Alabama Softball Opens Fall Schedule, Plays to Tie in Sand Mountain Showdown
After its regular season game in the Sand Mountain Showdown was cancelled due to two rainouts last spring, the Alabama Crimson Tide softball team finally played in Albertville, Ala, on Wednesday to open fall play.
Alabama and Jacksonville played seven innings before a sellout crowd, but the exhibition ended with the score tied 6-6.
Crimson Tide coach Patrick Murphy was eager to see the team's seven newcomers in action.
Senior transfer Lauren Esman, who began her collegiate career at Michigan, started and threw three shutout innings, with one hit allowed. She also went 1-for-2 at the plate including a two-run triple.
Freshman Abby Duchscherer went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
Ashley Prange, Aubrey Barnhart and Jordan Stephens also had an RBI.
Faith Hensley was 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs.
The game was scoreless until the fourth inning. Alabama's first rally plated three runs as Prange drove in Hensley with an RBI-single, M’Kay Gidley scored on an RBI-fielder’s choice from Aubrey Barnhart, and Duchscherer singled in Kat Grill.
Esman's triple came in the fifth inning.
Stephens tied the game in the bottom of the sixth with her RBI-single.
Jacksonville State's runs came on a two-run home run in the fifth inning, and a four-run rally in the sixth with all of the runs coming in on RBI-singles.
Alabama will host Georgia Tech at Rhoads Stadium.for a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. CT.
See Also
What We're Looking to Learn in Fall Ball from Alabama Baseball, Softball: Three-and-Out
The Riley Mattingly Parker Phenomenon
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