Beaver Dams 'Nova Bats

Fifth-year pitcher Kayla Beaver made a big statement in her Alabama Softball debut, throwing a no-hitter to lead the Crimson Tide to an opening day win over Villanova, 3-0.

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The no-hitter is the 46th in Alabama (1-0) history and the third of Beaver’s career, previously throwing a pair in 2020 at Central Arkansas including her collegiate debut on Feb. 7, 2020 vs. Jackson State.

She allowed just one walk Thursday while striking out 14 batters, just one shy of her career best. The Crimson Tide’s three runs all came in the bottom of the second, a two-run single from first baseman Abby Duchscherer and a run scored by DP Riley Valentine on a groundout. Duchscherer was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, both career bests for the sophomore infielder.

Said Tide Head Coach Patrick Murphy: “What a debut for Kayla Beaver. We are very excited for her and our team. Marlie [Giles] did a great job catching and [pitching coach] Lance [McMahon] called an excellent game from the dugout.”

HIGHLIGHTS

The no-hitter was the 46th in program history and the third of Kayla Beaver’s career, previously throwing two in 2020 at Central Arkansas.
It is just the second Tide no-hitter to be thrown in a season opener, with Montana Fouts and Sarah Cornell teaming up for a five-inning no hitter on Feb. 12, 2021 at Alabama State in a 10-0 win.
Alabama has won its season opener in 14 of the last 15 years, excluding last year's opening loss at home to Lehigh.
Thursday was the first all-time meeting between the Tide and Villanova.
Alabama is now 101-23 overall on opening weekend, losing just 5 games since 2011.
Duchscherer was 2-for-3, marking her first career multi-hit game, along with a career high two RBIs.
In addition to Beaver, Kendal Clark, Lauren Johnson and Riley Valentine made their Crimson Tide debuts against the Wildcats.

SCORING SUMMARY

B2 | Duchscherer dropped a single into left field, driving in two runs (2-0, 0 Out)
B2 | Valentine scored from third on a grounder to the right side (3-0, 1 Out)