No. 13 Alabama Softball Blasts No. 14 South Carolina with 10-Run Second Inning
Alabama used a 10-run second inning to crush South Carolina 13-1 in five innings Thursday night at Carolina Softball Stadium.
The No. 13 Crimson Tide brought 13 batters to the plate and scored 10 runs off nine hits to extend the lead to 11-0.
“Pretty awful performance on our part,” South Carolina head coach Ashley Chastain Woodard said to reporters after the game. “Really disappointed, obviously. Just when it comes down to it, we just have to perform better.”
Marlie Giles and Salen Hawkins each had three-hit nights for the Tide. Giles drove in three runs on a three-run home run, her fifth of the season, during the insane second inning.
Starting off STRONG 💪#NCAASoftball x 🎥 SECN+ / @AlabamaSB
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Freshman Audrey Vandagriff also had three RBIs and finished 1-for-2 with two walks and a run scored.
Jocelyn Briski earned the win, improving to 15-10 on the year. She allowed one run on four hits and one walk. She struck out three. Aleah Johnson pitched the fifth and only needed 12 pitches to sit the side down in order.
The No. 14 Gamecocks didn't look like themselves from the moment a throwing error by South Carolina pitcher Jori Heard sailed over first base and into right field.
“We made a mistake defensively on an overthrow from a pitcher on a bunt, and it’s just like we lost the game from there, to be honest,” Chastain Woodard added. “We had no momentum from there. We did not communicate. We did not play well.”
South Carolina hopes to turn a page and play better in Game 2 of the series on Friday at 6 p.m. ET.
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-1d7db99dccc9abef7b9378f016b22b68.webp "Maren Angus-Coombs")
Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.