Crimson Tide Softball Sweeps Bama Bash, Improves to 13-0

The second ranked Crimson Tide earned five wins over the weekend, sweeping the Easton Bama Bash and improving to 13-0 on the season.

Friday

Alabama opened its home slate with a 4-2 win over the East Carolina Pirates. Junior Pitcher Lauren Sewell earned her first win of the season, allowing two runs on two hits while striking out four. Sewell held the Pirates without a hit through the first five innings before allowing the two runs in the sixth. Senior Amanda Locke earned her first save of the season, tossing a perfect seventh inning.

Juniors Courtney Conley and Jackey Branham combined for five of the Tide's 11 hits. Conley went 3-for-3 effort while adding a run scored while Branham hit two, driving in one run.

In the second half of the double header, the Tide took down North Dakota State 9-4, thanks to two big innings. The Crimson Tide scored nine runs on nine hits, using a five-run third and a three-run fourth to earn the win. Kaila Hunt drove in four runs on two hits while Kayla Braud collected two more hits and scored two runs.

Freshman Leslie Jury (3-0) earned the win after throwing 4 2/3 innings. Jury allowed three runs on five hits and struck out two. Locke once again came in to shut down the games, pitching 2 1/3 innings, allowing one unearned run while striking out two.

Saturday

In the first half of Satuday's double header, Leslie Jury struck out a career high 12 batters to lead the Tide to a second win over East Carolina (9-4). Despite a rough third inning in which Jury allowed all four runs on five hits, the rookie was superb, not issuing a walk and surpassing her previous career high of three strikeouts by the third inning. The complete game effort was also a career first for Jury.

Offensively, Amanda Locke collected three hits, three runs and drove in three to lead the offensive attack, while Jackie Traina drove in two runs on two hits and also scored two runs. Jazlyn Lunceford, on her senior day, batted 3-for-4, scored twice and drove in a run, and fellow senior Jennifer Fenton tallied two. Overall, the Tide tagged ECU for 15 hits.

In the second game of the day, Jury yielded to sophomore Jackie Traina, who topped Jury's 12 strikeout performance against the Pirates with 13 in a 3-2 win over North Dakota State. Traina allowed only two runs on four hits to improve to 7-0 on the season.

Both teams managed only four hits. Kayla Braud led the way for Alabama with two hits, a run scored and a stolen base. After giving up a run in the 1st and 3rd innings, the Tide answered with three runs in the bottom of the third. Freshman Danae Hays hit her first career home run to pull the Tide to within one before Cassie Reilly-Boccia sent a two run shot over the wall, her second homer of the season and the game winning score.

Sunday

The Crimson Tide closed out the weekend by downing the Southern Illinois-Edwardsville Cougars in the first meeting between the two schools.

The Tide's bats caught fire early, scoring 7 runs in the first inning and never looked back. A single by Amanda Locke brought Jennifer Fenton home to start the scoring barrage, and a three run blast by Kaila Hunt, a Lunceford double that brought two more home, and Lunceford singled an RBI for Fenton giving the Tide a 7-0 lead.

Freshman Jadyn Spencer added a single shot homer in the 4th -the first of her career- to give Alabama an 8-0 lead, and after keeping the Cougars scoreless in the top of the fifth the Tide grabbed their fourth run rule victory of the season.

Pitcher Lauren Sewell pitched all five innings, giving up two hits, no runs, and fanning two.

The Tide returns to action on Friday for the Easton Alabama Invite, hosting Maryland, Massachusetts, and UAB in Tuscaloosa.