OKLAHOMA CITY – Alabama softball opened play at the 2026 Women’s College World Series Thursday evening with a 6-3 win over UCLA, advancing to the winner’s bracket to face either Arkansas or Nebraska on Saturday, May 30 at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.
Thursday’s win marked the fifth time in Alabama (55-7) history and the first time since 2021 that the Crimson Tide won its opening game at the WCWS. Alabama held a potent UCLA (52-9) offense to three runs on a pair of homers, rallying back to take the lead with a pair of its own off the bats of Alexis Pupillo in the fifth inning and Brooke Wells in the sixth. Wells now has 24 home runs this season, two shy of Bailey Hemphill’s single-season record, while Pupillo notched her 20th to give the Tide its first pair of 20+ home run hitters in program history. SEC Pitcher of the Year Jocelyn Briski (24-3) threw her 16th complete game of the season, striking out nine batters.
From Head Coach Patrick Murphy
“I thought [Jocelyn] Briski did an incredible job of pitching through a little adversity and then stopping it. We knew they were going to get some hits. They have over 200 home runs now. She limited the damage, did not walk anybody and then the other key stat to me was no errors on defense. I thought it was a really well-played game. Gritty by our offense. I felt like we were just missing a couple early in the game, then Brooke [Wells] connected and so did [Alexis] Pupillo.”
From Sophomore Brooke Wells
“It was great to do it for these girls. These girls are so great. They had my back all last weekend. It wasn’t the best weekend for me, but they never lost trust in me, they never lost faith in me. I walked in here feeling as confident as ever. It didn’t really cross my mind, anything that happened last weekend.”
Highlights
- Thursday’s win marked the fifth time in program history and the first time since 2021 Alabama won its opening game at the Women’s College World Series
- Brooke Wells’ home run was her 24th of the season, putting her two shy of Bailey Hemphill’s single-season record
- Alexis Pupillo hit her 20th home run of the season, which ranks fifth in program history and gives the Crimson Tide two 20+ home run hitters in the same season for the first time in program history
- As a team, Alabama has hit 99 home runs this year and is now five shy of tying the single-season record
- Jena Young had a career-best three runs scored and season-high three hits from the leadoff spot
- Jocleyn Briski pitched her 16th complete game of the season
Scoring Summary
- B1 | Marlie Giles dropped an RBI single into shallow left (1-0, 2 Out)
- T3 | Rylee Slimp gave UCLA the lead with a two-run home run (1-2, 2 Out)
- T3 | Megan Grant followed Slimp with a solo homer (1-3, 2 Out)
- B5 | Alexis Pupillo tied the game with a two-run home run to right (3-3, 1 Out)
- B6 | Brooke Wells crushed a three-run home run to center field (6-3, 1 Out)
Up Next: Women’s College World Series (Oklahoma City)
- Saturday, May 30 vs. Arkansas/Nebraska winner – 6 p.m. CT – ESPN
