BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Alabama softball defeated in-state foe Samford, 9-2, Tuesday afternoon at Samford Softball Field.

Alabama (16-6) and Samford (13-7) each scored two runs in the first inning but the Bulldogs would be held out of the run column the rest of the game, with the Crimson Tide taking the lead in the top of the second and remaining in front the rest of the way. Alabama saw a trio of two-hit efforts from Audrey Vandagriff, Abby Duchscherer and Lauren Johnson with five other players earning a hit in the win. Kali Heivilin and Duchscherer extended their respective reached-base streaks to 18 and 11 games with back-to-back home runs to start the third inning. The game was Alabama’s eighth this season with two or more home runs and its 10th with double-digit hits. In the circle, Jocelyn Briski (5-5) got the win with just two hits allowed over 5.1 shutout relief innings.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Alabama improves its current winning streak to 10 games
• The game was the Crimson Tide’s 10th this season with double-digit hits and its eighth with two more home runs
• Kali Heivilin and Abby Duchscherer extended their reached-base streaks to 18 and 11 games, respectively
• Duchscherer and Heivilin’s home runs in the third were the first back-to-back home runs for Alabama since Marlie Giles and Emma Broadfoot did so last year at Kentucky (March 28, 2024)
• Duchscherer now has seven multi-hit games this season, six of which have come in the last seven games
• Lauren Johnson’s second-inning triple was the first of her career
• Audrey Vandagriff had two stolen bases, improving her NCAA-leading total to 27 and giving her six games this season with two or more stolen bases

SCORING SUMMARY

• T1 | Alexis Pupillo roped an RBI triple into the left field gap (1-0, 1 Out)
• T1 | A dropped fly ball allowed Pupillo to score from third (2-0, 2 Out)
• B1 | Katie Campbell hit an RBI single to left field (2-1, 1 Out)
• B1 | Samford tied it up with a sac fly RBI (2-2, 1 Out)
• T2 | Lauren Johnson dropped a two-run triple into right center (4-2, 1 Out)
• T2 | Johnson scored from third on an infield RBI single from Larissa Preuitt (5-2, 2 Out)
• T3 | Abby Duchscherer led off the inning with a solo home run to left (6-2, 0 Out)
• T3 | Kali Heivilin followed Duchscherer with a solo home run of her own (7-2, 0 Out)
• T6 | Marlie Giles was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded (8-2, 1 Out)
• T6 | Kennedy Marceaux drove in a run on a sac fly RBI (9-2, 1 Out)

UP NEXT: SPRING BREAK SHOWDOWN (TUSCALOOSA, ALA.)

• Friday, March 7 vs. Louisiana – 4 p.m. CT
• Friday, March 7 vs. Iowa – 6 p.m. CT
• Saturday, March 8 vs. Iowa – 1 p.m. CT
• Saturday, March 8 vs. Louisiana – 3 p.m. CT