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Brooke Wells Continues Home Run Climb as No. 3 Alabama Takes Game 1 from Gamecocks

Jocelyn Briski and Vic Moten limited the South Carolina offense, and Brooke Wells handled the rest on offense for the Crimson Tide.
Katie Windham|
Alabama softball team celebrates Brooke Wells' 21st home run of the season against South Carolina at Rhoads Stadium on Thursday night
Alabama softball team celebrates Brooke Wells' 21st home run of the season against South Carolina at Rhoads Stadium on Thursday night | UA Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy put it best after Thursday night's game. He'd rather take an ugly win than a pretty loss any day of the week.

That best describes the Crimson Tide's win at Rhoads Stadium as No. 3 Alabama took the opener 3-2 over No. 21 South Carolina. Kinley Pate scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch in the sixth inning.

"I thought Briski and Vic pitched really well," Murphy said after the win. "We just didn't get enough offense."

Jocelyn Briski and Vic Moten combined to give Alabama another strong performance in the circle with both Gamecock runs being unearned because of Tide errors. Briski got the start, and Moten entered with two on and two outs in the fifth inning. She got out of the jam with a fly ball to left field.

After the error allowed a run to score in the sixth inning, Moten bounced back with a strikeout to strand the runners.

"It's just been my mindset in knowing that things are going to happen in softball that don't always go my way," Moten said. "So learning how to bounce back and keep pitching and keep being intense with every pitch. That's what's been the differencemaker."

Brooke Wells was responsible for all three Alabama runs with a two-run home run in the third inning for her 21st of the season, and Pate was the pinch runner for Wells after her leadoff double in the sixth inning. Wells is now tied for third in program history for single-season home runs. (The record is 26 by Bailey Hemphill in 2019.)

Wells worked her way through a 10-pitch at-bat in the first inning before eventually striking out against South Carolina starter Jori Heard. She clobbered a home run to deep center in her second at-bat and hammered a ball out to right center for the double in the sixth inning. Murphy described her as a professional hitter.

"I think I saw every pitch that first at-bat, so just tuning in on which one I wanted to hunt, and then just going to get it," Wells said after the game.

The Crimson Tide (45-6, 17-5 SEC) and Gamecocks (30-23, 7-15 SEC) will be back at Rhoads Stadium on Friday at 12:30 p.m. as Alabama tries to win its seventh SEC series and stay in the hunt for a regular season SEC title. With the win, Alabama secures a double-bye in the SEC tournament.

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Katie Windham
KATIE WINDHAM

Katie Windham is the assistant editor for BamaCentral, primarily covering football, basketball, gymnastics and softball. She is a two-time graduate of the University of Alabama and has covered a variety of Crimson Tide athletics since 2019 for outlets like The Tuscaloosa News, The Crimson White and the Associated Press before joining BamaCentral full time in 2021. Windham has covered College Football Playoff games, the Women's College World Series, NCAA March Madness, SEC Tournaments and championships in multiple sports.

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