Alabama
Florida softball vs. Alabama: Prediction for Women’s College World Series SEC showdown
The Gators will be playing for their season Sunday afternoon in Oklahoma City vs Alabama. Can Florida advance to the semis for the first time since 2017?
Two words will characterize the coming hours for Florida softball:
Quick turnaround.
If you expand it to three, another phrase comes to mind:
Flush it out.
That’s the boat the Gators find themselves in after their 10-0 loss to Texas in the second round of the Women’s College World Series on Saturday night in Oklahoma City.
The loss moved UF into the losers bracket, where it will face No. 14 Alabama Sunday at 3 p.m.
The Tide are riding high after staving off elimination of their own Friday night with a 2-1 win over Duke.
Here’s the keys to victory, along with a prediction:
Florida softball must rely on the past
Florida’s biggest asset this season has been its ability to bounce back from losses. It lost back-to-back games just once this season, to USF and then twice to Missouri April 10-13.
When UF suffered its most recent run-rule loss — 12-3 to FSU on April 24 — the Gators bounced back with an 11-6 win over Georgia.
More recently, Florida responded well after its 5-2 loss last Saturday to Baylor in the super regionals.
The squad spoke after that game about lessons learned from defeats, and that showed the following day with a 5-3 win over the Bears that sent UF to Oklahoma City.
Now, UF must dig into that bag of tricks once more.
“I think we’re going to control the vibes, keep the vibes loose, have fun,” Skylar Wallace said after Saturday’s loss. “We really have nothing to lose at this point. You just have to play softball.”
Avoid first inning troubles from Rothrock
When Tim Walton addressed the media postgame Saturday night, he said something obvious to most Gator fans about Keagan Rothrock.
“Typically when she goes good, she goes good. When she goes bad, she goes bad,” he said.
That idea reared its head Saturday when the freshman allowed two runs and three hits in the first before Walton pulled her in favor of Ava Brown.
That proved similar to the previous Saturday, when Rothrock was pulled in the first following three runs given up vs Baylor.
The next day, she made it through the first unscathed and pitched a beauty.
The same occurred Thursday in Florida’s eventual 1-0 win over Oklahoma State.
The opportunity is there Sunday vs a Bama offense that’s scored just three runs in two WCWS games. Rothrock just needs to take advantage.
Florida softball vs Alabama prediction
Florida 5, Alabama 3
After Saturday’s loss, UF faces a tall task to advance to its first championship series since 2017 as it must win three in a row.
I don’t see the road ending Sunday.
As mentioned, the Gators have shown a knack for recovering from losses. Rothrock should bounce back vs a Tide offense, and while Kayla Beaver is a phenomenal pitcher, Alabama isn’t the buzz saw that Texas or Oklahoma State is.
Wallace admitted that Bama is better than when UF won two of three from the Tide in mid-March.
But she acknowledged the Gators are better too, and that’ll show Sunday.
“We’re familiar with each other. We have a lot of film. We can reflect on that, see our goods, our bads, what can lead to us a good game plan and approach,” Wallace said.
Noah Ram covers Gainesville-area high school sports and University of Florida athletics for The Gainesville Sun. Contact him at Nram@gannett.com and follow him @Noah_ram1 on Twitter.
Alabama
Kevin Turner Prattville YMCA Golf Tournament welcomes Auburn, Alabama players as guest hosts
PRATTVILLE, Ala. (WSFA) – One of the most anticipated golf tournaments of the year happens Monday — the 29th annual Kevin Turner Prattville YMCA Golf Tournament.
This year’s guest hosts are both placekickers — former Alabama kicker Michael Proctor and current Auburn kicker Alex McPherson.
Proctor, a Pelham High graduate, came to the Crimson Tide in 1992, a year after Turner was drafted by the Patriots. But he still remembers the Prattville native’s infectious personality that resonated with teammates. “I had heard about the tournament through the years,” Proctor said. “It’s a big deal. Kevin is a big deal. When he was playing here, and even after his unfortunate passing, he’s well remembered and respected. Anything I can do to help anything in his name, I would be willing to do. I met him when I was there. He came back, obviously knowing people on the team that he had played with. Anything I can do for his name … I’m sure anybody at Alabama or anybody that knew him would be willing to do anything for him because he would do the same for you.”
McPherson, a Fort Payne High graduate, came to Auburn in 2022, weathered an inflammatory bowel disease that sidelined him in 2024, and is now preparing for his fifth year as the Tigers’ kicker. And even though he never knew Turner personally, he’s looking forward to the tournament.
“I’m honored,” McPherson said. “I heard what the tournament was about, Kevin and his story. I heard that one of the former Alabama kickers was going to be in the tournament and that they would love to have a kicker from Auburn. They thought that I would be a great fit.”
