Alabama
Maryland
Alabama Softball Wins Two to Open Play at Panther Invitational
2/19/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
ATLANTA - Alabama softball claimed a pair of wins to open action at the Panther Invitational Friday morning, defeating Miami (Oh) 10-2 in six innings before edging out a 1-0 pitcher's duel against Maryland.
Alabama (7-1) cruised to its first win of the day over Miami, Ohio (0-1), defeating the RedHawks via run rule in the sixth inning. The Crimson Tide's second game of the day was a hard-fought pitcher's duel against Maryland (2-4), as a fifth-inning RBI double by Demi Turner made the difference with Alexis Osorio getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning to earn her first career save.
Tide pitching was stellar throughout both games, allowing just two earned runs over 13.0 innings pitched with 15 strikeouts. Offensively, Turner led the way going 4-7 with three RBIs between the two games. Senior Andrea Hawkins went 3-6 batting out of the bottom of the order while fellow senior Kallie Case drove in three runs in the opening game.
GAME ONE: ALABAMA 10, MIAMI (OH) 2 (6 INNINGS)
A five-run first inning gave Alabama an early cushion as the Tide scored an eight-run victory in its opening game at the Panther Invitational against Miami. Tide starter Madi Moore (4-0) gave up her first career earned run but was still very stingy in the complete-game effort, throwing 6.0 innings with two runs on five hits to stay undefeated. Turner went 2-3 at the top of the order with a pair of RBIs with Hawkins, Case, Leona Lafaele and Peyton Grantham also tallying two hits in the win.
The RedHawks used three pitchers in its season debut, with starter Amber Logemann (0-1) ultimately credited with the loss after allowing seven runs, four earned, over 3.0 innings. Taylor Shuey led the offense out of the three-hole, going 2-3 including a two-run single that scored their lone runs of the day.
Alabama got the scoring started early as five runs crossed the plate in the opening inning. A base hit, error and walk quickly loaded the bases with nobody out before a passed ball and a two-run single quickly made it 3-0. Later with the bases loaded again, Case roped a two-run double down the left-field line to make it 5-0 before a flyout stopped the bleeding and ended the inning.
Miami erased the shutout in the top of the third on a two-run single by Shuey but Alabama responded with two of its own in the bottom half, as Turner popped a two-run single up the middle to make it 7-2. Facing a new pitcher in the fourth inning, Alabama tacked on another pair with RBI singles by Grantham and Hawkins, stretching it to 9-2. Alabama could not score in the bottom of the fifth to induce the run-rule but eventually did so in the sixth on a bases-loaded RBI single by case to end it in Alabama's favor, 10-2.
GAME TWO: ALABAMA 1, MARYLAND 0
With both teams' offenses stymied in game two, great pitching by Alabama and a clutch RBI single by Turner made the difference in the slim 1-0 victory. Tide starter Sydney Littlejohn (2-1) earned the win, throwing 5.2 innings with just two hits and five strikeouts, while Osorio pitched 1.1 relief innings and got out of a bases-loaded jam to earn her first career save.
With Alabama as the designated visiting team, the Tide came up to bat in the top of the fifth in a scoreless tie. Freshman Merris Schroder reached on a fielding error to lead off the inning and, after a sacrifice bunt, she was driven home on an RBI double by Turner to tally the first run of the game. Maryland finally knocked in its first hit of the day in the bottom-half of the inning on an infield single but the Terps would strand two on base as Alabama remained on top, 1-0.
After entering to secure the final out of the sixth inning, Osorio headed to the bottom of the seventh looking to preserve the 1-0 lead. After a leadoff single, Osorio struck out the next two batters to bring the Terps down to their final out. A walk extended the inning and a single to center field threated to tie it, but a quick scoop-and-throw by Chandler Dare in center held the runner at third base. Reagan Dykes tracked down a popup behind the plate for the final out as Alabama held on to win, 1-0.
Alabama continues its weekend at the Panther Invitational with two more games tomorrow, facing Mercer (3-2) at 9 a.m. CT and tournament host Georgia State (1-5) at 11:30 a.m. CT.
