Senior Kaila Hunt hit her 51st career home run in the bottom of the fifth against No. 9 Florida State, leading Alabama to a 1-0 win over the Seminoles in its first game of a doubleheader on Saturday. It was also the Crimson Tide’s first win over a ranked opponent of the season.
Hunt, who became the fourth player in Alabama softball history to hit 50 career home runs Friday night, broke the bat silence in a defensive struggle. She said the best part about it was contributing to a team win and breaking up a pitchers duel.
“Obviously, it’s awesome to be against a really good team – [Florida State’s Lacey Waldrop is] a really good pitcher,” she said. “And to make great contact on a good pitch is obviously great, especially when it’s in the fifth inning and you see it’s 0-0 so it’s going to be a tight game. To get that hit is gratifying.”
Senior pitcher Jaclyn Traina came out on top of the duel, throwing a four-hit shutout and striking out nine. She has now thrown five complete games with an ERA of 1.65. There were bases-loaded situations in the second and fifth innings, but Traina was able to pitch out of them. Hunt said Traina’s ability to get the team out of tough situations is valuable.
“There’s no one in that position that I would rather have on the mound, because there have been so many times where it’s been bases loaded and no outs, and she strikes out two and gets a ground ball,” she said. “She just somehow gets herself out of jams, and it’s a great quality for her to have because she’s so calm.”
Alabama coach Patrick Murphy said Traina’s pitching was key in the win that involved good defensive performances from the whole team.
“Great win, great job by Jackie, awesome defense all the way around,” Murphy said. “Usually in a pitchers duel like that, it’s usually one key hit or one mistake that’s going to win the game for us, and Kaila Hunt came up with the big hit, and that’s all we needed. And the defense did the rest. Jackie – that was her best game of the year by far, just can’t say much more about her. She just was terrific all night.”
Alabama also won its second game of the day in definitive fashion, defeating Houston 12-1 in five innings. The explosive potential of the Crimson Tide bats came through in the top of the fifth, when the team scored eight hits on five hits. Two home runs off the bats of Leona Lafaele and Jadyn Spencer accounted for three of the runs batted in.
Lafaele said her shot was only a small part of the whole team’s effort.
“It feels good,” Lafaele said. “I’m just happy about the team win. [The home run] was nothing compared to the team coming – it’s a team game. They did it all, and I was just a little part of it.”
Alabama now moves to a 16-3 record on the season. The Crimson Tide will face Florida State at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday at Rhoads Stadium to close out the Easton Crimson Classic.
