The Alabama Crimson Tide softball team is back in the Women's College World Series, and, who knows, the cleats of infielder Ashley Prange could have something to do with that.
As the Crimson Tide got ready for Game 1 against the Tennessee Volunteers, the broadcast told us that Prange and the Crimson Tide "are doing it for a super fan." That super fan is Madelyn Daigle, a 6-year-old girl battling cancer at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. Before the SEC Tournament, Prange, who Daigle is a massive fan of, brought her a special pair of cleats.
Following the success of the Crimson Tide as they headed into the Women's College World Series, she returned to St. Jude's to spend time with Daigle and design a new pair of cleats.
Ashley Prange's cleats have a deeper meaning.@AlabamaSB is doing it for superfan Madelyn Daigle ?? pic.twitter.com/6UpilOrh5X
— espnW (@espnW) June 1, 2023
Team Madelyn ??
Ashley Prange has custom cleats from Madelyn Daigle, an @AlabamaSB fan who is going through cancer treatment at St. Jude Children's Hospital.
(via @sportsiren) pic.twitter.com/PzWYUvoqnN
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) May 12, 2023
Daigle is set to undergo another round of chemotherapy of this coming Tuesday, and by then, she'll hopefully see the Tide advance in this double-elimination tournament.
Prange has made several posts on her Instagram about her relationship with the little girl that will tug on anyone's heart.
A few weeks back, Prange gave ESPN's Holly Rowe a thank-you note for covering the story. The thank-you note was handwritten. Rowe mentioned this on the broadcast, and right after that, you see Prange hit a home run right on queue.
The Crimson Tide lost to the Volunteers in the first game of the Women's College World Series, and eight teams are left fighting for the WCWS crown. Alabama will play the loser of Game 2 (Oklahoma or Stanford) before taking on the loser of Game 8 on June 4.
The WCWS Finals will begin on June 7 in a best-of-three series.
Needless to say, this story makes you root for the Crimson Tide, Daigle, and Prange that much more.
