Alabama
7-0
Virginia Tech
7-2
Alabama Softball Posts Saturday Shutouts over No. 8 Virginia Tech, Middle Tennessee
2/19/2022 6:33:00 PM | Softball
A sixth-inning home run from Ally Shipman gave the Crimson Tide its second win of the weekend over the eighth-ranked Hokies
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama softball posted a pair of shutouts Saturday at Rhoads Stadium, beating eighth-ranked Virginia Tech, 2-0, before blanking Middle Tennessee, 8-0, in five innings.
Alabama (8-0) and Virginia Tech (7-2) started the day with another pitcher's duel before a two-run home run from Ally Shipman broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the sixth and Lexi Kilfoyl (2-0) closed it out with a 1-2-3 top of the seventh, capping the complete-game victory for the junior right-hander.
In the second game of the day against Middle Tennessee (2-7), the two teams were scoreless until the Crimson Tide plated a run in the fourth and then exploded the next inning, scoring seven more to end the game in run-rule fashion, 8-0. Shipman added two more RBIs in the win with a double in the fifth along with RBIs from Jenna Lord and Jordan Stephens in their first career starts at Alabama. Alex Salter (2-0) earned the win while Montana Fouts earned the save, her first of the season and ninth of her career.
From Head Coach Patrick Murphy
"Number one, Kilfoyl's game face on the mound was just unbelievable. The intangible she told the team about herself this year was to have a calm, cool presence when stuff happens. She has absolutely lived that every game she's gone out there. Kudos to her for keeping her cool with the bases loaded no outs. We knew it was going to be a pitcher's duel with whoever they pitched, and the freshman was good as advertised. The pitcher yesterday was good as advertised too. Luckily, we threw a shutout and scored and won both of those. In the second game we didn't turn it on until the fifth and I was disappointed in that. We've got to do a better job tomorrow against them because they respected the hell out of us, and we need to do the same tomorrow."Â
Highlights vs. Virginia Tech
- Alabama is 3-0 against ranked opponents this season, posting shutouts in all three games
- The home run was Shipman's second of the weekend and her third of the season, also her fourth game with multiple RBIs
- Lexi Kilfoyl has not allowed a run in three appearances so far this season, with 12.0 of the 12.2 innings pitched coming in complete-game wins over ninth-ranked Arizona and eighth-ranked Virginia Tech
Scoring Summary vs. Virginia Tech
- B6 | Ally Shipman blasted a two-run home run to left field (2-0, 1 Out)
Highlights vs. Middle Tennessee
- The win marked the fifth game this season in which Alabama scores at least eight runs
- Freshmen Jenna Lord and Jordan Stephens made their first career starts, driving in runs on a sac fly and a two-run double, respectively
- Montana Fouts secured the final out of the fourth inning for her eighth career save
Scoring Summary vs. Middle Tennessee
- B4 | Jenna Lord drove in Bailey Dowling from third with a sac fly RBI (1-0, 1 Out)
- B5 | Ally Shipman roped a two-run double into shallow left (3-0, 0 Out)
- B5 | Ashley Prange was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded (4-0, 0 Out)
- B5 | Megan Bloodworth drove in a run with a sac fly RBI (5-0, 0 Out)
- B5 | Jordan Stephens bounced a two-run double off the wall in left field (7-0, 2 Out)
- B5 | A fielding error allowed the game-ending run to cross home plate (8-0, 2 Out)
Up Next
- Sunday, Feb. 20 vs. Middle Tennessee – 1:30 p.m. CT
For the latest information on the team, follow @AlabamaSB on Twitter, BamaSB on Instagram and Alabama Softball on Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Salter, Alex (2-0)
L: MEAD, Gretchen (0-1)
S: Fouts, Montana (1)
Batting:
SH: HILL, Kelci 1 ; RODRIGUEZ, Lani 1 ; RICHETTO, Kaylee 1
Base Running:
HBP: HARRIS, Amaya 1
Batting:
2B: Shipman, Ally 1 ; Stephens, Jordan 1
RBI: Goodnight, Dallis 1 ; Shipman, Ally 2 ; Prange, Ashley 1 ; Bloodworth, Megan 1 ; Lord, Jenna 1 ; Stephens, Jordan 2
SF: Bloodworth, Megan 1 ; Lord, Jenna 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Johnson, Jenna 1 ; Goodnight, Dallis 1 ; Shipman, Ally 1 ; Dowling, Bailey 1 ; Gidley, M'Kay 1 ; Prange, Ashley 1 ; Stephens, Jordan 1 ; Grill, Kat 1
SB: Johnson, Jenna 1
HBP: Prange, Ashley 2
