TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 10 Alabama beat No. 21 Arizona 2-1 Friday night to capture its first ranked win of the season and move to 18-0.

Alabama started off the scoring after first baseman Abby Duchscherer blasted a pitch deep to left field for a two-run home run to give the Crimson Tide an early 2-0 lead.

“I just saw what we watched from the film. That was the pitch I was looking for and I got it in my zone, and I executed,” Duchscherer said.

Ultimately, Duchscherer’s 2 RBI home run was all that Alabama needed for the victory. Starting pitcher Kayla Beaver put up another quality start for the Crimson Tide. Beaver pitched 6 innings, giving up just 4 hits to and allowing just one run to Arizona.

After pitching a complete game shutout in seven innings Thursday night against Northern Iowa, Beaver picked up right where she left off, securing her seventh victory of the season while posting a 0.59 ERA in her nine appearances this season.

“It’s crazy but I’m used to that [pitching on consecutive nights]. I just keep rolling and I feel like I get better as I go. I fine tune the little things and just trust my pitches a lot more,” Beaver said.

In the top of the seventh inning, sophomore Alea Johnson came in for relief of Beaver. Despite allowing Arizona to reach base off an error, Johnson struck out two of the batters she faced and forced Arizona junior Paige Dimler to ground out to seal the game.

Duchscherer said she knew Johnson was ready for the moment when it came to her turn.

“I saw she was confident, and she was ready. She was ready to play her role and she played it to perfection,” Duchscherer said.

The final out went to review after the umpire called Dimler out. After review, it was determined that the ruling stood and sealed the victory for the Crimson Tide.

One notable stat from the game is the number of runners left on base. Alabama stranded seven runners on base, including leaving the bases loaded twice in the game in both the second and third innings to keep Arizona in striking distance of Alabama throughout the game.

Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy said, “I feel like we are nowhere where we need to be offensively. We left way too many on base early in the game.”

Next up, Alabama softball will look to stay undefeated and continue its winning streak as it gears up for a double header on March 2. The Crimson Tide will face off against the South Alabama Jaguars at 1 p.m. CT and then will take on the Arizona Wildcats in a rematch at 3:30 p.m. CT.