Alabama Softball Knocks Off No. 1 Texas to Clinch Series

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama delivered a statement 7-4 win over No. 1 Texas on Saturday at Rhoads Stadium, handing the Longhorns their first rubber-match loss of the season.

In front of a Rhoads Stadium-record crowd of 3,962 fans, the win marked Alabama's first series victory over a No. 1-ranked team in 10 years and its first at home since 2011.

"It's a confidence builder," head coach Patrick Murphy said postgame. "Everybody knows that [Texas] is good; they were number one. That's kind of what happens at Alabama, so it's a really good accomplishment by this group."

Texas won the series opener Thursday night in convincing fashion, 9-1, but Alabama rebounded Friday with an 11-4 victory to even the series.

Alabama (35-3) responded quickly after Texas struck first on a leadoff home run by Reese Atwood in the second inning. The Crimson Tide answered in a big way, scoring four runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 4-1 lead.

Jena Young delivered the biggest swing of the frame, blasting a three-run home run with two outs to give Alabama its first lead. Kristen White followed with a double before Alexis Pupillo added an RBI to cap the inning.

Sophomore Audrey Vandagriff, who had a double of her own in the second said that Alabama came with more of a plan compared to Thursday. In the opening game of the series, Alabama only tallied five hits on Texas pitcher Teagan Kavan, compared to four in the opening two innings on Saturday.

"Our plan was just to hit her out front…," Vandagriff said. "Just having that adjustment, I think everybody bought in… and you saw it today and it was working for us."

Texas (32-4) cut into the deficit in the fourth when Katie Stewart hit a two-run home run, bringing the Longhorns within one at 4-3. Alabama, however, responded in the bottom half of the inning with another three-run frame to extend its lead to 7-3.

Pupillo played a key role again, walking with the bases loaded to drive in a run. Alabama also benefited from a pair of RBI walks and an error in the inning to push its advantage to four runs.

Texas added a solo home run from Stewart in the sixth to trim the margin to 7-4, but Alabama's bullpen held the Longhorns scoreless the rest of the way.

Vic Moten earned the win for Alabama, allowing three runs on four hits with seven strikeouts in 4.0 innings. Jocelyn Briski closed the door with three innings of relief, giving up one run on three hits while striking out one to earn the save. Kavan took the loss for Texas, allowing seven runs (six earned) on seven hits in 3.1 innings.

Alabama finished with eight hits, led by Young, Vandagriff and White, who each recorded multiple hits in the win. Young finished with three RBIs, while Pupillo drove in two runs.

The win builds more momentum heading into the remainder of conference play after a statement win over the nation's top-ranked team, but Murphy still thinks that Alabama has another level to tap into.

"There are some things we need to improve on still," Murphy said. "When we get like four, five, six hitters all hitting at the same level, that's gonna be when it's really scary. Right now, there are probably two or three, but when everybody gets going, that's when it's gonna be a lot of fun."

The Crimson Tide is set to host South Alabama this Tuesday with the opening pitch set for 5:00 pm CT.

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