The University of Alabama softball team defeated the University of Southern Mississippi Eagles 11-0 Tuesday night.
The Crimson Tide started the game off strong with a first inning riddled with runs. The team made it through its batting lineup and accumulated a four-run total. Senior Kayla Braud led the scoring effort as the lead-off hitter. The senior said she thought the team did great offensively.
“To come out and score every single inning and threaten every single inning, it’s just a testament to the batters and making adjustments throughout the game,” Braud said.
A pair of stolen bases highlighted the second inning, allowing the Tide one run. Braud collected her 35th single on the season, and Haylie McCleney brought her stolen base count to 27.
The Tide came out strong in the fourth inning. Pitcher Lauren Sewell collected three outs in as many at bats and left the game after allowing only one hit. Murphy said Sewell did a great job on the mound, despite walking three batters, one more than her goal of two or fewer. Sewell gave credit to her teammates for keeping her run total low.
“The way I look at it, people are going to get hits,” Sewell said. “That’s just part of the game, but knowing that my defense has my back, which a lot of those hits that the defense made the plays would probably have fell in.”
Jordan Patterson hit a home run in the bottom of the fourth inning to increase the Tide’s lead to eight runs. The home run was Patterson’s fourth on the season. Four batters later, Jaydn Spencer also hit one out of the park, collecting two RBIs. Murphy said his team showed respect for the Eagles by playing its best game.
“I think the best way to show respect is to come out and beat them,” Murphy said. “I think they realized that we respected them. If you come out and play around with them, you’re not really respecting them.”
Jackie Traina entered the game, and the Tide allowed only one Eagle base hit in the top of the fifth to finish out the game.
The Tide held its opponent to just two hits throughout the game while the Eagles gave up nine hits to the home team.
The Tide will next take on Southeastern Conference opponent Mississippi State University in a three-game series at home beginning Friday. Murphy said he hopes the win against the Eagles will bring momentum to the team’s weekend games.
“They’ve got some great pitchers,” Murphy said. “We’ve got three more weekends, nine regular season games, and we’re getting down to the nitty gritty. So, I like to see people getting off the bench and getting a part of the ball.”
Braud said the win Tuesday will give the team confidence as it looks to its SEC opponent.
“I think we came out really, really well tonight, and I think that’s just going to lead us into this weekend,” Braud said. “Our hitters were on point, and we made good adjustments, and we’re getting better. If we can get better going into an SEC series, we’re going to be good.”
