No. 7 Alabama Softball Sweeps Sunday Doubleheader to Finish Perfect Weekend

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — No. 7 Alabama softball closed the T-Mobile Crimson Classic with a Sunday doubleheader sweep at Rhoads Stadium, beating St. Thomas 7-0 before pulling away from Oakland 8-1 in the second game.

The Crimson Tide improved to 20-0 on the season behind another strong day in the circle and power throughout the lineup.

Alabama struck first in the opener against St. Thomas when Ana Roman launched a solo home run to center in the second inning. The Tide added on in the fourth behind Brooke Wells’ solo shot to right center and a Salen Hawkins RBI groundout to build a 3-0 lead.

The decisive surge came in the fifth. Wells delivered a sacrifice fly that plated two runs, and Alexis Pupillo followed with a solo home run down the right-field line to extend the advantage to 7-0.

Freshman Vic Moten earned the win, tossing five scoreless innings while allowing just one hit and striking out four. Kaitlyn Pallozzi worked two innings of relief to complete the shutout.

After the opening game of the day, Alabama honored senior left fielder Kinley Pate ahead of first pitch against Oakland. The Golden Grizzlies provided more resistance in the final game of the weekend but could not keep pace for a full seven innings.

Alabama took an early lead on Jena Young’s sacrifice fly in the second, but Oakland evened the score at 1-1 in the third on an RBI single from Autumn Liebhauser.

Head coach Patrick Murphy said the early at-bats needed improvement, allowing Oakland to hang around.

“Out of nine outs in the first three innings, two strikeouts and seven popups, that’s not quality outs,” Murphy said. “We needed to make better adjustments at the plate.”

Those adjustments showed up quickly in the fourth.

Freshman Ambrey Taylor delivered the biggest swing of the afternoon, launching a three-run home run to left. It was Taylor’s second home run of the season. Moments later, her roommate Ana Roman followed with a two-run homer to left center, giving Alabama firm control at 6-1.

Roman said the lineup made a clear adjustment against Oakland’s pitching.

“We recognized that a lot of us were chasing the rise,” Roman said. “So we focused on seeing the ball down and attacking pitches we could actually hit. I knew I was not going to get beat again on the rise ball."

Murphy praised Taylor’s readiness for an opportunity.

“She was ready for the opportunity,” Murphy said. “That’s pretty impressive when someone comes off the bench and delivers like that.”

Alabama added insurance in the sixth when Kinley Pate drove in a run with an RBI single, and Alexis Pupillo followed with another RBI knock to extend the lead to 8-1.

In the circle, Kaitlyn Pallozzi started before Alea Johnson entered in relief and shut the door. Johnson earned the win with four scoreless innings, allowing just one hit.

Murphy emphasized that while the record is perfect, the group still has room to grow.

“It’s hard to win in any Division I sport,” Murphy said. “For us to be 20-0 at this point, we’re really happy about it, but we know we’ve got a lot to improve on.”

With the two victories, Alabama remained unbeaten and completed a perfect weekend at Rhoads Stadium. The Crimson Tide travel to Oxford for a three-game series with Ole Miss to open SEC play. Game 1 is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT on Friday.