Alabama
2-1
Georgia Southern
0-4
Big Fourth Inning Pushes Alabama Softball to 13-1 Win Saturday over Georgia Southern
2/11/2023 5:32:00 PM | Softball
The Crimson Tide plated nine runs in the fourth inning, including an inside-the-park home run
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama softball closed its opening weekend at the Leadoff Classic in dominant fashion, riding a nine-run fourth inning to a 13-1 five-inning win over Georgia Southern Saturday afternoon at Rhoads Stadium.
Alabama (2-1) took a 4-1 lead over Georgia Southern (0-4) through 3.0 innings before breaking it open with nine runs in the fourth, as 14 batters came to the plate, scoring nine runs on five hits including a three-run double from Jenna Johnson and an inside-the-park home run from Kenleigh Cahalan. With Cahalan at the top of the order followed by Ashley Prange and Ally Shipman, the trio went a combined 4-for-6 with five runs scored and six RBIs. Three pitchers saw time in the game, with Alex Salter (1-0) taking home the win with 3.0 innings pitched and just one run allowed on two hits.
The second game of Saturday's doubleheader against Lehigh was canceled due to inclement weather and will not be rescheduled.
From Head Coach Patrick Murphy
"The fourth inning was great with the starting lineup, but then also the pinch hitters got on and kept it going. The one thing that we didn't get to do yesterday was pass the baton down, so we did a much better job in that inning today. We handled the weather pretty well, [Alex] Salter is from Fort Myers, Florida, so she pitched in weather like this all through high school and summer ball. I'm proud of all three of our pitchers who went today for adapting to the weather.
"After the first loss this weekend, the two wins definitely build momentum especially finishing this one off in five innings. It was a great way to end it. Our grounds crew did a hell of a job all weekend trying to get that field dry for our players."
Highlights
- Seven different Alabama players got a hit in the win, including multi-hit games from Ashley Prange and Kali Heivilin
- Kenleigh Cahalan and Jenna Johnson led the team with three RBIs
- Cahalan is now the fifth player in Alabama history who's first career home run was an inside-the-park home run, joining Leah White (Feb. 13, 2004 vs. Lipscomb), Ryan Iamurri (March 2, 2012 vs. Maryland), Haylie McCleney (Feb. 19, 2013 vs. Drake) and Skylar Wallace (Feb. 23, 2019 vs. Missouri State)
Scoring Summary
- B1 | Bailey Dowling drove in a run on a sac fly RBI (1-0, 1 Out)
- B2 | A wind-aided single by Ashley Prange drove in two runs (3-0, 2 Out)
- B2 | Ally Shipman drove in Prange from second with an RBI single up the middle (4-0, 2 Out)
- T3 | The Eagles got on the board with an RBI single (4-1, 1 Out)
- B4 | An errant throw home on a forceout attempt allowed Alabama to plate two runs (6-1, 1 Out)
- B4 | With the bases loaded, Jenna Johnson drove all three in with a double down the left field line (9-1, 1 Out)
- B4 | Faith Hensley lifted a fly ball to right as Johnson scored from third on the sac fly RBI (10-1, 1 Out)
- B4 | With two runners on base, Kenleigh Cahalan dropped a ball in the right field gap and hustled the full 240 feet to round the bases with an inside-the-park home run (13-1, 2 Out)
Up Next: TaxAct Clearwater Invitational (Clearwater, Fla.)
- Thursday, Feb. 16 vs. Duke – 12 p.m. CT – SEC Network
- Friday, Feb. 17 vs. UCLA – 3 p.m. CT – ESPN2
- Saturday, Feb. 18 vs. UCF – 1:30 p.m. CT
- Saturday, Feb. 18 vs. Indiana – 5 p.m. CT
- Sunday, Feb. 19 vs. Florida State – 4 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 (1-0)
L: Graceanne Spears (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Emma Davis 1
RBI: Courtney Ball 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Emma Davis 1
Batting:
2B: Johnson, Jenna 1
HR: Cahalan, Kenleigh 1
RBI: Cahalan, Kenleigh 3 ; Prange, Ashley 2 ; Shipman, Ally 1 ; Dowling, Bailey 1 ; Johnson, Jenna 3 ; Hensley, Faith 1
SF: Dowling, Bailey 1 ; Hensley, Faith 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cahalan, Kenleigh 3 ; Prange, Ashley 2 ; Gidley, M'Kay 1 ; Dowling, Bailey 1 ; Barnhart, Aubrey 1 ; Johnson, Jenna 1 ; Heivilin, Kali 2 ; Duchscherer, Abby 1 ; Hensley, Faith 1
SB: Shipman, Ally 1 ; Heivilin, Kali 3
HBP: Shipman, Ally 1 ; Barnhart, Aubrey 1
