The No. 1 Alabama softball team swept the Alabama Easton Challenge over the weekend, moving to 30-1 on the year. The Tide started the weekend by sweeping the No. 25 DePaul Blue Demons Friday and Saturday with scores of 4-3 and 9-7. Alabama followed up with an 11-0 win through five innings against the Longwood Lancers Saturday before finishing the weekend with a 7-2 win over Longwood Sunday. The slow pace set by the Lancers Sunday kept the Tide’s bats at bay in the first two innings, as neither team could manage to score. Junior Keima Davis finally jumpstarted the scoring for Alabama with a solo home run in the third inning. It was her second home run of the year. Jennifer Fenton then scored off a double by Jackie Traina, giving Alabama a 2-0 lead.
Longwood rebounded in the fourth with a home run from Brooke Short to put the Lancers within one, at 2-1. Alabama responded in the fifth and sixth innings, putting the game away for good. Kayla Braud scored off a triple by Fenton in the fifth inning, followed by scores from Fenton and Courtney Conley off a single by Jackey Branham. Davis started the sixth inning with another hit and would go on to score on a sacrifice fly from Fenton. Braud rounded out the scoring when Denise Richard brought her in off a single. Fenton said her team rebounded well at the plate, despite the slow start.
“We had to get used to the pitching again,” Fenton said. “We started off slow, but I think we ended strong, and that’s all that matters. We made good adjustments. We had a plan going into the at-bat, and we stuck with it, rather than just swinging at anything.”
The Tide moved the lineup around to give other players game time experience. Head coach Patrick Murphy said Sunday’s lineup looked more like a 2013 team than the 2012 team.
“I want to give opportunities to other people, and they’ve got to do it in a game,” Murphy said. “Fortunately, unfortunately it was a tight game. They need to feel that pressure, because if its 11-0 and you’re hitting it, there’s no pressure. If its 2-2 and you’re up like Jackey Branham, there’s pressure. She came through. Keima came through. We had a lot of people come through with big hits. I was pleased with everybody.”
Davis said the team’s ability to get the win would benefit the team this season and next season.
“It benefits us because we get experience and get to work with each other,” Davis said. “I feel like we finished it. That’s our main thing, is to finish.”
