Alabama Softball Wins on a Surprise Home Run
Bama’s only semblance of offensive production in regulation play came in the 4th inning when Marlie Giles walked with two outs. Jenna Johnson followed with a single that the SELA center fielder bobbled and booted and bobbled some more. This action allowed Giles to come all the way around from first base to score.
Kayla Beaver started Game 2 and was solid but had some teammate mental errors. In the 6th, SELA out-hustled and out-coached the Tide with a steal of home. After a pair of singles put runners on the corners, the Lioness at first made a move to steal. Catcher Giles seemed in a quandary as to what to do with the ball and finally threw down to second base with the other runner tiptoeing down the third base line. The Bama infielders started the rundown formation and TOTALLY forgot about the other runner who easily scooted home for the score. On top of that, the initial runner made it safely into second base. In a 1-0 game with a meek offense, you can absolutely not let that lead runner score. This is some piss-poor coaching prep by Patrick Murphy and his staff.
There was nothing doing in the 7th and 8th innings. However in the 9th, Riley Valentine was called on to pinch hit with one out and Jenna on first base due to a walk. SELA’s Cera Blanchard had pitched 2.0 innings yesterday and was up to into the 9th inning and may have been tiring as the light-hitting Valentine deposited an offering over the left centerfield wall for a 3-1 advantage.
