Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy became the first softball coach in Southeastern Conference history to earn 500 conference wins, following a 4-0 shutout victory over Auburn on April 11. The win also secured the weekend road series for Alabama.
Murphy’s achievement is significant as no other SEC head softball coach has reached even 400 conference wins. In his 28 years as head coach of the Crimson Tide, he now holds an all-time SEC record of 500-205, serving in that role since the 1999 season.
Alabama improved its season record to 38-3 overall and 11-3 in SEC play with this win. The team posted its second consecutive shutout against Auburn and clinched its fifth straight conference series, marking the first time since 2014 that Alabama has won each of its first five SEC series. Pitcher Vic Moten threw a complete-game shutout—her fourth of the season—allowing just one hit and three walks.
Brooke Wells hit her seventeenth home run of the season during the third inning, placing her in a four-way tie for seventh place on Alabama’s single-season home run record list. Alexis Pupillo extended her reached-base streak to thirty-seven games with a double in the fifth inning.
Reflecting on his career after reaching this milestone, Murphy said: “This is the thirtieth year of Alabama softball and the coolest part about it is that I’ve been here from day one, two years as an assistant and twenty-eight as the head coach. I know every young woman who has played here, I know their families, I know what they’re doing now, where they’re working, the whole thing. It’s one of the biggest blessings of my life.”
The next game for Alabama will be at Auburn on Sunday.
