Tide fans tune in to softball in record numbers in 2012 | al.com

The Alabama softball team has enjoyed strong crowds at home games for years thanks to the sustained success of Patrick Murphy's program. But this season during the Crimson Tide's run to an eventual national championship, Alabama softball began drawing a whole new audience through television.

The Crimson Tide played 20 games on national or regional television during the 2012 season, an all-time high for the program, and the Tide's rise through the ranks of college softball has coincided with a national rise in interest in the sport in general.

The three games of the Women's College World Series finals, all of which aired on ESPN2, averaged 1.2 million viewers nationally in 2012. Games 1 and 2 of the series saw a 13% increase in viewers over last year's WCWS. Read more: Tide fans tune in to softball in record numbers in 2012 | al.com