Pair of Home Runs Guide No. 15 Alabama Softball over No. 18 Florida State, 4-1
On the road in a hostile environment, Alabama softball picked up a pivotal victory.
No. 15 Alabama defeated No. 18 Florida State 4-1 on Wednesday night, picking up its second consecutive ranked win.
The momentum swung early in favor of Alabama, as Abby Duchscherer's massive home run to straightaway center field gave the Crimson Tide a 1-0 advantage in the top of the first inning, leaving the Seminoles scrambling to catch up. Moments later, Bailey Dowling's single up the middle drove in Marlie Giles, putting the Crimson Tide ahead 2-0.
However, Florida State fought back, as a wild pitch from Kayla Beaver put Florida State on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning, making the score 2-1 in favor of the Crimson Tide. Beaver was injured on the play with her non-pitching hand trying to tag out the runner. She exited the game and did not return, but she did rejoin the team in the dugout to participate in cheering.
Despite the Seminoles' efforts to contain Alabama's offense, the Crimson Tide continued to press its advantage. Kali Heivilin's homer to right-center in the sixth inning further widened the gap to 4-1, with Jenna Johnson also contributing with a key walk to set up scoring opportunities.
Yet, Alabama's pitching, led by Alea Johnson coming in relief, stole the show — holding firm to keep the Seminoles at bay to just three hits.
Johnson, a sophomore transfer from LSU, tossed 3.1 innings of two-hit, two-strikeout ball in a near perfect relief effort after Beaver's exit in the bottom of the fourth.
Despite Florida State's late attempts to rally, including Ashytn Danley's single to left-center in the bottom of the seventh, they couldn't overcome Alabama's commanding lead. With Devyn Flaherty grounding out to third to end the game, the Crimson Tide secured a massive victory with potential Women's College World Series implications.
"I thought tonight was a win-win for college softball," Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy said in a press release. "Both teams played really well in front of a packed house on national television. It was a great atmosphere. I thought [Kayla] Beaver gave us a great start and then Alea [Johnson] came in and pitched in a game for the first time in two weeks and did awesome. That shows the depth of our pitching staff. All our runs tonight came with two outs, so we passed the baton down and got the key hits when we needed them."
After the win, Alabama will now turn its attention towards yet another road matchup, as the Crimson Tide travels to Athens to take on No. 5 Georgia on Friday at 5:00 p.m. CT.
How It Happened...
(most recent at the top)
FINAL: No. 15 Alabama 4, No. 18 Florida State 1.
Final Stats courtesy of StatBroadcast.com
Bottom Seventh - Florida State Batting:
- Flaherty fouls out to third. Game concludes.
- Danley singled to center. One on with two outs for Flaherty.
- Ross flied out to center for the second out of the inning.
- Torres lines out to second.
Top Seventh - Alabama Batting:
- Lauren Johnson grounds out to third to end the inning.
- Dowling follows suit, and grounds out to third for the second out. Lauren Johnson due up.
- Giles grounds out to third for the first out of the inning.
Bottom Sixth - Florida State Batting:
- Wacaser grounds out to short to end the inning.
- Edenfield struck out swinging. Two down for Wacaser.
- Harding flies out to second base for the first out of the inning.
Top Sixth - Alabama Batting:
- Duchscherer grounds out to short to end the inning. Crimson Tide push two across.
- Heivilin blasts a home run to right-center. Johnson scores. Alabama pushes their lead to three. Duchscherer coming up to bat. T6: Alabama 4, Florida State 1.
- Johnson walks. Heivilin coming up.
- White quickly pops out to short for the second out. Jenna Johnson coming up with two down.
- Cahalan grounds out to first for the first out of the inning.
Bottom Fifth - Florida State Batting:
- Beachum strikes out swinging. Big out for Johnson to end the inning.
- Mudge grounds out to second. Danley advances to third. Two outs now for Beachum.
- Flaherty flies out left for the first out of the inning.
