Alabama
1-0
Washington
0-1
Alabama Softball Goes 2-0 on Opening Day with Wins over Washington and Michigan State
2/7/2025 4:21:00 PM | Softball
The Crimson Tide will rematch against the Huskies Saturday before facing tournament host Arizona
TUCSON, Ariz. – Alabama softball opened the 2025 season with a pair of wins Friday at the Candrea Classic, starting with a 5-1 win over No. 22 Washington before defeating Michigan State 6-2.
Alabama (2-0) trailed early in game one after Washington (0-1) sent the first pitch of the game over the fence for a solo home run, but the Crimson Tide quickly rallied with a game-tying RBI double in the second and a three-run third to take the lead. An insurance run in the sixth brought the score to 5-1 and a 1-2-3 seventh from Jocelyn Briski (1-0) capped the season-opening win for the Tide.
In game two against Michigan State (0-3), Alabama took the first lead on a Marlie Giles solo home run in the first inning before the Spartans tied it up in the third with an RBI single. The Tide retook the lead with a two-run fourth before adding another pair of runs in the fifth and a another in the sixth to lead 6-1. Michigan State cut into the lead with a one-out solo home run in the seventh but reliever Emily Winstead quickly retired the next two batters to secure the win.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Freshman Audrey Vandagriff and Marlie Giles led the team with three hits each on the day, with Giles hitting a solo home run and RBI double against Michigan State
- Jocelyn Briski struck out a career-best eight batters in the complete-game win over Washington
- In addition to Giles, home runs also came off the bat of Alexis Pupillo and Catelyn Riley
- Freshman Mari Hubbard led the team with three RBIs
SCORING SUMMARY VS. WASHINGTON
- T1 | Jadyn Glab sent the first pitch of the game over the fence for a solo home run (0-1, 0 Out)
- B2 | Audrey Vandagriff tied the game with an RBI double (1-1, 1 Out)
- B3 | Alexis Pupillo led off the half-inning with a solo home run (2-1, 0 Out)
- B3 | Mari Hubbard drove in two runs with a triple to center (4-1, 2 Out)
- B6 | Vandagriff scored from third on an RBI groundout (5-1, 1 Out)
SCORING SUMMARY VS. MICHIGAN STATE
- B1 | Marlie Giles slugged a two-out solo home run to left (1-0, 2 Out)
- T3 | Michigan State tied the game with an RBI single through the left side (1-1, 1 Out)
- B4 | Kendal Clark tagged up and scored on a sac fly RBI (2-1, 0 Out)
- B4 | Larissa Preuitt scored from third on an RBI groundout (3-1, 1 Out)
- B5 | Alexis Pupillo drove in Kristen White with an RBI single to right (4-1, 1 Out)
- B5 | Giles bounced an RBI double off the wall (5-1, 1 Out)
- B6 | Catelyn Riley led off the inning with a solo home run (6-1, 0 Out)
- T7 | The Spartans cut into the lead with a solo home run (6-2, 1 Out)
UP NEXT: CANDREA CLASSIC (TUCSON, ARIZ.)
- Saturday, Feb. 8 vs. No. 22/RV Washington – 10:30 a.m. CT
- Saturday, Feb. 8 at No. 16/17 Arizona – 6 p.m. CT
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Briski, Jocelyn (1-0)
L: Morgan Reimer (0-1)
Batting:
HR: Jadyn Glab 1
RBI: Jadyn Glab 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jadyn Glab 1
CS: Tia Durst 1
Batting:
2B: Vandagriff, Audrey 1
3B: Hubbard, Mari 1
HR: Pupillo, Alexis 1
RBI: Ellestad, Brooke 1 ; Pupillo, Alexis 1 ; Hubbard, Mari 2 ; Vandagriff, Audrey 1
SH: White, Kristen 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Pupillo, Alexis 1 ; Giles, Marlie 1 ; Preuitt, Larissa 1 ; Heivilin, Kali 1 ; Vandagriff, Audrey 1
SB: Preuitt, Larissa 2 ; Vandagriff, Audrey 1
