For Alabama, this past weekend was full of celebrations. The Crimson Tide celebrated the 2012 national championship team and the retirement of longtime coach Alyson Habetz, but unfortunately Texas A&M ruined the celebration by taking the series.
On Saturday, Rhoads Stadium welcomed back members of that 2012 team before the game. Those members were treated to a Game 1 victory as the Crimson Tide defeated the Aggies 2-0. After that game, each member of that team was given a special gift.
“We got everybody personalized custom bats,” head coach Patrick Murphy said. “Just one of my favorite teams ever. They’re the gold standard of Alabama softball.”
The 2024 team played up to that gold standard in Game 1 on Saturday as graduate student Kayla Beaver dealt the Aggies just their third shutout defeat. Beaver, pitching her sixth shutout of the year, danced out of danger in multiple innings as A&M finished the game 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position and 1 for 14 with runners on base.
Murphy said Beaver has lived for the clutch moments this season and come through all year.
“That’s kind of been the story of her season, all year long,” Murphy said. “She makes pitches when she has to and obviously her teammates make the plays behind her.”
Throughout the year, Beaver’s mindset has remained the same.
“I’ll say it over and over again, I just pretend like I’m the only one out there,” Beaver said. “I trust her [catcher Riley Valentine]. I trust [pitching coach] Lance [McMahon] and the pitch calling. I don’t let those runners affect me. I tend to let that make me focus more and really zone in.”
The only offense of Game 1 came off the bat of first basemen Abby Duchscherer. In the second with two outs and runners on first and second, Duchscherer cracked a double to left center that scored the only two runs of the game for either side.
“Timely hitting is what we’ve really been emphasizing, and I had the opportunity, even in the eighth spot, with runners on first and second,” Duchscherer said. “I knew going in that I’m confident and I’m prepared for this moment. I got the hit, which was super awesome, and super happy to have our team come out and win the first game.”
Later Saturday night, the 2012 team, the 2024 team, and special invitees made their way downtown for a special premiere of the ESPN documentary titled “Bama SB,” which goes behind the scenes of that 2012 national championship run.
“It was awesome. One of the best nights ever. Almost 700 people,” Murphy said. “It was just a great night. Really cool.”
All of the Alabama faithful were able to witness the nationally televised premiere of the documentary on the jumbotron at Rhoads Stadium following the action of Monday night’s game.
Fans made their way down to the field postgame and were able to sit on the field and witness the documentary on the big screen.
But before the documentary was shown, Alabama dropped its fourth SEC series of the season with an 8-4 loss in the rubber match. The game was eerily reminiscent of Game 1 as both Beaver and Texas A&M’s Emiley Kennedy battled in the circle for the second time in three games.
Unlike Saturday, both teams put runs on the board, with Texas A&M grabbing the lead in the fourth by scratching across two runs on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly. Their lead didn’t last long as Alabama struck right back, adding three in the bottom of the fourth.
After Duchscherer was hit in the leg to score one run, second basemen Kali Heivilin chopped a grounder up the middle past the shortstop to score two more as the stadium erupted with cheers.
The back-and-forth battle continued as the Aggies tacked on two runs in the fifth before the Crimson Tide added one in the bottom half to make it 4-4 going into the final two innings.
Texas A&M relentlessly kept putting together rallies and punctuated its victory with a five-run sixth inning as the Aggies went on to win the third game 9-4.
Game 2 was a game to forget as the Aggies throttled the Crimson Tide 17-6. Alabama showed signs of life as the Crimson Tide battled back from a 7-1 deficit. Right fielder Kendal Clark clobbered a three-run home run to left field in the fifth inning, cutting the Aggie lead to just 2 at 7-5. However, Texas A&M combined for 10 runs in the final two innings to even the series up at 1-1.
“We came back and hit the three-run home run by Kendal Clark, which was a big shot. But just not enough,” Murphy said. “We can’t play yo-yo softball, you know, they score, we score, they score, we score. Somebody has to come in and say that’s it, they’re not going to score again.”
The Crimson Tide will hit the road and travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, for a weekend series against the No. 14 Razorbacks.
