Six batters were enough. 

After No. 6 Alabama softball’s first six batters didn’t get on, coach Patrick Murphy had enough. The next four batters reached base and scored. The next inning the team hit around the lineup in the 10-0 mercy-rule win over Samford on Tuesday.

“Last night, we hit under the lights, same time, and they were just killing the ball so I was hoping that that would be a little forecast for tonight,” Murphy said.

It took six batters, but the seven, eight and nine hitters reached. They notched four of the team’s nine total hits. Senior designated hitter Andrea Hawkins went 2-2 with a pair of RBI singles in the nine-hole. 

“The big innings are a lot of fun, and we get a lot of momentum,” Hawkins said. “The dugout gets crazy and we just love that.”

Junior right-hander Sydney Littlejohn (8-2) picked up the win with five scoreless innings. She allowed five hits including two in the first inning. She walked one and struck out two.

“I was a little but worried and after that she cleaned it up, and then our hitters did what they needed to do in the third and the fourth,” Murphy said.

Alabama (21-2) heads to Baton Rouge to take on LSU for a weekend series starting at 6 p.m. Friday.