#5 Alabama 6, #22 N.C. State 0
2/25/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Tide improved to 16-0 on the season and won its third tournament championship of 2007. They also won the Century-Tel Softball Classic in San Marcos, Texas and the Hampton Inn BAMA BASH! last weekend. This was the third straight Crimson Classic championship for Alabama.
Alabama didn't waste any time gaining an edge in the contest as they put two runs on the board right out of the gate. They started the bottom of the first inning with walks by Brittany Rogers and Jordan Praytor. Two batters later, Lauren Parker stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and was hit by a pitch to knock in a run. Dani Woods followed with a single to center field to score one more run and make it 2-0.
Mandy Burford gave the Tide a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning with a hard hit single that the pitcher, Abbie Sims couldn't make a play on. The Wolfpack threatened the lead in the fifth inning. Shanna Smith and Megan Dalthorp had back-to-back singles to start the frame. However, Chrissy Owens got a strikeout and a fielder's choice ground out for two outs and Ashley Holcombe lasered a shot to Parker at second base to pickoff Dalthorp and end the inning.
Bama used the momentum to add two more runs in the bottom half of the fifth. Woods drove in a run on a sacrifice fly to center and Kellie Eubanks laid down a perfect suicide squeeze to score Parker, who doubled to center field earlier in the inning.
Alabama tacked on one more run for the 6-0 victory, the team's eighth shutout of the season in 16 games. Owens earned a spot on the All-Tournament team with her third victory of the tournament and eighth of the year. She allowed struck out four and walked two to go along with seven hits. The shutout was the 13th of her career, moving her into fourth on the all-time list. She has four shutouts in eight starts this season.
Woods finished 1-of-2 with two RBI while Parker went 2-for-3 with a run and a RBI. Burford was 1-for-1 with a walk and hit-by-pitch. She stole two bases in the game to give her a team-high 13 on the season. Allison Presnell and Smith were each 2-for-3 to lead N.C. State.
Parker was named the Hampton Inn Crimson Classic MVP. She set or matched tournament records with a .643 (9-of-14) avg., six runs scored, nine hits and three doubles. She also hit one home run, had six RBI and stole two bases. She reached base two out of every three plate appearances (.667 OBP) and had a 1.071 slugging pct. Brittany Rogers was also named to the All-Tournament team after hitting .500 (8-of-16) with six runs, one double, one triple, three RBI and four stolen bases. She also ended the game with an outfield assist in the first meeting against #22 N.C. State on Friday.
