There was high drama Sunday in Tuscaloosa when No. 5 overall seed Alabama needed 14 innings across two games against Middle Tennessee State to decide the Tuscaloosa regional of the NCAA softball tournament.

After an afternoon loss, a seventh-inning solo home run by Ally Shipman broke a scoreless tie and gave Alabama the 1-0 win it needed to advance to the NCAA super regionals.

That series will begin Friday night in Rhoads Stadium with a 7 p.m. CT start against No. 12 overall seed Northwestern, the NCAA announced after Sunday’s regionals were completed. That game will air on ESPNU.

The best-of-three series will continue Saturday at 8 p.m. CT, and if a third game is necessary, it will take place Sunday at a time to be announced.

After losing its regional last season for the first time since 2004 and narrowly escaping this season’s regional, Alabama is looking to return to the Women’s College World Series for the first time since 2021. A series win over Northwestern would put the Tide in the eight-team field in Oklahoma City beginning June 1.

Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.