Alabama
No. 1 Alabama Outlasts No. 8 UCLA with Big Blasts from Pupillo, Wells
OKLAHOMA CITY–– UCLA’s home run power made headlines all season, but it was Alabama’s super sluggers who stepped up in the biggest moments on the biggest stage during the Crimson Tide’s opening game of the Women’s College World Series.
No. 1 Alabama was trailing by two runs heading into the fifth inning of Thursday’s game before Alexis Pupillo tied it up with a two-run shot in the bottom of the frame.
The Tide had struggled with runners in scoring position all game, but when Alabama’s home run leader Brooke Wells stepped to the plate with two on in the sixth inning, she made sure that wasn’t going to happen again. In her first ever game at the WCWS, Wells hit one over the right field wall to give Alabama a three-run lead.
That score would hold as No. 1 Alabama beat No. 8 UCLA 6-3 to move into the winners’ bracket at the WCWS.
The moment meant a lot for Wells after she went without a hit during the super regional round against LSU. The team rallied around her, and head coach Patrick Murphy put a card in her locker at the beginning of the week.
“It was great to do it for these girls,” Wells said after the game. “These girls are so great. They had my back all last weekend, you know, how he said. It wasn’t the best weekend for me, but they never lost trust in me, they never lost faith in me. Murph gave me a card, the girls picked me up all weekend. I walked in here feeling as confident as ever. Didn’t really cross my mind anything that happened last weekend.”
YAMMMMMMM 💪@AlabamaSB x @NCAASoftball /ESPN pic.twitter.com/36qxbyXpts
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) May 29, 2026
This is the first trip to the World Series for both Wells and Pupillo as transfers into Alabama. Pupillo is in her final season and has now hit a home run in three straight postseason games and is up to 20 on the season.
“This is the moment that I’ve been waiting for since I was like eight years old,” Pupillo said. “I walked through the gates today, I kind of started tearing up for a second because it just felt surreal. I just remember watching Montana Fouts pitch in the World Series when she threw the perfect game. That moment of me when I was eight years old watching it on the TV, man, I really want to do that.”
Pupillo with the POWER 💪 TIE BALL GAME #WCWS x 🎥 ESPN / @AlabamaSB pic.twitter.com/PtZCu0wOF6
— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) May 29, 2026
Alabama junior ace Jocelyn Briski shut down the UCLA batting order the first time through, but the Bruins bats wouldn’t stay down for long. UCLA rallied for three runs on four hits, including two home runs, in the third inning to take a 3-1 lead.
She did not allow another run to the potent UCLA offense over the next four innings. Briski finished with nine strikeouts against a team that does not strike out much.
“You could see they hit two home runs, we hit two home runs, but the ability to come up with those timely hits with runners on obviously makes a difference,” UCLA coach Kelly Inoyue-Perez said after the game.
Coming into the matchup, Alabama knew UCLA would score. It just wanted to limit the damage, and Briski was able to do that.
Jena Young set the tone for the offense at the top of the lineup, reaching base four times with three hits. She scored in the first inning on an RBI-single from Alabama’s senior captain Marlie Giles, Pupillo’s home run and on the Wells’ home run in the sixth inning.
Alabama (55-7) will face the winner of Thursday night’s game between No. 4 Nebraska and No. 5 Arkansas on Saturday. Winning the first game sets the tone for the rest of the series and makes the path a lot smoother. Around 90 percent of previous college softball national champions win their opening game at the WCWS.
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The SEC opponents for Alabama women’s basketball during the 2026-27 campaign has been officially revealed.
The Tide will face some of the top teams in all of women’s college basketball throughout SEC play this upcoming season. Alabama will face Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Missouri, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss and Texas A&M at home, with Ole Miss being the Tide’s only SEC opponent that they will face twice this year, both home and away. Alabama will be on the road for matchups against Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas as well.
The dates, start times, and television network for each will be revealed at a later date.
