The game was a little too close for the team that swept two conference opponents.

It took three Alabama pitchers and seven innings to put away Georgia State in a 3-1 win. No. 7 Alabama (25-4) had a 3-0 lead into the seventh inning before allowing the Panthers’ only run.

“They really need to treasure or value a shutout,” Alabama coach Patrick Murphy said. “I mean, really got to want it.”

Leslie Jury (11-2) earned the win with 5.1 innings pitched. She notched a season-high 10 strikeouts. She left with the bases loaded in the sixth inning, and freshman Sydney Littlejohn finished the inning.

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“I thought Leslie did a really good job,” Murphy said. “I mean, the strike zone was all over the place, but you’ve got to adjust to it.”

Senior Jaclyn Traina earned her first save of the season after pitching the seventh inning and allowing one run on one hit.

Alabama scored its first run in the bottom of the third inning. Sophomore Haylie McCleney singled with two outs. Sophomore Andrea Hawkins hit a triple to bring her in.

In the fifth, junior Chaunsey Bell singled. After securing an out, Georgia State switched pitchers from Eron Milton to Kaitlyn Medlam with McCleney at the plate. Two pitches later, the center fielder hit a two-run home run over the right field fence.

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“The first pitch was an off-speed up and in,” McCleney said. “The second pitch was the same exact one, so the timing was there.”

“This was a game that we won with two hits, a triple and a two-run home run,” Murphy said. “And this weekend it could be similar, where you get one pitch, and it’s the pitch you want. You’d better hammer it because you’re not going to get it again.”

This weekend, Alabama travels to face No. 2 Florida for a three-game series. The Crimson Tide is a perfect 6-0 in SEC play this season, while the Gators are 4-2.

“We usually get a good crowd,” Murphy said. “We get all the people above our dugout, but it’s always a challenging atmosphere. They pack them in, and you’ve got to love that. You’ve got to want the people yelling at you. It just prepares you for the future.”

In 2013, the Gators took two games from Alabama, one in March for the Crimson Tide’s first loss of the year and the other in the SEC Tournament in May. Alabama is 30-25 all-time against Florida.

“I guess you could compare it as like the Alabama-Auburn series in football,” junior Danae Hays said. “It’s just hard-nosed. I mean, they’re good. We’re good. And this is going to be my first time going down to Gainesville, so this is my first experience, and I’m just very, very excited because you want to compete against the best. You want to see how good you really are.”

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