Nick Saban delivered a pep talk to the Alabama softball team, and it helped pave the way for a hard-earned Crimson Tide victory.
Alabama’s softball team was facing a tough challenge taking on 4-seed Texas A&M in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament on Thursday. Pitcher Alexis Osorio carried a no-hitter into the 7th, and she pitched all 10 innings of a 2-1 extra-innings win, striking out an SEC Tournament record 15.
A speech from Saban helped put the team in the right mindset before the game.
“Coach Saban came to talk to us and said, ‘Are you going to dominate for half a game, three-quarters, 58 minutes or 60 minutes,’” Alabama softball coach Pat Murphy shared after the game. “This was the first time he spoke to the whole team, because I said I’m waiting for a year when I really need him, and we really needed him this year.”
Alabama advanced to the semis of the tournament and should be in a good position to host a regional when the NCAA Tournament brackets are revealed.
Not only did Saban help the softball team out in a more immediate matter by giving them the pep talk, but he also helped in a broader sense because he assisted in the recruitment of Osorio, a star pitcher from Southern California. Osorio’s father is a football fan. Saban apparently is 4-for-4 in helping Murphy close out recruits, so he’s doing much more than just helping the football program at Alabama.
