Alabama
Ole Miss
Softball Shuts Out Ole Miss, 6-0, in SEC Opener
3/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - A first-inning grand slam by Marisa Runyon and a stellar complete game by Alexis Osorio guided Alabama to a 6-0 shutout over Ole Miss in Friday's SEC opener at Rhoads Stadium.
Alabama (16-4, 1-0 SEC) drew a season high 10 walks as the Ole Miss (13-6, 0-1 SEC) pitching staff struggled to find the zone. Despite the lopsided win, the Tide left plenty of additional opportunities on base, stranding a season high 12 as well.
"It's frustrating because it's positive that we had 12 people on base but it was negative that we left them there," said Head Coach Patrick Murphy. "It was really the first time this year that we continually left two or three on base every inning. We've had a couple games where we at least got a sacrifice fly, but today it wasn't too pretty after the first inning."
The big hit on offense happened early, as Runyon unloaded her first career grand slam in the first inning to take a quick four-run lead. Two more insurance runs later gave Osorio (6-2) more support than she needed as she pitched a complete-game gem in her first career SEC start, allowing just two hits along with 11 strikeouts, her third game with double-digit strikeouts this season.
"It was a great team win overall," said Osorio. "We were all very well-prepared. [Alabama pitching coach] Stephanie VanBrakle and I have been working on ball movement a lot this season. I know I'm not a power pitcher and I'm not going to blow it by them, so the thing I need to focus on is getting good movement and putting the ball where they can swing and miss."
Rebel ace Emily Gaitan (8-2) was chased after just 1.2 innings as Madi Osias threw 4.1 relief innings behind her.
Alabama didn't waste any time putting a crooked number on the board as a pair of walks and a base hit loaded the bases with one away in the first inning and Runyon promptly unloaded them with a grand slam to right field, making it 4-0. Alabama would put runners on the corners after a triple and a walk but ultimately would leave them stranded as the Tide batted around the order in the bottom of the first. Alabama nearly batted around again in the bottom of the second but stranded the bases loaded as it remained a four-run game.
The Tide had another opportunity with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth with one away, but back-to-back strikeouts ended the inning as Alabama couldn't add to the four-run lead. Alabama did tack on a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth, as an Andrea Hawkins pinch-hit double and a Chaunsey Bell sacrifice fly made it 6-0 and brought Ole Miss to its final three outs. The Rebels didn't threaten in the seventh however, as they went down in order to complete the shutout win for Alabama.
The series continues tomorrow with a 2 p.m. CT start at Rhoads Stadium. The Tide will also be celebrating senior pitcher Leslie Jury's senior day.
