Tide Rolls Over Portland State
2/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
SEATTLE, Wash. ?? The Portland State offense struck first, scoring two runs in the top of the first, but the Vikings were unable to hold the No. 1 University of Alabama’s offense in check as the Tide rolled to an 8-2 win in game one of the University of Washington Husky Classic in Seattle on Friday.
“I thought Charlotte pitched really well, had a couple of unlucky bounces in the first inning otherwise she might have shut them out, but she settled down and had a great game after that,” said UA head coach Patrick Murphy. “We were a little disappointed with our opportunities with bases loaded, but overall I was happy to get the win.”
Portland State jumped on top in its first turn at bat, scoring two runs off of starting pitcher Charlotte Morgan, becoming just the fourth team in 16 games to score first off of the Tide pitching staff. But the league-leading Alabama offense did not allow it to last long, scoring eight unanswered runs over the final seven innings en route to the win.
The Tide scored a run in the bottom of the first when Dani Woods singled in Brittany Rogers. After a scoreless top of the second, Rogers drove in Whitney Larsen to tie the game. Kelley Montalvo gave UA the lead with a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth, her second of the season.
“Kelley was huge for us today,” Murphy said. “It was a big hit, but she’s been doing that all season. Dani had a good game for us and I thought that Brittany was a huge part of our offense again.”
Morgan held the Vikings down until facing trouble in the top of the sixth when she gave way to senior Chrissy Owens. Owens promptly shut the door on the Portland State attack, striking out of five of the six batters she faced en route to her fourth save of the season.
Owens, who came into the game leading the league in saves, got the 20th save of her career, the highest total for any UA pitcher in school history.
Montalvo finished with a team-high two RBI, while Dani Woods and Morgan had two hits apiece. Woods added two RBI, while Rogers, Larsen and Katie Johnson tallied one RBI apiece.
The Tide faces Nevada at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, followed by a matchup with Washington, who knocked off Alabama in the 2007 NCAA Super Regional, at 3 p.m.
