FLORENCE, Ala. (March 25, 2025) – For the second time in three seasons, the University of North Alabama softball team will host the nationally-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide at the Florence Sportsplex on Wednesday, March 26 at 6 p.m.
Below are the top things to know for Wednesday's game.
1. FIRST PITCH: The game between UNA and Alabama will begin at 6 p.m. Gates open at 4 p.m.
2. TICKETS: Fans can purchase tickets
at this link for $25. Fans are encouraged to buy their tickets ahead of time for a smoother experience. Tickets are purchasable by card only. Fans can also pre-pay for parking at the same link.
3. PARKING: Parking at the Florence Sportsplex is available for $12. Fans will enter off Co. Rd. 2, also known as Gunwaleford Road. Fans that purchase parking ahead of time can park closer to the entry gate in the pre-paid lots. These will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Fans that purchase parking on gameday will park in the next closest lots.
4. CONCESSIONS AND VENDORS: The Florence Sportsplex will have concessions available to fans and can be purchased with either cash or card. Additionally, Donut NV will be on site in a nearby parking lot.
5. LIVE MUSIC: As part of Wednesday's festivities, Shoals artists Gary Nichols and Austin Bohannon will perform a live set before the game, during the fifth inning stretch and post-game. The pre-game set begins during the start of batting practice at 4:45 p.m. The stage will be set up behind the centerfield wall. The live concert is presented by Clubtails.
6. AUTOGRAPHS: After the game, fans can head over to the postgame autograph session on the field down the first and third base lines.
7. GAME SPONSOR: The game's presenting game sponsor is First Southern Bank.
8. LIVE COVERAGE: The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with "Voice of the Lions"
Benjamin Ray and Ande Jones on the call. Live stats are also available at RoarLions.com. Fans can also follow the fun on social media via UNA Softball's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.
9. ABOUT THE LIONS: UNA enters with a 22-9 record, but look to shake a three-game losing skid after a tough weekend against Central Arkansas. The Lions lead the Atlantic Sun Conference in pitching with a 2.36 ERA while ranking second in hitting with a .312 team batting average. Senior
Hailey Jones is the team leader with a .413 average this season. The multi-time all-conference second baseman has over 200 career hits and owns a career batting average of .320. UNA has a trio of starting pitchers all under a 2.69 ERA, led by junior transfer
Emily Simon with a 1.74 ERA over 68.1 innings.
10. ABOUT THE TIDE: Alabama enters with a 22-12 record and is ranked No. 25 in the ESPN.com USA Softball poll. The Crimson Tide are 5-0 against in-state opponents this season with wins over UAB (twice), Samford, Jacksonville State and South Alabama. The Tide have dropped four of the last five to high-ranked teams, including series losses to No. 5 Texas A&M and No. 19 Mississippi State and a midweek loss to No. 9 Florida State. Freshman outfielder Audrey Vandagriff leads the offense with a .443 average and 43 hits. The Tide own a 2.76 ERA as a staff, led by sophomore Jocelyn Briski with 90.2 innings and a 2.55 ERA.
11. SERIES HISTORY: Alabama leads the series 5-0. This will be the sixth meeting since 2021. Three of the five meetings happened in Tuscaloosa, one took place at UAB last season and the other came at the Florence Sportsplex in 2023.
12. 2023 REWIND: The first time Alabama visited UNA at the Florence Sportsplex was on March 14, 2023. The Lions led 1-0 heading into the fourth inning, but Alabama rattled off five runs to take the lead. UNA scored again in the sixth to make it 5-2 and got the tying run to the plate in the seventh, but star pitcher Montana Fouts entered and earned the save. Over 4,000 fans attended the game for the largest-attended softball game in UNA history.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
