Alabama Softball Salvages Game against No. 3 Tennessee with 1-0 Victory

Behind a strong outing from Kayla Beaver and an RBI-single from Kristen White, the Crimson Tide avoided the sweep against Tennessee.

Kayla Beaver (April 28, 2024) / Alabama Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Heading into the bottom of the fifth inning in Sunday's matchup against Tennessee, Alabama softball hadn’t scored a run in 27 inning and was facing one of the best pitchers in the country.

After Kenleigh Cahalan hit a two-out triple down the right field line, Tennessee brought in its ace Karlyn Pickens from the bullpen to face Alabama’s Kristen White. She was the only Crimson Tide batter to get a hit off Pickens earlier in the series. 

"I was oozing confidence when they brought her in," White said after the game. "I was like, ‘I got the job done yesterday, and today I’m going to do the same thing.’ Glad they brought her in."

And White did deliver again. She chopped an infield single that scored Cahalan from third to give Alabama its first run of the weekend and a 1-0 lead. And that one run would be all Kayla Beaver would need with a dominant performance in the circle as No. 17 Alabama beat No. 3 Tennessee, 1-0 in the series finale. 

K-DUB PUTS THE TIDE IN FRONT!

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— Alabama Softball (@AlabamaSB) April 28, 2024

Because White is primarily a slapper, a lot of times she will get pinch hit for when she's due at the plate with a runner in scoring position. But she had slapped a single to left field in her previous at-bat, and head coach Patrick Murphy and assisstant coach Kayla Beaver felt she was confident enough after her last plate appearance to stay in for what ended up being the game-winning at-bat.

Beaver needed just 90 pitches to shut out the top team in the SEC. It was her seventh complete-game shutout of the season. In Game 1 of the series, the Lady Vols tagged Beaver for eight hits and three runs over six innings. On Sunday, she only allowed two hits, both off the bat of Kiki Milloy.

"Beaver was terrific," Murphy said. "To beat someone like that in the third game after they saw her on Friday night is Montana Fouts-ish. That was one of her best games. And the best player on their team had both hits."

Even though the offense only scored the one run, it was a much better performance at the plate for the Crimson Tide. Alabama finished the game with six hits and was making adjustments at the plate against Pickens and Tennessee starter Payton Gotshall.

Alabama improves to 32-14 (9-12 SEC) and will finish the regular season at Auburn for a three-game series beginning on Thursday at 7 p.m.

"Everybody knows that we really needed this win," Beaver said. "I’m beyond proud of this team. The fans were out here, and they never stopped. You would’ve never known that the scoreboard said zero for four innings. It was surreal to finish the home series here."