Alabama
8-6
Drake
1-6
Alabama Bats Red Hot in Saturday Doubleheader Sweep over Drake
2/22/2025 4:13:00 PM | Softball
The Crimson Tide outscores the Bulldogs 30-2 across two games
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama softball's offense was red hot in a pair of run rule wins Saturday over Drake, with the Crimson Tide sweeping both games of the doubleheader by scores of 19-0 and 11-2.
Alabama (9-6) got off to a hot start in game one against Drake (1-7), scoring nine runs in the first inning and staying in control for the rest of the contest. The first inning alone was led off with back-to-back triples and a pair of home runs and doubles would also follow. From there, the Crimson Tide continued to pass down the bats, putting up six runs in the second inning and another four runs in the fourth inning to secure the run rule victory. In total, Alabama's 21 hits and 19 RBIs are both the second-highest single game totals in program history. Emily Winstead earned the win in the circle, throwing 3.0 hitless innings on her senior day with freshman Braya Hodges making her Alabama debut in relief.
The Tide picked up where it left off in game two, scoring all 11 of its runs in the first three innings. Alabama put up four runs in the first frame, including the first of Abby Duchscherer's four RBIs as part of a 3-for-3 day at the plate. Drake responded with two runs in the third inning but were unable to add any more in the effort. Winstead earned her second win of the day in the circle with Alea Johnson throwing 2.0 innings behind her in relief with just one hit allowed.
From Head Coach Patrick Murphy
"When the first inning rolled around, we just started putting up runs. We used a lot of different people. It was difficult to make the lineup for game two because everyone played well in the first game, and that's a good problem to have. I don't think we've ever had a senior day where the senior was the starting pitcher and won both games, that doesn't happen very often."
Highlights
- Alabama's 19 RBIs in game one is one shy of the school record, its most since matching that mark on Feb. 20, 2011 vs. Syracuse
- The Tide's 21 hits are also the second-highest total in program history, its highest total since setting the record of 25 on March 31, 1999 at Arkansas
- The 19 runs scored is the most since April 15, 2012 vs. South Carolina
- Larissa Preuitt was 4-for-4 on the day, extending her hitting streak to nine games
- Kennedy Marceaux was a combined 5-for-6 at the plate Saturday, including two doubles
- Lauren Johnson had a career-high four RBIs in game one, including her first career home run
- Brooke Ellestad and Abby Duchscherer each had four hits on the day, with Ellestad driving in a team-leading five RBIs and Duchscherer hitting her first home run of the season
Game One Scoring Summary
- B1 | Audrey Vandagriff and Larissa Prueitt led off the inning with back-to-back triples (1-0, 0 Out)
- B1 | Alexis Pupillo sent the first pitch of her at-bat over the right field fence for a two-run homer (3-0, 0 Out)
- B1 | Kali Heivilin blasted a two-run home run (5-0, 0 Out)
- B1 | Brooke Ellestad dropped a two-run double into right center (7-0, 0 Out)
- B1 | Ellestad scored on an RBI groundout (8-0, 0 Out)
- B1 | Preuitt hit an RBI single through the right side (9-0, 1 Out)
- B2 | Ellestad drove in a run with an RBI single to deep center (10-0, 0 Out)
- B2 | A bases-loaded single from Kendal Clark moved everyone up 60 feet (11-0, 0 Out)
- B2 | Lauren Johnson hit a two-run double to right (13-0, 0 Out)
- B2 | Catelyn Riley drove in two with a single up the middle (15-0, 0 Out)
- B4 | Lauren Johnson hit a two-run homer to center field (17-0, 0 Out)
- B4 | Marlie Giles hit a two-run home run (19-0, 2 Out)
Game Two Scoring Summary
- B1 | Abby Duchscherer bounced an RBI double off the center field wall (1-0, 1 Out)
- B1 | Brooke Ellestad pulled a two-run single through the right side (3-0, 1 Out)
- B1 | Kennedy Marceaux hit an RBI double into right field (4-0, 1 Out)
- B2 | Abby Duchscherer blasted a two-run homer to center field (6-0, 2 Out)
- T3 | An RBI single plated the first run of the day for Drake (6-1, 1 Out)
- T3 | The Bulldogs got another on an RBI single (6-2, 2 Out)
- B3 | Marceaux scored on an infield single from Kristen White (7-2, 1 Out)
- B3 | Audrey Vandagriff drove in two with a single through the left side (9-2, 1 Out)
- B3 | Larissa Preuitt laced an RBI double down the right field line (10-2, 1 Out)
- B3 | Preuitt scored from third as Abby Duchscherer beat out an infield single (11-2, 2 Out)
Up Next: Easton Bama Bash (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
- Sunday, Feb. 23 vs. No. 15/17 Virginia Tech – 12:30 p.m. CT
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Winstead, Emily (3-0)
L: Jayme Scheck (1-3)
Batting:
2B: Clark, Kendal 1 ; Johnson, Lauren 1 ; Marceaux, Kennedy 1 ; Ellestad, Brooke 1
3B: Vandagriff, Audrey 1 ; Preuitt, Larissa 1
HR: Johnson, Lauren 1 ; Pupillo, Alexis 1 ; Heivilin, Kali 1 ; Giles, Marlie 1
RBI: Vandagriff, Audrey 1 ; Clark, Kendal 1 ; Preuitt, Larissa 2 ; Johnson, Lauren 4 ; Pupillo, Alexis 2 ; Riley, Catelyn 2 ; Heivilin, Kali 2 ; Giles, Marlie 2 ; Ellestad, Brooke 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Vandagriff, Audrey 1 ; Clark, Kendal 2 ; Preuitt, Larissa 1 ; Johnson, Lauren 2 ; Pupillo, Alexis 1 ; Duchscherer, Abby 1 ; Hawkins, Salen 1 ; Heivilin, Kali 1 ; Giles, Marlie 3 ; Marceaux, Kennedy 2 ; Ellestad, Brooke 2 ; White, Kristen 2
SB: Preuitt, Larissa 1 ; White, Kristen 1
HBP: Giles, Marlie 1
