Another Alabama Crimson Tide Softball Sweep (2024)

It’s probably safe to say that most observers expected the Crimson Tide to stomp these three teams into oblivion. They won all five games, but it was far from a dominating effort. Outside of a few batters (Esman, Duchscherer to name two), there was actually regression at the plate from Week 1.

GAME 1: ALABAMA 7, St. Thomas 3 - Bama Bombs

Considering the opponent, Tide head coach Patrick Murphy was able to tinker with the lineup while auditioning a few others. Kenleigh Cahalan led off while Lauren and Jenna Johnson rode the pine. Larissa Preuitt took over centerfield while Kat Grill started in left. Right field was again handled by Kendal Clark. Bailey Dowling also sat with Emma Broadfoot manning the hot corner for the first time in her Bama career.

Catcher Riley Valentine got the scoring going in the second with a bomb that bounced off the scoreboard. Later in the inning with a runner aboard, Kali Heivilin hit an inside-the-park home run that would push the score to 3-0. But the Tommies weren’t giving up just yet. After a throwing error by Cahalan and a walk, a three-run homer off Alea Johnson tied the game in the third. Bama would retake the lead in the next half frame when Lauren Esman doubled in two, Abby Duchscherer doubled in Esman, and Duchscherer scored on an error. But that was the end of the Tide scoring.

Following a ground out and a walk in the top of the fourth, Jaala Torrence (W, 2-0) relieved Alea in the circle. IMHO, Alea may have been a little rattled by the dinger. Torrence would finish out the game on a blistering pace, striking out nine of the next eleven batters she faced including striking out the side in the fifth and sixth with nobody reaching base the rest of the way.

GAME 2: ALABAMA 3, Virginia 1 - Deja Vu All Over Again

It was Senior Day for Emma Broadfoot who transferred over from North Alabama a year ago. It seems kinda early in the season for that but okay... Broadfoot got the start at first base and would go 0 for 3 with a strikeout. Duchscherer was DH and Esman moved to an already crowded outfield.

If Murphy was sending Jenna Johnson a message by benching her in the first game, it was sure received loud and clear. JJ led off the game with a double and would come around to score after Esman deposited a ball over the left field fence or an early 2-0 advantage. Johnson walked in her next at bat and then hit another two bagger in the fifth inning. A single by Dutch would knock her in for the third run and final of the game for the Crimson Tide. A “double” by Marlie Giles - which could have easily been ruled a double - was the only other Bama hit.

Kayla Beaver (W, 3-0) again got the start against the “Power” opponent and hurled another 7 inning complete game. She gave up 4 hits and a walk while striking out 6 and inducing 10 groundouts. However, she did give up two singles in the seventh and UVa scored their only run of the game on an error by shortstop Cahalan - her second of the day.

GAME 3: ALABAMA 8, St. Thomas 0 (5 Inn) - Torrence-ial Downpour

Torrence (W, 3-0) was rewarded for her fine work in Game 1 with a start in the Saturday opener. She in turn showed her gratitude with another good performance reminiscent of last year’s Regional Tournament. The senior hurler tossed 5.0 innings giving up 2 hits and 2 walks while whiffing 6.

The St. Thomas starter could not get out of the first inning after walking the first three Tide batters. Her reliever walked the next batter and a second run scored on a fielder’s choice. Heivilin led off the second inning with a double and was knocked in by Preuitt. A Cahalan single and a Clark double made it 5-0 after three frames.

Duchscherer added to her RBI total with a 4th inning single. Valentine singled in run number seven. In the bottom of 5th, Clark was hit by pitch and a Preuitt triple ended the game in a run-rule victory.

GAME 4: ALABAMA 3, Virginia 2 - Survival

It was Senior Day for KJ Haney and she got a rare start as DH. The Johnson sisters batted 1-2 for the first time but it would not last long. Cahalan was dropped down to sixth in the batting order with Dowling right behind her. Preuitt started in right field and batted ninth. Dutch was at first base with Esman on the bench. [Go figure. For the first time I WANT to see Esman in the lineup and The Gut® keeps her on the pine in favor of a seldom used reserve.]

Heivilin got the scoring going with an opening inning RBI single that score Jenna. Dowling added a second run in the next inning on a solo shot that just skimmed off a fielder’s glove and over the left field fence. Lauren Johnson would knock in another later in the frame to put the Tide up 3-0. And then it was nappy time. Three strike outs for Bama in the 3rd and one in the 4th and 7th with no hits the rest of the way. Appropriately, Haney struck out swinging as the final Tide batter of the game. She went 0-3 with three strikeouts. Ugh.

Jocelyn Briski (W, 3-0) got the start and was less than sharp. She allowed singles in every inning. In the top of 3rd, the Cavs finally broke through with a two-run single. In the 5th, Briski hit a batter with two outs and was lifted in what Murphy later called “arm issue”. Beaver entered the game and recorded five Ks over 2.1 innings to earn her first Alabama save.

On a side note: Jenna Johnson walked in the first inning and would come around to score but took a hard slide at home plate. She was replaced in left field by Kendal Clark.

GAME 5: ALABAMA 2, Southern Indiana 0 - Sleepwalking

In a game that Bama should have won 20-0, the Tide managed only two runs on two hits. In the bottom of 1st, a hit by pitch and three straight walks plated the first run of the day. A fly out by Giles pushed a second run across home plate. At this point, the Bama players must have started thinking about homework or what’s for dinner because their minds were definitely not on obliterating a doormat team. Alabama went down in order in the 4th, 5th, and 6th.

