Little less than an hour from first pitch at the Alabama Softball Complex.

Alabama in the batting cage starting its 30-minute warm-up right now.

Alabama will be wearing crimson tops and white pants, looks like. Missouri in white pants and still in black T-shirts right now. See some white jerseys with black numerals along the fence, so I'm guessing that's what they'll be wearing when the game starts.

Tide will be the visiting team on the scoreboard on the first-base visitors' dugout for first game, per NCAA rules. They'll do a coin flip for home team for Game 3, if it goes to that.

Alabama won 6-1 yesterday, if you missed it.

Staring lineups and batting orders:

Alabama
cf Brittany Rogers
lf Jordan Praytor
p Charlotte Morgan
1b Dani Woods
3b Kelley Montalvo
ss Kellie Eubanks
dp Lauren Parker (The Natural)
c Ashley Holcombe
2b Whitney Larsen
rf Katie Johnson

LHP Morgan is 16-2, 1.35 ERA

Missouri
cf Rhea Taylor
lf Julie Silver
1b Amanda Renth
3b Lindsey Ubrun
2b Andee Allen
p Jen Bruck
ss Abby Vock
rf Shana White
dp Meredith Nash
c Lisa Simmons

RHP Bruck is 17-9, 2.71 ERA

Interesting notes:
* Alabama now 8-0 against teams nicknamed Tigers after yesterday. Beat LSU 4 times and Auburn 3 times, Missouri once (so far0
* If Missouri wins, likely rematch between UA frosh Kelsi Dunne and Mizzou ace Stacy Delaney. Alabama picked up on Delaney's changeup, which she was tipping, and rocked her yesterday. UM coach Ehren Earleywine obviously concerned about using her if she can't throw that pitch.

Coaches just met with umps. Big crowd, including lots of people on the hill in right field.

I'm guessing we'll top 2,000 today, but that's just a guess.

Game starts in a few minutes.

Per NCAA rules I'll be updating once per inning to keep you up to date. If Lakemann is out there and wants to give us batter-by-batter, that would be great.

First pitch 2:05 p.m.

First inning:

Alabama:

Rogers strikes out swimming. Mizzou fans (the few there are here) raise the roof.

Mizzou's Simmons is a lefty-lefty catcher. Haven't seen that since UA's Ashley Courtney.

Praytor hit by pitch.

Morgan limping after fouling one off her left foot and crumpling to the ground in pain. Mizzou makes a quick visit to the pitching circle. Same thing and she hits the dirt again. She pops out to right field, good cut but under the ball. Out two.

Praytor caught stealing, 2-6. The lefty guns her down.

I'm guessing Patrick Murphy just wanted to try out the new catcher.

Missouri:

Morgan's right foot looks gimpy. She's taking some odd hops during pitching warm-ups. Looked better last couple of pitches.

Rhea Taylor, Mizzou's dangerous Rogers-like base-stealer, up first. Morgan promptly strikes her out on three pitches. That was nice.

Silver, up second, grounds out to short for out two. Morgan threw one ball and two strikes before the out.

Renth, first of the Mizzou Wrecking Crew (who, along ith Uburn and Bruck, have combined for 50 homers), up with two outs. She grounds out to second to end the inning.

Morgan very economical, three outs on 12 pitches.

0-0

Second inning:

Alabama:

1-2-3. Woods and Montalvo ground out, Eubanks strikes out. Bruck looking very solid first time thru the lineup.

Mizzou:

Ubrun singles to right for the game's first hit.

Allen lines out to short, with Eubanks squatting to snag it about 6 inches off the ground. She guns to first base to catch Ubrun for the double play.

And then Eubanks boots one as Bruck reaches on an E6.

Vock strikes out swinging for out three.

Morgan 23 pitches thru 2 innings, Bruck 27.

Mizzou is swinging for the fences with some big monster cuts. I think coach Ehren Earleywine would really like a home run just to get his team's confidence up. Probably figures that's his best chance to score, because Alabama's pitching and defense make it hard to go station to station.

0-0 after 2 innings.

Florida beat Cal today in extra innings to advance to the WCWS, by the way.

Heck Yea, GRAND Slam! Roll Tide!

Third inning:

Alabama:

Parker out 4-3; Holcombe 5-3.

Larsen draws a walk.

Rogers beats out an infield single.

Praytor fouls off three two-strike pitches to milk a walk and load the bases.

Missouri coach Ehren Earleywine visits Bruck in the circle and stays with her.

Charlotte Morgan up. I'd walk in the run.

Seriously.

Morgan's turn to battle. She's fouled off three two-strike pitches so far to go from 0-2 to 2-2.

And promptly crushes a grand slam to right-center. Absolutely fantastic at-bat.

Told you so.

Morgan moves into second place in single-season RBIS in SEC history, passing Tonya Callahan of Tennessee. That's 75 for Charlotte. Cali kid brings the noise.

