TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The No. 2 University of Alabama softball team used a two-hit pitching gem from Jackie Traina and some clutch hitting to beat the University of Michigan 4-1 Thursday in game one of the Tuscaloosa Super Regional in front of 2,475 fans at Rhoads Stadium.

With the win, Alabama improves to 54-7, while Michigan falls to 42-16. The victory also moves the Crimson Tide to 12-5 in NCAA Super Regional games. Alabama needs a win today to advance to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City. Game two will be at 3:30 p.m. (ESPNU) today. If necessary, game three will be at 7 tonight (ESPN).

“I was very pleased with the win,” Alabama coach Patrick Murphy said. “It’s nice to get the first one in a two-out-of-three.”

Traina recorded her third consecutive two-hitter, all of which have come in NCAA tournament play, to improve to 36-2. The sophomore right-hander pitched a complete game and struck out 10.

Haylie Wagner (32-6) took the loss, giving up four runs on six hits in addition to striking out two.

Traina’s 10 strikeouts give her 311, putting her in fifth place in Alabama’s single-season annals. The Naples, Fla., native has struck out 10 in all three starts in the NCAA postseason.

Alabama cranked out six hits, including three for senior Jennifer Fenton. Sophomore Kaila Hunt added two RBIs, giving her 72 on the season. Fenton has now tallied 15 hits since the start of the SEC tournament.

Alabama got the scoring started in the bottom of the second inning. Senior Cassie Reilly-Boccia drew a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. Junior Courtney Conley laced a double down the left-field line to score Reilly-Boccia and make it 1-0.

The Crimson Tide added insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth. Junior Kayla Braud reached on an error and Fenton reached on an infield single. Both scored on Hunt’s two-run double. Senior Jazlyn Lunceford followed with an RBI single up the middle to make it 4-0.

Michigan added a run in the top of the sixth and threatened in the top of the seventh, but Traina ended each threat with a strikeout.

“That was the key, I think,” Murphy said. “Jackie gutted it out a little bit.”

Michigan coach Carol Hutchins said Braud and Fenton are one of the toughest one-two punches in the game. She praised them for putting pressure on the Wolverines and sparking the Crimson Tide.

“We knew coming in what an environment it is in Tuscaloosa. Boy, on that field it is so loud,” Hutchins said. “We had trouble talking to our kids at times; they couldn’t hear a thing. I didn’t really feel like my kids were fazed by it. I think it was a close game. They took advantage of every mistake we made. We had a wild pitch that was a run. We make an error at first; we make, whether they called it or not, an error at third and they get three runs out of it. You just don’t do that against Alabama. We can’t give them anything. We knew it was going to be tough against (Jackie) Traina. We started getting on her toward the end of the game and I’m hopeful that we can carry that into tomorrow and make some adjustments with that. I thought it was a very competitive game and I’m pleased that we’re still in the tournament. As long as there are outs left, we’re playing to win.”

n In related news, Braud, junior infielder Jackey Branham, and Reilly-Boccia were named to the Capital One Academic All-America® Softball Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Braud earned first-team honors for the second straight season, while Branham and Reilly-Boccia were named to the second team, and earned the accolades for the first time in their careers. The three All-America honors tied the 2001 team for the most in a single year in program history.