Esman got the start in the circle but suffered an injury and had to be replaced after just two batters. Alea Johnson (W, 1-0) entered to pitch and tallied a career high six strikeouts over 5.1 shutout innings to earn her first win as a Tide player. Beaver entered in the 7th and gave up a single but the runner was erased on a double play. The final batter struck out as “The Beav” picked up her second save of the weekend.

Jenna J did not play.

NOTES

• Every year, we see Torrence pull out a ridiculously dominating effort against a cupcake. But in those seasons past, she is less successful against Power teams. Is it a psychological thing? Is it better coaching/scouting by opposing teams at the higher level? Fans will find out soon enough when March rolls around if she has conquered this issue.
• Speaking to the press after the Friday games, Murphy mentioned that they have been “trying to find combinations that work well together” and complimented the Alea Johnson-Torrence pitching duo. Expect to see a lot more of that.
• Beaver is an outstanding pitcher and has already established herself as the No. 1 in the circle. However, she has been having a little trouble closing out games. Against Georgia Tech last weekend, UA held an identical 3-0 lead heading into the seventh inning. In both that game and Game 2 versus Virginia, the opponent pushed a run across and brought the tying run to the plate. We had seen this sort of thing before - even from Montana Fouts. Again, is this a psychological thing? Like a sprinter letting up just before reaching the finishing line?
• Game 4 was another squeaker against a meh team. It didn’t help that The Gut® started Haney. It seems whenever Murphy wants to do something special for a single player instead of focusing on the best avenue to a win, it backfires or near backfires.
• On the other hand... Kudos to Murphy for trying Esman out in right field for game 2 - a position she has never played at the college level. Es has been crushing the ball and leads the team in extra base hits with 4 doubles and has a home run. But Duchscherer is doing much of the same and they both play first base. Hopefully, hitting will be a priority over seniority or favoritism this season. Whoever is hitting the ball well needs to find a spot in the lineup over less productive teammates 100%.
• In a pinch-running situation in Game 1, Lauren Johnson was caught stealing. But she stole two other base later in the weekend.
• OF Kristen White is still out with an undisclosed injury.
• Alex Salter again did not play. Word is she is dealing with a “minor injury”, though some fans mentioned they saw her warming up in the bullpen.
• Kinsley Pate has pinch run in 6 games thus far. The light-hitting Samford transfer has not had an at bat. It seems odd that Murphy would bring her in just to fill that role, especially with PR specialist M’Kay Gidley still on the roster.
• Dowling and Heivilin turned a nice double play against UVa in Game 2. In that same game, Heivilin made a big league diving grab and threw a runner out at first from her knees. She is quietly having a decent start to the season including flawless defense at second base.
• In Game 3, Bama turned a rare 9-4-3 double play.
• On the flip side, Cahalan is already up to 4 errors on the season at short.
• Dowling was 1 for 10 at the plate. Broadfoot was 0-4. Haney 0-5 with 3 K.
• Alabama has scored first every game so far this year, including six times in the first inning.

MVPs

1. BEAVER, again! - complete game win, two saves, 6 hits allowed - none extra base, 1 earned run, 12 K, 1 BB
2. ESMAN - 3 for 9 (.333), HR, two 2B, 4 RBI, 3 RUNS, 0 strike outs - in only three games.
3. DUCHSCHERER, again! - 5 for 15 (.333), one 2B, 5 RBI, 1 RUN

OTHER STUFF

So while Alabama is screwing around with cupcakes, every other SEC contender seems to be playing nationally ranked opponents and beating them for the most part.

• Down at the Clearwater Invitational, Lexi Kilfoyl came in for #8 Oklahoma State in the seventh with a 6-5 lead over LSU and gave up two walks and two singles for a 7-6 loss. The Tigers had back-to-back walk-off wins against Northwestern and Okie Lite. Kilfoyl also lost to UGA.
• Auburn walked off #13 Utah.
• No Orange Bowl revenge for Florida State as Georgia stomped ‘Noles by the ridiculous score of 20-10. The Doggies also beat Oklahoma St and #20 UCLA in consecutive games on Friday.
• #2 Tennessee lost to both #9 Stanford and #3 Texas on Friday by one run in each game.
• 25th ranked Texas A&M topped #14 Oregon.
• Unranked Mississippi State defeated #7 Clemson 6-3. The also took two from #23 ULL earlier in the week.
• Arky split two games with Arizona.
• Several of Saturday’s and Sunday’s Clearwater games were canceled due to poor weather conditions, thus, depriving fans of LSU vs. Washington, UCLA vs. Tennessee, and Kentucky vs Texas which will not be made up.

UPCOMING ALABAMA SCHEDULE

The Crimson Tide has one midweek home game followed by the Green & Gold Classic tournament hosted by UAB.

• Wednesday, Feb 21 vs. UNA 3 p.m. CT (Tuscaloosa, AL)
• Friday, Feb 23 at UAB 4:45 p.m. CT (Birmingham, AL)
• Friday, Feb 23 vs. Western Carolina 7 p.m. CT (Birmingham, AL)
• Saturday, Feb 24 vs. Bradley 4:45 p.m. CT (Birmingham, AL)
• Saturday, Feb 24 vs. UNA 7 p.m. CT (Birmingham, AL)
• Sunday, Feb 25 at UAB 12 p.m. CT (Birmingham, AL)

March 1 is going to be such a culture shock when Arizona comes to town.

#RollTide #Team28