Vic Moten Continues Strong Start as No. 13 Alabama Run Rules Purdue

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— A liner up the middle was the only adversity Vic Moten faced Friday night. She brushed that aside along with the rest of Purdue's lineup.

Moten continued the strong start to her freshman season in the circle with a one-hit shutout over four innings pitched as No. 13 Alabama run ruled Purdue 10-0 in the home opener at Rhoads Stadium on Friday afternoon. Alea Johnson came in to close it out in the fifth inning.

The only hit Moten allowed was a comebacker off the front of her body. She was briefly looked at by the trainer and coaches and seemed to have no issues shaking it off and jumping back into action after a few warmup pitches. With the composure of an upperclassmen, Moten struck out the next batter she faced.

Moten is now 4-0 on the season and has lowered her ERA to 0.63. She has 25 strikeouts over 19 innings pitched.

It took a few innings for the Alabama offense to get going, but once it got going, Purdue had a hard time stopping it. After being held scoreless the first two innings, the Tide sent 13 batters to the plate in the third inning, scoring eight runs. Sophomore Brooke Wells provided the big hit with a bases-clearing double that put Alabama in run-rule territory.

The offense showed patience and discipline at the plate with nine walks drawn and only one strikeout. Audrey Vandagriff had a multi-hit game and raised her batting average to .500. Because the Crimson Tide was able to build up such a large lead, head coach Patrick Murphy was able to clear the benches and gave almost every position player an at-bat, inning in the field or pinch-running appearance.

Alabama added on two more runs in the fourth inning with RBI doubles from Jena Young and Lauren Johnson. This was the first time this season that Alabama did not hit a home run in a game. The Crimson Tide (6-0) will be right back in action with a game against Liberty on Friday night.

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