TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — After a shutout victory in Friday’s regional opener, the Alabama softball team turned in an even more impressive shutout Saturday against Washington, as the offense blasted three home runs and Alexis Osorio was one hitter away from throwing a perfect game in a 9-0 victory in five innings in a winners’ bracket game of the NCAA tournament Tuscaloosa Regional at Rhoads Stadium.
With the win, Alabama (44-12) advances to today’s regional final, which is set to begin at noon. USC Upstate beat Fairfield 9-0. Washington then eliminated USC Upstate later Saturday to set up a meeting against Alabama today.
Alabama scored in three of the four innings they came to bat, including four runs scored in both the second and fourth innings. After each hitting home runs in Friday’s win, Danae Hays and Haylie McCleney sent the ball over the fence again in Saturday’s win. It is the third time in Hays’ career she has hit home runs in back-to-back games. It is the first for McCleney.
Marisa Runyon drove in the Tide’s first run of the game with a single in the first. She added four more RBIs on a fourth-inning grand slam. That gives her 75 RBIs this season, moving her to third on the Alabama single season record list. She is four shy of tying the single-season record.
Alexis Osorio (18-7) faced 16 batters in five innings, allowing one single with no walks and eight strikeouts. Washington (41-16) didn’t have a runner make it to scoring position.
n Alabama 8, Fairfield 0, six innings: On Friday, Alabama opened NCAA Regional play by shutting out Fairfield.
Eight of Alabama’s nine starters had at least one base hit. Turner went 4-for-4 out of the leadoff position, tying her season high for hits set earlier this year against Pacific on Feb. 15. Her four hits are the most for a Crimson Tide player this season.
Three of the Tide’s eight runs were scored courtesy of the home run, as Hays hit a towering two-run shot in the third and McCleney hit a solo homer in the fourth.
Starting pitcher Sydney Littlejohn (16-1) held Fairfield (25-23) to two hits and didn’t walk a batter. She threw 45 of her 62 pitches for strikes.
After a 1-2-3 top half of the first, Alabama got the scoring started in the bottom half courtesy of a pair of RBI singles by Spencer and Leona Lafaele to make it 2-0.
In the bottom of the second, the Tide led off the inning with back-to-back singles and Dare moved both into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. A hard slap to the Fairfield second baseman couldn’t drive in the runner from third as she threw home to tag her out, putting runners at the corners with two away. After a stolen base left first base open, Fairfield intentionally walked Runyon and load the bases with two outs. A high popup behind the plate left the bases loaded for the second-straight inning however, as Alabama couldn’t add to its 2-0 lead.
Lafaele led off the bottom of the second with her second hit, a double into the left-field gap, while Hays followed that with a two-run homer that bounced off the top of the scoreboard to make it 4-0. McCleney hit the Tide’s second home run to lead off the bottom of the fourth, a solo shot off the scoreboard to make it 5-0.
An RBI triple by Chaunsey Bell in the bottom of the fifth made it 6-0. Bell scored on a sacrifice fly by Kallie Case to make it 7-0.
In the sixth, Carrigan Fain’s single down the left-field line ended the game.
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