When the Hawaii softball team arrived in Tuscaloosa, Ala., the Rainbow Wahine were greeted by a message board flashing “;Aloha Y'all.”;

The welcome may not be quite so warm tomorrow when the Wahine enter Alabama Softball Complex.

When Hawaii (47-13) takes the field for the opener of an NCAA super regional, the 16th-seeded Wahine will face a top-seeded Crimson Tide team that hasn't lost since late March and has perhaps the nation's most passionate fan base.

Alabama leads the nation in attendance and drew 7,140 to last weekend's regional, having established a niche in a community where Crimson Tide football reigns.

“;It was probably 95 degrees and (felt) like 108 and we had close to 3,000 people,”; Alabama coach Patrick Murphy said. “;And they're knowledgeable fans too, they don't just come out to see a winner but they know the game.

“;Hopefully both teams will enjoy it because it's going to be a great atmosphere.”;

Of course, winning at the rate Alabama has during Murphy's 12-year tenure certainly doesn't hurt at the gate.

The Crimson Tide (51-9) enters the super regional riding a 27-game winning streak and is looking for its third straight trip to Oklahoma City for the Women's College World Series and the seventh under Murphy.

The Crimson Tide feature a multi-faceted offense that can beat teams with speed (143 stolen bases) and power (100 homers).

“;I've been lucky with some of the athletes we have, where they have a lot of pop but they also have some speed, so we're definitely not one dimensional,”; Murphy said. “;We can do the small-ball thing and we can also hit for power.

“;It's probably our most complete offensive team we've had because we can win 1-0 or 10-9.”;

Then there's the pitching of Kelsi Dunne (29-4). The 6-foot junior was named the SEC pitcher of the year and enters the weekend with 332 strikeouts.

Alabama swept through last week's regional at home, beating Lipscomb in the final, and Hawaii won three straight at the Stanford regional to set up this week's series.

The opener of the best-of-three super regional is set for 12:30 p.m. Hawaii time tomorrow and will be televised on ESPNU. Saturday's second game starts at 11 a.m. and will be shown on ESPN, with a decisive third game at 1:30 p.m., if necessary.

“;This is probably our toughest route to Oklahoma City,”; Murphy said. “;We've been doing it for 12 years and I can't think of a tougher route. A lot of people didn't realize how good Lipscomb was, and Hawaii is probably our toughest opponent to get to Oklahoma City.”;

The Wahine got their first look at Alabama Softball Complex in a 2-hour practice yesterday, working out the kinks after a two-day break since defeating Texas Tech in the regional final.

“;It is a venue with a lot of history, a program with a good coach and a lot of accolades and the players want to see if we can take the next step,”; UH head coach Bob Coolen said.