- Danley singles to left-center. She advances on an error to second base.
- Will be interesting to see how the Seminoles adjust to Johnson, who has a significantly lower velo than Beaver. Danley will be the first batter of the inning.
Top Fifth - Alabama Batting:
- Clark skies out to right field. Inning concludes.
- Lauren Johnson lines out to short. Two down with a runner on for Kendal Clark coming up.
- Dowling lines out to short for the first out of the inning. One out with one on for Lauren Johnson, who is pinch-hitting for Emma Broadfoot.
- Giles HBP to start the inning for Alabama.
Bottom Fourth - Florida State Batting:
- Ross flies out to left after a five pitch at-bat. Inning concludes, but not before Florida State gets one across.
- Johnson will try to stop the bleeding for the Crimson Tide, as the Seminoles have runners at second and third with two outs.
- Alea Johnson is coming in for Beaver who has begun to struggle with her control.
- Wild pitch gets away from Beaver. Harding scores. Edenfield advances. B4: Alabama 2, Florida State 1.
- Torres grounds out to second. Both runners advance. Two on with two outs now for Ross.
- Wacaser strikes down swinging. Big out for Beaver. Two on with one out for Torres.
- Edenfield walks. Two on with nobody out for Wacaser.
- Harding singles up the middle. First hit of the day for the Seminoles.
Top Fourth - Alabama Batting:
- Duchscherer fouls out to first base. Inning concludes.
- Heivilin grounds out to third base. Two down for Duchscherer, who had a home run in the first inning.
- Johnson sac bunts to advance White.
- White singles to center to lead off the inning.
Bottom Third - Florida State Batting:
- Beachum grounds out to third. Inning concludes.
- Mudge grounds out to short. Two down for Beachum.
- Flaherty pops out to Cahalan at short for the first out of the inning.
Top Third - Alabama Batting:
- Cahalan pops out to second base. Wow, wasted opportunity for the Crimson Tide. Three runners left on base after having zero outs in the inning. That could come back to haunt them.
- Clark fouls out out to the first baseman. Two down for Cahalan.
- Broadfoot skies out to short. One out.
- Dowling singles to left field. All runners advance. Bases loaded coming up for Broadfoot.
- Giles walks. Pate advances to second.
- Duchscherer singles to center. Pate pinch runs.
Bottom Second - Florida State Batting:
- Danley strikes out to end the inning for the Seminoles.
- Beaver starts with a strike, but Ross walks after four straight misses. One on with two outs for Danley.
- Torres grounds out to Cahalan at short. Ross coming up with two down.
- Wacaser grounds out to second for the first out of the inning.
Top Second - Alabama Batting:
- Heivilin skies out to center to end the scoring opportunity for the Crimson Tide.
- Jenna Johnson walks. Two on with two outs for Kali Heivilin.
- White singles on a perfectly executed bunt.
- Cahalan grounds into a double play. Kristen White due up.
- Kendal Clark singles down the right field line to start the inning.
Bottom First - Florida State Batting:
- Edenfield grounds out to end the inning.
- Harding grounds out to second. Mudge advances with no throw. Two outs.
- Beachum pops out to Cahalan at short. One out for Kalei Harding.
- Kaley Mudge walks to start the inning for the Seminoles.
Top First - Alabama Batting:
- Dowling singles up the middle. Giles comes around to score. Broadfoot immediately flies out to second to end the inning, but not before Alabama does damage. M1: Alabama 2, Florida State 0.
- Marlie Giles doubles to left. One on, two outs for Bailey Dowling.
- Duchscherer blasts a home run to straightaway center. Crimson Tide gain the early advantage. T1: Alabama 1, Florida State 0.
- Kali Heivilin flies out to left for the second out of the game. Two down with nobody on for Abby Duchscherer.
- Jenna Johnson flies out to left for the first out of the game.
Pregame:
- Starting Lineups:
Stats courtesy of Statbroadcast.com
- First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. CT.
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