Proctor was recruited as one of the nation’s top prep kickers and went through a high school and collegiate career where he made 184 of 185 extra points. He kicked a then-record 60-yard field goal at Pelham and nine of his 26 field goals were longer than 50 yards. He finished a four-year career as the Crimson Tide’s second leading scorer with 326 points, earning All-American honors in 1993 and 1994 after winning a national championship in 1992 and returning as the Southeastern Conference’s top kicker a year later.
McPherson was recruited as one of the nation’s top kickers and kicked a record 61-yard field goal in high school before joining the Tigers. Like Proctor, his breakout year came as a sophomore (in 2023) where he made 13 of 13 field goal attempts and 40 of 40 extra point attempts in becoming a Lou Groza Award semifinalist.
Turner went through a five-year battle with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), which was triggered by CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), a disease that hits home with many collegiate players from that era who witnessed it first with Turner and more recently with former Tide running back Kerry Goode.
The tournament helps fund the “Coach A Child Scholarship Fund Campaign” which provides financial aid to make YMCA services available to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay.
The Prattville YMCA has provided financial aid to more than 3,300 people, many of them children, at a cost of more than $400,000. This year, the goal is to raise $285,000 for the Coach A Child Fund Campaign.
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Alabama
Alabama softball No. 1 overall seed in NCAA Tournament: Who does Tide play?
Alabama softball is the cream of the crop heading into the 2026 NCAA softball tournament, cemented as the No. 1 overall seed for the first time in 16 years.
The Crimson Tide’s ranking means it will host a regional and, if it advances, a super regional. The regional field will consist of USC Upstate (36-21), Belmont (40-11) and SE Louisiana (46-14).
The Tuscaloosa Regional is double-elimination. Action will run through May 15-17 on SEC Network.
It marks the 27th straight NCAA Tournament appearance for Alabama and the 21st-straight season it is hosting a regional at Rhoads Stadium, not including the canceled 2020 season. The Crimson Tide has advanced to the Women’s College World Series 15 times and is looking to do so for the first time in two years.
Alabama has one national championship, which came in 2012.
Alabama is coming off a championship game loss in the SEC Tournament. Seven unanswered runs led to a 7-1 fall to Texas, securing the Longhorns their first SEC Softball Tournament title during their second year in the conference on Saturday, May 9.
Friday, May 15
- Game 1: Alabama vs. USC Upstate, noon CT
- Game 2: Belmont vs. SE Louisiana, 2:30 p.m. CT
Saturday, May 16
- Game 3: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, TBD
- Game 4: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, TBD
- Game 5: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 3 Loser, TBD
Sunday, May 17
- Game 6: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, TBD
- Game 7: Game 6 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser (if necessary), TBD
Amelia Hurley covers high school and college sports for The Tuscaloosa News and USA TODAY Network. You can find her on X at ameliahurley_ or reach her at ahurley@usatodayco.com.
Alabama
Alabama mom sentenced to life for hiring hitman to kill her child’s father over custody dispute
An Alabama woman was sentenced to life in prison Friday after authorities said she hired a hitman to kill her child’s father in a custody dispute.
Jaclyn Skuce, 43, of Madison, was convicted of capital murder after hiring a man to kill the child’s father in order to prevent him from gaining custody or further visitation, the Morgan County District Attorney’s Office said.
The Hartselle Police Department was dispatched on July 24, 2020, to a residence for a welfare check after Anthony Larry Sheppard failed to appear in court for a scheduled custody hearing.
His attorney had asked officers to check on him, investigators said.
Upon arrival, police discovered Sheppard’s storm door shattered and the main door ajar.
Officers later found Sheppard dead with multiple gunshot wounds.
Investigators determined that Skuce hired Logan Delp to kill Sheppard in order to prevent him from gaining custody or further visitation with his child.
Prosecutors said Skuce used social media to hire the hitman, who lived in Hartselle, according to the Hartselle Enquirer. She allegedly offered to pay $30,000.
“There are never any winners in a case like this,” Chief Assistant District Attorney Garrick Vickery said following the verdict.
“This jury was incredibly thorough and took their time to make sure they made the right decision, both for Mr. Sheppard and for the defendant.”
Vickery added, “We are glad that they convicted her for the choice she made to take Mr. Sheppard away from his family.”
Skuce was found guilty of three counts of capital murder: murder for hire, murder of a witness, and murder committed by shooting into an occupied dwelling.
Four other defendants have been charged with capital murder in connection with Sheppard’s death.
Delp was convicted of capital murder in October 2025, the DA’s office said. Another defendant has pleaded guilty, and two others are awaiting trial.
Skuce will be imprisoned without the possibility of parole in the Alabama Department of Corrections.
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