Alabama softball ended its fall season with a 17-2 win over Mercer in a 10-inning game held Saturday in Tuscaloosa. The team showed strong performance throughout the match, with notable contributions from both new and returning players.
Head coach Patrick Murphy expressed his appreciation for the support received during the fall season. “I’d like to thank our booster club and all the fans for coming out all fall. We had some great fan support every game and we were fortunate to have some great weather too. We’ve progressed very nicely over the fall. We have five pitchers and we can rely on all of them. This is the fastest team we’ve ever had, there are athletes all over the field. With 11 green light girls, if they get on base then we’re going to run with them. I think it was a fun fall. They’re a great group to coach, they work really hard and have great attitudes. Now [strength and conditioning coach] Michelle Diltz has them for around a month to get everyone a little stronger in the weight room before they head home for break.”
Salen Hawkins continued her strong form by going 2-for-3 at bat, including hitting a two-run home run. Freshman Ambrey Taylor led the team with three RBIs through various plays: a sacrifice fly, an RBI single, and an RBI double.
The offense was distributed across the roster as eleven different players drove in at least one RBI during Saturday’s game. Multiple players—including Hawkins, Taylor, Lauren Johnson, and Mari Hubbard—recorded multi-RBI games.
On the pitching side, freshmen Kaitlyn Pallozzi and Vic Moten split duties effectively, combining for 13 strikeouts while allowing only two runs on seven hits over ten innings.
Scoring highlights included Hawkins’ early two-run homer in the first inning and Johnson driving in two runs with a double before scoring herself on an error during the third inning.
With this victory, Alabama concludes its fall schedule on a positive note as players transition into off-season strength training before heading home for break.
