Alabama
23-5
Samford
6-20
Five-Run Fourth Pushes Softball to 11-2 Run-Rule Win Tuesday over Samford
3/19/2024 9:20:00 PM | Softball
The Crimson Tide scores in three of the four innings it came to bat
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama softball needed just five innings to get the win Tuesday night over Samford, defeating the Bulldogs 11-2.
After a scoreless first, Alabama (23-5) put three on the board in the second over Samford (6-20) and added three more in the third before the Bulldogs erased the shutout with a two-run home run in the top of the fourth. Now leading 6-2, a five-spot in the bottom of the fourth pushed the game into run-rule territory for the Crimson Tide before Alex Salter retired the side in order in the top of the fifth to close out the game.
Kendal Clark scored three times, going 2-for-2 with a walk, RBI single and RBI double. Bailey Dowling also had a 2-for-2 day at the plate including an RBI single while five other players tallied a hit in the win. Jocelyn Briski (4-0) threw 4.0 innings in the start to earn the win while Salter closed it out with a pair of strikeouts in a 1-2-3 fifth.
From Head Coach Patrick Murphy
"We just got better as the game went on. Samford's pitcher had a good off-speed pitch going, but in the second inning we were patient and had better at bats and put the ball in play. The good part about tonight was that we got to play a lot of people and a lot of people got at-bats. We were able to use two pitchers and I thought our defense was good again. It was a quality midweek game."
Highlights
- Alabama improves to 27-2 all-time vs. Samford, including a 20-0 in Tuscaloosa
- The Crimson Tide is 20-2 this season when scoring first
- The game is the fourth this season in which Alabama has scored 10+ runs
- The three runs scored is a new season high for Kendal Clark, while the two hits and two RBIs tie her previous season best
- The multi-hit game is Bailey Dowling's fourth of the season, two of which have come in the last five games
- Riley Valentine now has four multi-RBI games this season, tied for second on the team
- With a double tonight, each of Kenleigh Cahalan's last four hits have gone for extra bases with three doubles and a home run
Scoring Summary
- B2 | Riley Valentine drove in a run with a hard-hit single to third (1-0, 0 Out)
- B2 | Kendal Clark scored from third on an RBI groundout (2-0, 1 Out)
- B2 | Jenna Johnson drove in Valentine with a single down the right field line (3-0, 2 Out)
- B3 | Bailey Dowling dropped an RBI single into center (4-0, 0 Out)
- B3 | Kenleigh Cahalan scored on a Clark RBI single (5-0, 0 Out)
- B3 | Clark tagged up and scored on a sac fly RBI (6-0, 1 Out)
- T4 | Samford erased the shutout with a two-run home run (6-2, 0 Out)
- B4 | A ball down the line fell between two defenders, good for a Cahalan RBI double (7-2, 1 Out)
- B4 | Marlie Giles scored from third on a sac fly RBI (8-2, 1 Out)
- B4 | Clark blasted an RBI double off the wall in right center (9-2, 2 Out)
- B4 | Two scored on a double from Larissa Preuitt off the glove of a diving outfielder (11-2, 2 Out)
Up Next
- Wednesday, March 20 vs. UAB – Tuscaloosa, Ala. – 6 p.m. CT
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.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Briski, Jocelyn (4-0)
L: Jordyn Partain (3-9)
Batting:
HR: Katie Campbell 1
RBI: Katie Campbell 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Olivia Shaw 1 ; Katie Campbell 1
Batting:
2B: Duchscherer, Abby 1 ; Cahalan, Kenleigh 1 ; Clark, Kendal 1 ; Preuitt, Larissa 1
RBI: Johnson, Jenna 1 ; Cahalan, Kenleigh 1 ; Dowling, Bailey 1 ; Broadfoot, Emma 1 ; Clark, Kendal 2 ; Valentine, Riley 2 ; Preuitt, Larissa 3
SF: Broadfoot, Emma 1 ; Valentine, Riley 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Heivilin, Kali 1 ; Duchscherer, Abby 1 ; Giles, Marlie 1 ; Cahalan, Kenleigh 2 ; Gidley, M'Kay 1 ; Clark, Kendal 3 ; Esman, Lauren 1 ; Valentine, Riley 1
SB: Valentine, Riley 1
HBP: Cahalan, Kenleigh 1
