First came the rain, then the hail. Then after nearly and hour-and-a half delay, No. 5 Alabama softball hit into a triple play. Then, in the third inning, Alabama’s offense showed up in the 17-0 mercy-rule win over Mississippi Valley State.

“I was just really glad we got to play,” Alabama coach Patrick Murphy said. “Thanks to the grounds crew and everybody that helped, but we needed to play a midweek game because it’s so much better than me throwing batting practice and throwing meatballs all day.”

In the bottom of the third, Alabama batted around the order before recording the first out. It then batted around another time in the 15-run inning. In that one inning, Alabama had six doubles, four singles and seven walks. Twenty batters went up to the plate.

“They just passed it down,” Murphy said. “They did a heck of a job.”

Freshman second baseman Demi Turner led the way, batting 3-for-4 and 2-for-3 in the third inning alone. Marisa Runyon went 2-for-3 on the game with a team-leading four RBI. Senior utility Danielle Richard was not charged an at-bat and earned a team-leading three walks. With the exception of Richard, everyone who started in the lineup had a hit. 

Junior Haylie McCleney was the designated player and went 1-for-2 with two RBI on a double.

Senior right-hander Leslie Jury (5-3) allowed two hits in the shutout win. She struck out nine.

“She was hitting her spots, filling up the strike zone, 61 pitches,” Murphy said. “She did a great job, much better than the weekend, and her velocity was back so I thought that was good to see.”

Alabama (26-8) hosts Southern Miss (16-18) Wednesday at 6 p.m.