Alabama Softball 2006 Season Wrap-Up
6/9/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
It was 10 years in the making for the Crimson Tide softball program, as a year long celebration culminated in a dream season for the 18 players on the Alabama softball team.
As the program celebrated legend after Alabama softball legend all season long, the team kept picking up win after win on the diamond, sending the celebration into early June with the program’s second consecutive appearance in the Women’s College World Series and the fourth in seven years.
When the curtains opened on the 2006 season for the Alabama softball team, there were few league coaches giving the Crimson Tide a chance in the SEC as Alabama didn’t receive a single vote to win the regular season title.
The Tide jumped out to a quick start picking up championships in the Bama Bash!, Dunkin’ Donuts Invitational and Crimson Classic while also claiming victories over fifth ranked and defending national champion Michigan and eventual NCAA tournament participants Florida Atlantic, Georgia Tech, Long Island, Mississippi Valley State and Missouri State.
Conference season came around and Alabama responded to its critics with a 15-0 start in league play. The Tide led the SEC race from wire to wire, finally nailing down its first SEC Championship on May 5 with a 7-0 victory at Arkansas. Alabama went on to sweep the series with the Lady Razorbacks and finish with a program best 25-4 league record.
Along the way to its first league title, the team picked up a three-game series sweep of second ranked Tennessee and series victories over eighth-ranked Georgia and 19th ranked Auburn.
Momentum stayed with the Tide into the postseason as Alabama claimed five straight victories in NCAA Regional and Super Regional play including a doubleheader sweep of seventh ranked Stanford in the Tuscaloosa Super Regional.
The World Series run capped off spectacular careers for seniors Dominique Accetturo, Staci Ramsey and Stephanie VanBrakle. The trio finished with three WCWS appearances, the most of any Alabama senior class, a 211-67 record (.759) including a 108-23 mark (.824) at home, and four All-American honors.
“Coming to the World Series is everybody’s dream,” said Ramsey. “For us, it was a goal every year and we accomplished it three times and no other seniors at Alabama can say that they did what we did. We tried our hardest and we tried to do the best that we could.”
While the senior class may have been small in number, it’s their presence that head coach Patrick Murphy feels the team will miss the most.
“It’s not necessarily the talent that’s leaving, but the personalities,” said head coach Patrick Murphy. “All three of them have a gift of including everybody on the team in everything ?? nobody is an outsider. They have a special way of interacting with their teammates. This is the last time I can say this, but we don’t have any Californians on our team and next year we do. We’ll have three new kids coming in and we’ll lose three great kids. The junior class will have to step up again. They (did) a great job this year and they’re going to have to do it again next year.”
The 2007 team looks to be in pretty good hands with 14 returning letter winners combining with four newcomers (one redshirt freshman) to defend the Tide’s SEC Championship.
