The ESPN No. 3 ranked Crimson Tide softball team brought home five wins from the Hibbett/Easton All-Alabama Classic on Feb. 11-13. Alabama bested Samford 8-0, Alabama A&M 18-0, Jacksonville State 6-0, South Alabama 6-0 and Troy 9-1, giving up only one run throughout the tournament.

The undefeated Tide is preparing for this weekend’s Bama Bash! season opener in Tuscaloosa on Feb. 18-20. The team is pulling out all of the stops for the first home games of the year, including the first ever use of their newly reconstructed front entrance and ticket booth.

“There’s just something about playing on your field,” head coach Patrick Murphy said. “You know the bounce, you know the backdrop, you know the lights, you know the sound system, you know the bullpen, and the girls get to sleep in their own beds. That’s the most important part of it. When you’re on the road there’s always a team bonding that happens but at home, their comfort is key.”

Despite the comfort level of the Tide this weekend, no one can deny Louisville’s status coming in as Alabama’s first real competition of the year. In their first tournament, the Cardinals picked up three wins at the 2011 Texas Classic but then fell to Texas in both games.

“They’re [Louisville] in a good conference,” Murphy said. “They usually place top three in the Big East. They’ve been to regionals probably seven years running. They’re just a very good team, a very good program overall. They will have good athletes and it will definitely be a good challenge for us.”

Another challenge for Alabama might prove to be the undefeated Syracuse. They took home the Georgia State Tournament title last weekend by beating Georgia State 13-1; Morehead State 9-0, 9-1 and Tennessee Tech 2-1. The Orange keeps consistent recognition in the Big East as well.

The Tide has been hard at work all week, sharpening its techniques for the faceoff ahead. Holding daily practices within Rhoads Stadium under clear skies has given the whole team a chance to get excited about playing at home for the first time this year.

“We always say our greatest competition is ourselves in the game so we’re just going to do our best and play our game,” sophomore Jackey Branham said. “We love playing in front of our fans, we’ve really been working hard, and it’s going to be a great weekend.”

Branham also said that the team works hard each day to become 1 percent better in practice than the day before and that the Tide has high expectations for this upcoming event.

Louisville (3-2), UTSA (2-3) and Syracuse (4-0) each get their chance to defeat the dynamic Tide (5-0) over the course of the weekend. The first pitch goes out at 2 p.m. when Louisville plays Syracuse at Rhoads Stadium on Friday Feb. 18.

“You can never count anyone out,” Murphy said. “There’s no such thing as an easy win.”