No. 4 Alabama Softball Extinguishes the UAB Blazers, 7-1

No. 4 Alabama Softball (9-0) took care of business on a cool Wednesday night, defeating the UAB Blazers (4-5), 7-1. 

Graduate student Sarah Cornell got the win at pitcher, holding the Blazers to only three hits and a run through five innings. Sophomore Lexi Kilfoyl closed out the game with four strikeouts and no hits allowed. 

Get our free mobile app

The star of Alabama’s lineup was freshman phenom Bailey Dowling, who opened things up for the Crimson Tide with a 3-run homer to center field in the bottom of the first. Following the recent trend for Alabama softball, Dowling’s home run came with two outs against the Tide. 

“I thought we ran the bases pretty well," head coach Patrick Murphy said. “We took advantage of the fielder’s choice, ground balls hit to the infield, we scored a run on that. When we only have five hits, we are hoping one of them is a big one, and the big one was obviously Dowling’s.” 

Unfortunately, Alabama’s success was shadowed by injury. Sophomore outfielder Jenna Johnson appeared to injure her knee in the bottom of the fourth inning during an at-bat, and needed to be helped off by coaches. She spent the rest of the game in a type of leg cast and used crutches to get around. There is no information at this time as to the severity of the injury. Before her injury, Johnson contributed an RBI single to help Alabama’s lead to 4-0. 

In the bottom of the third, Alabama’s bats were on fire, with five batters reaching base via hits, walks, and steals. UAB minimized the damage to only two runs, however Alabama advanced its lead to 6-1. 

Kaylee Tow, the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player of the Week from last weekend, continued her hot-streak by scoring Alexis Mack on an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth to make it 7-1 Alabama.

Neither team made a dent on the score in the fifth, and Murphy opted to close the game with Kilfoyl. Kilfoyl kept UAB hitless for the last two innings to seal Alabama’s ninth win of the season, 7-1. 

Alabama now turns its attention to hosting Memphis, North Carolina, and Troy in the Easton Crimson Classic this weekend. The Crimson Tide’s schedule for the weekend is below:

Memphis Tigers (double-header) - Friday, 4:00 p.m. CT

North Carolina Tar Heels (double-header) - Saturday, 6:00 p.m. CT

Troy Trojans - Sunday, 1:00 p.m. CT