TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama softball took home a pair of wins Tuesday at Rhoads Stadium, defeating Alabama State, 6-4, before taking down Samford, 9-3.

Alabama (27-13) jumped ahead to a 3-0 lead over Alabama State (8-27) before the Hornets capitalized on an extended third inning following an error, plating four runs to take a 4-3 lead. After back-to-back walks with two out in the bottom half of the inning, Riley Valentine gave the Crimson Tide back the lead with a three-run home run to center. That lead ultimately proved final as Catelyn Riley earned the save with 3.0 shutout relief innings to close out the 6-4 win for Alabama.

In game two of the day against Samford (23-15), the Tide put up three runs in the opening frame and then added four more in the fourth on a two-run double from Kali Heivilin and a two-run homer from Brooke Ellestad. With two out in the top of the sixth, the Bulldogs broke up the no-hitter and went on to score three unearned runs to cut Alabama’s lead to 7-3. The Crimson Tide responded in the bottom half of the frame with a sacrifice fly from Ellestad and an RBI single from Abby Duchscherer brought home the ninth and final run of the evening as Alabama secured the 9-3 victory.

“I feel like [Catelyn Riley’s] demeanor has been totally different for the last week and a half. She looks a lot better. Emily [Winstead] gave us a good start and Braya [Hodges] went one-two-three in the last inning. We cannot be so careless with the ball however, with walks and errors.”

Highlights

• Alabama had two home runs in each game Tuesday, giving the Crimson Tide 15 games this season with multiple home runs, including three of the last four
• The game against the Hornets marked the second straight game in which both Abby Duchscherer and Riley Valentine hit a home run, while Duchscherer extended her own home run streak to three games with a solo shot vs. Samford
• Kristen White was 3-for-3 batting ninth vs. Alabama State, tying her career high for hits
• Freshman Braya Hodges earned her first career win in the circle in game one vs. the Hornets
• Audrey Vandagriff extended her reached base streak to 26 games in the win over Samford, batting 3-for-3 from the leadoff spot for her team-leading 16th multi-hit game, six of which have come in the last eight games
• Vandagriff also stole three bases, improving her season total to 45 which puts her in a tie for sixth place on the UA single season record list with Kayla Braud‘s 2010 freshman total

Game One Scoring Summary: Alabama 6, Alabama State 4

• B1 | Lauren Johnson scored from third on a sac fly RBI (1-0, 1 Out)
• B2 | Abby Duchscherer led off the bottom of the second with a solo home run (2-0, 0 Out)
• B2 | Riley Valentine scored on a sac fly (3-0, 0 Out)
• T3 | Alana Scott drove in two runs with a single to right (3-2, 2 Out)
• T3 | A two-out fielding error extended the inning and scored a run (3-3, 2 Out)
• T3 | An unearned run came home on an RBI single (3-4, 2 Out)
• B3 | Riley Valentine hit a three-run home run to center (6-4, 2 Out)

Game Two Scoring Summary: Alabama 9, Samford 3

• B1 | Audrey Vandagriff scored on a sac fly (1-0, 0 Out)
• B1 | Kali Heivilin came home on an RBI groundout (2-0, 1 Out)
• B1 | Abby Duchscherer pulled a solo home run to left field (3-0, 2 Out)
• B4 | Heivilin bounced a two-run double off the wall in center (5-0, 2 Out)
• B4 | Brooke Ellestad hit a line drive home run to the scoreboard, scoring two (7-0, 2 Out)
• T6 | Katie Campbell hit an RBI single through the right side (7-1, 2 Out)
• T6 | Grier Bruce pulled an RBI double down the left field line (7-2, 2 Out)
• T6 | A wild pitch scored another run (7-3, 2 Out)
• B6 | Vandagriff tagged up and scored on a sac fly (8-3, 1 Out)
• B6 | Duchscherer dropped an RBI single into right field (9-3, 2 Out)

Up Next: at #5/7 LSU (Baton Rouge, La.)

• Friday, April 4 – 6 p.m. CT
• Saturday, April 5 – 6 p.m. CT – ESPN2
• Sunday, April 6 – 4 p.m. CT – ESPNU