Alabama Takes Down Florida State, 4-1, Wednesday in Tallahassee

Wednesday, March 13

Tallahassee, Fla.

6 p.m. CT

Alabama

21-3

Florida State

17-6

Alabama

Florida State

Alabama Takes Down Florida State, 4-1, Wednesday in Tallahassee

3/13/2024 9:53:00 PM | Softball

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A pair of home runs help lead the Crimson Tide to its fourth ranked win of the season

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Alabama softball earned its fourth ranked victory of the season Wednesday night, a 4-1 road win over Florida State.

No. 14 Alabama (21-3) jumped ahead early over 16th-ranked Florida State (17-6) with two runs in the top of the first inning on a solo home run from Abby Duchscherer and RBI single from Bailey Dowling. The Crimson Tide failed to capitalize on scoring opportunities in the third and fourth innings, stranding the bases loaded and a runner on second, respectively. The Seminoles led off their half of the fourth with the first hit of the game before a walk put two on base. After a strikeout and groundout to move the runners up 60 feet with two out, a wild pitch brought in a run before a fly ball ended the inning with the score now 2-1. With two out and a runner on first in the top of the sixth, Kali Heivilin lifted a two-run homer to center field to add some cushion, pushing the score to its eventual final tally of 4-1.

Duchscherer, Dowling and Kristen White each had two hits in the win with Duchscherer's home run as her team-leading sixth of the season. Heivilin's home run was her third of the year and her first since Feb. 16 against St. Thomas. Alea Johnson (3-0) took home the win in relief, allowing just two hits over 3.1 shutout innings.

From Head Coach Patrick Murphy

"I thought tonight was a win-win for college softball. Both teams played really well in front of a packed house on national television. It was a great atmosphere. I thought [Kayla] Beaver gave us a great start and then Alea [Johnson] came in and pitched in a game for the first time in two weeks and did awesome. That shows the depth of our pitching staff. All our runs tonight came with two outs, so we passed the baton down and got the key hits when we needed them."

Highlights

Alabama is now 7-8 all-time vs. Florida State, with tonight's win as its first in Tallahassee in three contests
The Crimson Tide is 4-2 vs. Top 25 opponents this year, with all of those opportunities coming over six of the last seven games
Alabama is now 19-0 when scoring first and 13-0 when scoring in the first inning
Abby Duchscherer hit her team-leading sixth home run as part of a 2-for-4 day at the plate, her seventh multi-hit game of the season
Kristen White was 2-for-3 batting ninth, her third multi-hit game of the year and her second in last three games
Bailey Dowling's 2-for-4 day marked her third multi-hit game of the year
Alea Johnson extended her current scoreless innings streak to 13, having given up just one earned run in 28.2 innings this season

Scoring Summary

T1 | Abby Duchscherer hit a solo home run to center field (1-0, 2 Out)
T1 | Bailey Dowling drove in Marlie Giles with an RBI single (2-0, 2 Out)
B4 | A Florida State run scored on a wild pitch (2-1, 2 Out)
T6 | Kali Heivilin slugged a two-run home run to right center (4-1, 2 Out)

Up Next: at #5/5 Georgia (Athens, Ga.)

Friday, March 15 – 5 p.m. CT
Saturday, March 16 – 11 a.m. CT – SEC Network
Sunday, March 17 – 11 a.m. CT – SEC Network

For the latest information on the team, follow @AlabamaSB on X/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.