Alabama held a 7-9 record throughout SEC play last season. The Tide were widely regarded as one of the top teams in the nation despite struggling at times during conference play, and Alabama was able to make a run during the SEC Tournament with a shocking upset to the Tennessee Lady Vols in Nashville.
Alabama went 24-11 last season as a whole, but the Tide will undoubtedly need to play better during SEC play this year nonetheless.
Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.
Enjoy two nights of free dance at Stars on the Riverfront
Alabama Dance Theatre will present Stars on the Riverfront on June 20 and 21, at 7:30 p.m. each night at Riverwalk Amphitheater in Montgomery.
In Alabama’s coastal landscape, two Alabama bridges quietly stand among the longest in the United States.
A new World Atlas ranking of the 11 longest bridges in the United States is a reminder that not all crossings are so forgettable. These are the spans that stretch the idea of a “quick drive” into something else entirely.
As World Atlas notes, the country’s roughly 617,000 bridges are mostly routine. The ones on this list “swallow the horizon,” turning open water into a roadway that can take ten or fifteen minutes to cross.
Louisiana dominates the ranking, but Alabama also makes its presence known with two entries: the Jubilee Parkway and the General W.K. Wilson Jr. Bridge.
Jubilee Parkway: Alabama’s 7.5-mile bridge ranks No. 7 among longest in US
Ranked at No. 7 on World Atlas’ list, the Jubilee Parkway carries Interstate 10 across Mobile Bay as a pair of parallel viaduct bridges stretching 7.5 miles between Mobile and Spanish Fort/Daphne. Opened in 1978, the four-lane crossing is often called the “Bayway.”
The World Atlas says the bridge takes its name from Mobile Bay’s “jubilee” phenomenon, when marine life is pushed into shallow water, making it unusually easy to catch.
General W.K. Wilson Jr. Bridge: 6.08-mile span ranks No. 10 in U.S.
The General W.K. Wilson Jr. Bridge ranks No. 10 on the World Atlas list, stretching 6.08 miles across the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta northeast of Mobile as part of Interstate 65.
World Atlas says the bridge is better known locally as the “Dolly Parton Bridge,” a nickname inspired by the paired arch design that, locals say, resembles a distinctive silhouette when viewed from certain angles.
Completed in 1980, it features twin parallel weathering-steel arches and concrete viaducts carrying four lanes over the wide, marshy delta.
Longest bridges in the U.S. Full World Atlas ranking
World Atlas ranks these as the longest bridges in the U.S.:
- Lake Pontchartrain Causeway: 23.83 miles
- Manchac Swamp Bridge: 22.8 miles
- Louisiana Airborne Memorial Bridge: 18.2 miles
- Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel: 17.6 miles
- Bonnet Carré Spillway Bridge: 11 miles
- Louisiana Highway 1 Bridge: 8.26 miles
- Jubilee Parkway: 7.5 miles
- San Mateo-Hayward Bridge: 7 miles
- Seven Mile Bridge: 6.79 miles
- General W.K. Wilson Jr. Bridge: 6.08 miles
- Norfolk Southern Lake Pontchartrain Bridge: 5.8 miles
Jennifer Lindahl is a Breaking and Trending Reporter in Alabama for USA TODAY’s Deep South Connect Team. Connect with her on X @jenn_lindahl and email at jlindahl@usatodayco.com.
The iconic wooden roller coaster at Alabama Adventure & Splash Adventure is officially back in action, along with some seasonal deals. This Father’s Day, dads can get into the park for free to ride the restored coaster, Rampage.
It’s not the only attraction returning; this Halloween, Alabama Adventure is bringing back not one but two haunted houses for the first time since the late 2000s.
If you can’t wait until then, the Bessemer park will be open late on Saturdays and end with a pop of color. Adventure Summer Nights will have the park open until 9:30 p.m. once a week with a fireworks show to round off the night.
And as an apology to their loyal visitors, people who bought a daily ticket before June 10 are welcome to come back and try their new and improved attractions for free. If you’re a season pass holder, don’t feel left out—pass holder discounts are doubled for the month of July.
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