Huntsville falls to the Tide
The University of Alabama at Huntsville gave the Crimson Tide some healthy competition Sunday, but Alabama beat the Chargers 4-0 in its second fall season game.
The Alabama starting nine held off UAH in the first inning with the bases loaded. When the Tide came to bat, left fielder Kayla Braud stole second base.
In the bottom of the second inning, the Tide stole another base thanks to the quick thinking of starting right fielder Keima Davis. A double by catcher Olivia Gibson brought in Davis and third baseman Kaila Hunt for the Tide’s first runs.
“Everyone was doing their job and getting on base and it was just my turn to put them there,” Gibson said. She said that at practice the team runs on-base drills and makes getting from base to base a focal point in their overall offensive strategy.
Around the lineup again, Braud bunted a ball to the left of the pitcher’s mound for a single and brought Gibson home for the third run of the game.
UAH showed its fighting spirit and gained a few hits on the Tide at the top of the third, but after a quick plate conference, Alabama pitcher Kelsi Dunne got back on track and wrapped up the inning.
Junior first baseman Cassie Reilly-Boccia singled in the bottom of the third inning and stole another base for the Tide. No runs for the Tide as a result of the Chargers’ defense.
At the top of the sixth, Huntsville worked to make some runs but once again the Tide stopped them short, keeping the score 3-0 Alabama. Reilly-Boccia lead of the bottom of the sixth with a home run over the center-field fence on her first pitch, adding one more run to the Tide’s score.
“I’ve been trying to work on being a little bit more aggressive at the plate because I’ve been a bit passive,” Reilly-Boccia said. “I think that something that we’re going to work on as a team, to be more aggressive on strike zones.”
UA strikes again
For the second game of the doubleheader, Alabama faced Northwest Florida College at home at the John and Ann Rhodes Softball Complex. The autumn weather was perfect for a ball game, and the Tide definitely didn’t run out of steam the second time around, winning the game 8-0.
Though Florida came into the game just as driven as Huntsville, it didn’t stand a chance against pitcher Jackie Traina, and no player got past second base at the top of the first. Shortstop Kaila Hunt smashed her second pitch out to the back of the fence and gained a double for the Tide.
Third basemen Courtney Conley sent one over the back fence at the bottom of the second off Northwest Florida pitcher Allison Rice. The score was 1-0 Alabama at the end of the inning.
Conley said she was just waiting on the right pitch to come around and that the instinct they’ve bee working on this fall really kicked in. “At practice we’ve been talking about killer instinct and finishing things off,” she said.
Another double from Hunt brought in Keima Davis in for Alabama’s second run of the game in the bottom of the third. A pop fly from Traina brought in Ryan Iamurri from third base for the third run.
Cassie Reilly-Boccia sent yet another ball sailing over the back fence Sunday for two runs, Hunt and herself, leaving the score 5-0 Alabama at the end of the third.
Catcher Kendall Dawson brought in center fielder Jennifer Fenton in the bottom of the fourth, adding another point to the Tide’s score. With the bases loaded, Hunt hit the pop fly that brought in Jackey Branham (pinch running for Dawson) for the next run scored. The score at the end of the fourth inning was 7-0 in favor of Alabama.
Northwest Florida was still unable to score by the top of the fifth. Courtney Conley smashed another ball over the fence as well, this time down the right side, earning another run for Alabama in the bottom of the fifth.
