Alabama
32-2
North Dakota State
16-17
Alabama Defeats North Dakota State, 8-1, Friday Night in Tuscaloosa
3/27/2026 9:26:00 PM | Softball
Game two between the Crimson Tide and Bison is scheduled for a 1 p.m. CT first pitch Saturday
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama softball won the first of two matchups against North Dakota State this weekend at Rhoads Stadium, defeating the Bison 8-1 Friday night.
Alabama (32-2) fell behind after North Dakota State (16-17) plated a run in the top of the first, but two runs in the home half of the inning gave the Crimson Tide the lead back for good behind a complete-game win from Vic Moten (13-2) with a season-best 14 strikeouts. Brooke Wells was 2-for-3, hitting a fifth-inning home run off the top of the scoreboard to give her at least one homer in each of the last three games. Celebrating her senior day Friday, Larissa Preuitt drove in the final two runs of the game with a bases-loaded single through the right side.
From Head Coach Patrick Murphy
"I was really pleased with Vic [Moten] tonight. She responded well to them scoring in the first inning and then went on to strike out eight in a row at one point later in the game and was in total command the rest of the way. The defense played really well and the offense battled through a really windy day with it going straight across. We crushed a couple balls that got caught in the wind and their outfielders made good plays all night. In the sixth inning we put together a two-out rally and I was really pleased that we had three seniors on base and Larissa Preuitt, celebrating her senior day, got up and came through with the two-run single.
"Larissa has been such a great ambassador for the program and for this university. She's an outstanding young lady on and off the field. We couldn't ask for a better family to join along with her in this ride over the last four years."
Highlights
- Brooke Wells has hit at least one home run in three straight games, with Friday's solo shot marking her team-leading 15th long ball of the year
- Wells' home run was the team's 61st of the season, just one shy of cracking the single-season top 10 and tying the 10th-place mark of 62 set in 2000 and 2009
- Another home run for Wells would tie her for 10th on Alabama's individual single-season top 10 as well, tying Ashley Prange (2023) and Leona Lafaele (2016) with 16
- After setting a new season high of 12 strikeouts on Wednesday against Jax State, Vic Moten improved on that mark with 14 against NDSU, including her 100th of the season
- Alexis Pupillo improved her reached-base streak to 30 games, one shy of her career best of 31 set as a freshman at UNI in 2023
Scoring Summary
- T1 | NDSU got on the board first with an RBI single (0-1, 2 Out)
- B1 | Ana Roman drew a bases-loaded walk (1-1, 0 Out)
- B1 | Brooke Wells scored from third on a sac fly RBI (2-1, 0 Out)
- B2 | Jena Young scored on a fielding error (3-1, 1 Out)
- B5 | Brooke Wells led off the inning with a home run off the scoreboard (4-1, 0 Out)
- B5 | Roman scored on a sac fly (5-1, 1 Out)
- B6 | Marlie Giles drew a bases-loaded walk (6-1, 2 Out)
- B6 | Larissa Preuitt drove in two with a single through the right side (8-1, 2 Out)
Up Next: vs. North Dakota State (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
- Saturday, March 28 – 1 p.m. CT
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Moten, Vic (13-2)
L: Jocelyn McClary (7-5)
Batting:
RBI: Mya Boos 1
SH: Taylinn Warren 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Amai Hanta 1
HBP: Lileigh Nieto 1
Batting:
2B: Pupillo, Alexis 1 ; Young, Jena 1
HR: Wells, Brooke 1
RBI: Wells, Brooke 1 ; Roman, Ana 1 ; Giles, Marlie 2 ; Preuitt, Larissa 2 ; Young, Jena 1
SF: Giles, Marlie 1 ; Young, Jena 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Vandagriff, Audrey 1 ; Wells, Brooke 2 ; Johnson, Lauren 1 ; Duchscherer, Abby 1 ; Roman, Ana 1 ; White, Kristen 1 ; Young, Jena 1
