Patrick Murphy Wins 900th Game at Alabama in Panther Invitational Sweep

In a year when Alabama is celebrating 20 seasons of excellence on the softball field, Patrick Murphy added another milestone to the school records this weekend in Atlanta. Murphy won his 900^th game as the Crimson Tide’s head coach with a 10-5 win over Maryland Sunday.

Besides Murphy’s personal milestone, Alabama dominated the field at the Panther Invitational winning all five games over the weekend including three shutout efforts.

The highlight game for Alabama was the pitching staff’s second no-hitter of the week Saturday morning against Mercer. Sophomore Alexis Osorio threw a seven-inning masterpiece as only one Mercer batter reached base via a hit by pitch in Alabama's 7-0 win over the Bears.

For the weekend, Alabama allowed a total of seven runs with Maryland scoring five of those runs on Sunday.

A point of emphasis that Patrick Murphy mentioned on the Gary Harris before the season was Alabama’s depth. Nowhere is the squad’s depth more evident than in the circle. Madi Moore, Alexis Osorio and Sydney Littlejohn pitched at least one complete game during the Panther Invitational.

Outside of Osorio’s no-hit effort against Mercer, Sydney Littlejohn showed flashes of potential in her two wins over Maryland and Georgia State. Littlejohn allowed only six hits and two walks while striking out 12 batters in nearly 12 scoreless innings.

Alabama also demonstrated their depth at the plate with seven players recording at least one multi-hit game, five players totaling at least five hits over the weekend and seven players posting at least one multi-RBI game.

Troy University comes into Tuscaloosa for the Crimson Tide’s home opener Wednesday. The Trojans are an experienced squad with seven seniors and one of the top slugging teams in the Sun Belt Conference. Troy leads the Sun Belt with 16 home runs and are second in the conference with 20 stolen bases.

Senior catcher Hannah Day comes in tied for the Sun Belt lead with six home runs while fellow teammate Becca Hartley is right behind her with five round trippers.

Beginning Wednesday, Alabama will play their next five games at home and 11 of their next 12 games at home over the next two weeks.

First pitch for Alabama’s home opener Wednesday is scheduled for 5 PM.

College Softball Notes Around Alabama:

-Samford won their first ever game over a nationally ranked opponent with an 8-5 win over #23 South Alabama Saturday.

-#3 Auburn went 4-1 over the weekend in Clearwater, Florida, with their only blemish coming in a 3-2 loss to #19 James Madison.

-Georgia’s Chelsea Wilkinson threw a 5 inning perfect game in a 10-0 shutout of UAB Sunday.

-UAB and Jacksonville State each lost to #1 Florida, #10 Georgia and #13 Missouri during the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic.

-#23 South Alabama finished 1-3 during this weekend’s Mardi Gras Invitational in Mobile.