multiple innings. Keagan Rothrock, who was pulled after 14 pitches, will likely see more time against Alabama.
Only one team will walk away from Sunday’s elimination game with its title hopes still alive, setting up a tense showdown in Oklahoma City.
The Sporting News is tracking live scoring updates and highlights from Sunday’s Women’s College World Series showdown between Alabama and Florida. Follow along with all of the key moments below.
MORE: Watch Women’s College World Series games live with Fubo (free trial)
Alabama vs. Florida softball live score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | F | |
| Florida | 0 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Alabama | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Alabama vs. Florida results, highlights from Women’s College World Series
(All times Eastern).
6:47 p.m. Florida scoring play: The Gators respond right away. Erickson crushes a single to the right-center gap to drive home Wallace and move Otis to third. Alabama 1, Florida 1
6:46 p.m.: Otis walks and the Gators are in business with runners on first and second and only one away.
6:43 p.m.: Successful challenge for Florida as Wallace is changed to safe.
6:40 p.m.: Avery Goelz grounds out to second to start the frame, followed quickly by a groundout from Wallace. However, Tim Walton challenges the out call on Wallace’s grounder.
6:36 p.m. End of second: Heivilin pops out to third, but the damage was done as the Crimson Tide take the 1-0 lead.
6:34 p.m. Alabama scoring play: Rothrock got the grounder she wanted, but Riley Valentine’s groundball to shortstop is so slow there’s no chance to turn the double play. Valentine is thrown out at first, but Dowling scores and Johnson moves up to second with two outs. Alabama 1, Florida 0
6:33 p.m.: Esman hits a liner right at Williams at second for the first out.
6:31 p.m.: Major mistake in the outfield as a routine fly ball is dropped by Falby after she and Kistler started to close in on one another. She reaches second base on the error. Jenna Johnson follows that up by singling up the middle to put runners on the corners with no one out.
6:27 p.m. End top second: Mia Williams lifts a popup on the infield, and Lauren Esman makes the catch at first base for the third out.
6:26 p.m.: Kendra Falby slaps a grounder to third that’s handled by Bailey Dowling, though she doesn’t have a play at second and throws quickly to first for the second out.
6:24 p.m.: On the sixth pitch of her at-bat, Kowalewski grounds a base hit up the middle that gets just past the diving glove of Heivilin at second base.
6:21 p.m.: Katie Kistler puts a serious drive into a 1-1 offering, but White gets the glove just above the wall to make the snag and rob a potential go-ahead homer for the Gators.
6:18 p.m. End of first: Rothrock catches catcher Marlie Giles looking at strike three to pitch a 1-2-3 inning.
6:16 p.m.: Huge out for Keagan Rothrock as she gets Cahalan to chase a screwball that cuts down into the dirt.
6:15 p.m.: Kristen White attempts a leadoff bunt, but it is snagged in the air by third baseman Ariel Kowalewski for the out.
6:12 p.m. End top first: Gators can’t do anything with the hit as Kali Heivilin makes a nice diving stop on a grounder from Reagan Walsh. Heivilin flips the ball to Kenleigh Cahalan at short for the force out to retire the side.
6:11 p.m.: Jocelyn Erickson pops out to short as the Crimson Tide pick up the second out of the frame.
6:09 p.m.: Korbe Otis gets the Gators a baserunner as she lines a single up through the middle on a 1-2 count.
6:08 p.m.: Wallace hits a grounder to second, and she’s retired for the first out of the game.
6:07 p.m.: The first pitch to Skylar Wallace from Kayla Beaver is a strike, and this game is underway.
6:03 p.m.: For those looking for the broadcast of this game, it’s starting on ESPNews until the Texas-Louisiana regional game ends on ESPN2. ESPNews is available on Fubo, which offers a free trial, and a live stream of the game can be found on ESPN’s streaming service, ESPN+.
5:55 p.m.: Here’s a look at the two lineups for Florida and Alabama in Sunday’s matchup.
Sunday starting lineup ⤵️#GoGators | @TMobile pic.twitter.com/AehFypW8dT
— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) June 2, 2024
🆚Florida
📍Oklahoma City
⏰5 p.m. CT
📊https://t.co/BFKDsa3k4T
📻97.5 FM | Varsity App | https://t.co/x0jwlWn6Z9
📺ESPN2 | https://t.co/0gMtkGJMwr#Team28 #RollTide pic.twitter.com/iKd11WwTcs— Alabama Softball (@AlabamaSB) June 2, 2024
5:27 p.m.: Just over a half hour until the first of Sunday’s two games is slated to get started. Everything appears to be tracking for a 6 p.m. ET start of the contest.
2:15 p.m.: Bad weather in Oklahoma City has caused a three-hour delay. The Alabama-Florida game now will not start until 6 p.m. ET.
Session 5 is in a weather delay ⛈️#WCWS pic.twitter.com/XJJjkIAeOg
— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) June 2, 2024
1:55 p.m.: Florida is aiming to get back to the finals of the Women’s College for the first time since 2017, when the team fell to Oklahoma for the championship. Alabama has not played for a title since 2014 — which came against Florida. The Gators emerged victorious in that showdown over the Crimson Tide, the first of back-to-back championships for the program.
How to watch Alabama vs. Florida softball
- Start time: 6 p.m. ET
- TV channel: ABC
- Live stream: Fubo | ESPN+
Sunday’s Women’s College World Series matchup between Alabama and Florida was scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET, but due to the weather, it now won’t begin until 6 p.m. ET from Oklahoma City.
Alabama vs. Florida will air nationally on ABC. It can also be live streamed on either ESPN+ or Fubo, which offers a free trial.
Women’s College World Series schedule 2024
Here’s a look at the Women’s College World Series schedule, including game times and TV channels.
Sun., June 2
| Game | Matchup/Results | Time (ET) | TV/Live stream |
| Game 9 | Alabama vs. Florida | 6 p.m. | ABC, Fubo, ESPN+ |
| Game 10 | Stanford vs. UCLA | 9:15 p.m. | ESPN2, Fubo, ESPN+ |
Mon., June 3
| Game | Matchup/Results | Time (ET) | TV/Live stream |
| Game 11 | Oklahoma vs. Game 9 winner | Noon | ESPN, Fubo, ESPN+ |
| Game 12 (if necessary) | Game 11 rematch | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN, Fubo, ESPN+ |
| Game 13 | Texas vs. Game 10 winner | 7 p.m. | ESPN2, Fubo, ESPN+ |
| Game 14 (if necessary) | Game 13 rematch | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN2, Fubo, ESPN+ |
Wed., June 5
| Game | Matchup/Results | Time (ET) | TV/Live stream |
| WCWS Final Game 1 | TBD | 8 p.m. | ESPN, Fubo, ESPN+ |
Thu., June 6
| Game | Matchup/Results | Time (ET) | TV/Live stream |
| WCWS Final Game 2 | TBD | 8 p.m. | ESPN, Fubo, ESPN+ |
Fri., June 7
| Game | Matchup/Results | Time (ET) | TV/Live stream |
| WCWS Final Game 3 (if necessary) | TBD | 8 p.m. | ESPN, Fubo, ESPN+ |
