STARKVILLE, Miss. — After two close games in a weekend series against Mississippi State, the No. 2 Alabama softball team used a six-run fourth inning in the series finale to earn a 9-3 win to sweep the Bulldogs Sunday.

Alabama jumped out to an early 1-0 lead off an RBI single by Cassie Reilly-Boccia in the first inning. After two scoreless innings, Mississippi State tied the game at 1-1 in the third off an RBI single by Kaili Smith. Jackie Traina then retired the next two batters before the Bulldogs could do any more damage.

Then the fourth inning came.

Kaila Hunt took the first pitch of the inning and blasted it over left field to put the Tide up 2-1.

“Before the inning started, I was walking up to bat,” Hunt said. “[Head coach Patrick Murphy] told me if I hit the ball hard, then everybody would start hitting the ball hard. I just go up there looking for my pitch, and when she gives it to me, I hit it.”

With the bases loaded, Danae Hays stepped to the plate, and for the second time in the inning took the first pitch and crushed it, hitting her first career grand slam to put the Tide up 6-1.

“Murphy came up to me and said to me, get something out of the infield,” Hays said. “So, in my mind, I was just trying to hit it hard and poke it through the infield, but a grand slam would do, too.

“It got us kind of fired up in the dugout. At the beginning of the game, we were kind of quiet, and after that happened, it kind of got us sparked up.  That’s what our team term is, sparked up. So it sparked us up.”

After walking Kayla Braud, Stephanie Becker was relieved by Shana Sherrod. After only two pitches, Lindsey Dunlap took over for State. Before the Bulldogs could get out of the inning, Hunt returned to the plate, this time hitting a sacrifice fly to give the Tide a 7-1 lead.

The Bulldogs tried to mount a comeback, earning a run off of Traina in the fifth to bring the Bulldogs within six at 7-2. Alabama maintained its offense, however, scoring runs in the sixth and seventh innings to keep the game out of reach.

Before the Tide could end the game, Brittany Bell hit a home run to give Mississippi State its third and last run, making the final score 9-3.

Alabama capitalized off Mississippi State’s struggles on the mound during the game. The Bulldogs gave up five walks and used five pitchers in Sunday’s game. Murphy said one of the keys to the Tide’s victory was keying in on those mistakes at the plate.

“They walked a lot of people,” Murphy said. “Its difficult when three-fourths of the pitches are not hittable. You have to be really patient and then be ready for the strike when it comes.”