Kelsi Dunne warming up for UA in the bullpen. Don't think they're gonna need her. Morgan bound to be pumped.

Woods called third strike for out three.

Seventh grand slam of season for Alabama.

Alabama 4-0 going into bottom of the third.

Morgan puts them down in 10 pitches. Ground out to pitcher. Katie Johnson in right field throws to first to rob Nash of a hit, 9-3, my favorite player in softball. Simmons struck out swinging.

Alabama 4-0 after three.

Fourth inning:

Alabama:

Montalvo draws a full-count walk.

Eubanks fouls off two 3-2 pitches and rips a double to the wall in right, RBI, Montalvo scores to make it 5-0.

(Capper Reed in the house, former UA softball player who never played softball in HS, hit the only baseball home run in Alabama high school history to win a 1-0 state playoff game)

The Natural, Lauren Parker, lines the first pitch out to third base. Eubanks scrambles back to second to keep from being doubled up. One out.

Holcombe chops one to third, out 5-3.

Larsen keeps the revolving door going with a double to the wall in right-center, same gap as Eubanks, for an RBI, bringing home who else but Eubanks. 6-0.

Two runs and six outs from Oklahoma City.

Rogers slaps up the middle, high hopper, safe at first before it comes down.

First and third for Jordan Praytor, who can bring the mercy rule into play with an extra-base hit. Make that a single. Rogers steals second, her 58th, passing Taylor as the nation's base-stealling leader.

Praytor walks on four pitches to load the bases for Morgan with two outs.

Once again, I'd walk in the run.

Morgan goes behind 0-2 on a rope down the left-field line just foul by half a foot. Woulda been a bases-clearing double for sure.

Wild pitch brings in Larsen to make it 7-0.

Now 100 pitches for Bruck.

The other runners advanced to second and third on the wild pitch, by the way.

And they haven't taken my advice and intentionally walked Morgan with first base open. Same difference, hit by a pitch on that black-and-blue lower left leg to load 'em up again.

Dani Woods pops up to first on a 2-2 pitch to strand three.

Alabama 7-0.

Long hill to climb for Mizzou.

Missouri fourth:

Renth bangs one off the wall but a great throw to second cuts her off to a single.

Morgan strikes out the next batter and Holcombe catches the pinch runner off first base for a strike-em-out-throw-em-out double play.

Horses are out of the barn and now Mizzou tries to shut the barn door, bringing in Stacy Delaney from the bullpen in relief.

Alabama 7-0 after four.

Fifth inning:

Alabama:

Montalvo floats one to right-center and Taylor lets it bounce out of her glove all the way to the line in right as Montalvo goes to third on an E8.

Eubanks strikes out swinging, Parker lines out to left on first pitch (surprise that she would be swinging).

Holcombe grounds out to second, so the run rule is not in play.

Missouri:

Allen hits a leadoff single. Morgan has been beat up with a stress fracture in her right foot, two balls fouled off her left foot and another hit by pitch on the lower left leg. She was hopping oddly after each pitch in the last couple of innings so it's obviously bothering her.

Chrissy Owens enters in relief to face Bruck's big bat (which hasn't been big in this series).

Bruck flies out to right. Vock flies out to center. White reaches on an error as Montalvo knocks down a liner but loses it between her feet and is late with the throw. No harm as Nash hits into a fielder's choice, White out at second on throw from Eubanks.

Alabama 7-zip after 5 and OKC is getting closer by the pitch.

Sixth innings:

Alabama:

Goes down 1-2-3.

Missouri:

Can Owens keep Taylor off base? No. She bounces a high hopper and Montalvo's throw is just a little late on a slap single.

First time Taylor has reached in this series.

Silver follows with a single. First and second, no outs. Kelsi Dunne up in the pen for UA.

Now Renth comes up with her 20 home runs. That's five short of the number Kelly Kretschman hit as a freshman at Alabama to lead the nation, to put things in perspective.

(and by the way I took the over on 18 home runs for Morgan this season, and she now has 18)

And Larsen pulls a double play by catching a blooper and flipping it to second to get Taylor off base for another double play. And Uburn grounds out to Montalvo, not-even-close-bud.

Inning over, Alabama 7-0 going into the seventh.

I smell Okie BBQ.

I'll have to write a quick game story for TideSports.com 'Tide Live' update as soon as this is over, so I'm signing of now barring a Mizzou comeback.

If this holds up, I will be blogging on the live thread and writing stories from the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City starting Wednesday. Follow our coverage in The Tuscaloosa News and on tidesports.com.

WCWS Way to go Girls.
My prediction for the National Championsip series: Alabama vs Florida.Bama will win the Championship 2 games to 1 vs the Gators.This year against the Gators reminds me of the 1997 baseball year vs LSU.