TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – To kick off alumni weekend, No. 13 Alabama took down No. 12 Texas A&M 2-0 on Saturday to take game one of the series. The win bumped the Tide over .500 in conference play to 7-6.
“The girls have been thrilled about the opportunity to play in front of all these great alumni. We love seeing everyone out here and we are happy to be able to show them a good product,” said Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy.
Kayla Beaver continued her incredible form, tossing her ninth complete game and sixth solo shut-out. The fifth-year senior possesses a staggering 1.24 ERA versus ranked teams this season, allowing just eight earned runs over 51.2 innings pitched. Her final line this afternoon: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K.
“They have a little bit of everything throughout their lineup. We knew we needed to be on our toes and ready for whatever comes at us,” Murphy said.
The Tide offense threatened in the second inning with a pair of baserunners for Abby Duchscherer. After a red-hot start to the season, Duchscherer had fallen into a bit of a cold streak and was bumped down to the 8-hole in the lineup.
With two outs in the inning, Duchscherer lined one to left-center for a two-run double to give the Tide the lead. The sophomore went 1-1 on the day with a walk and 2 RBIs. Other than Duchscherer, Emma Broadfoot collected the other hit for the Tide. Kendal Clark drew a walk in the third inning, extending her on-base streak to nine games.
Outside of the second inning, the bats were quiet all day for both offenses. Aggie starting pitcher Emiley Kennedy tossed a complete game of her own, only allowing 2 runs on 2 hits. She limited the Tide offense to just 1-for-6 with runners on, with the one hit being the dagger. On the other hand, Kayla Beaver held the Aggie offense to 1-for-14 (!!) with runners on and 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
With this win, Alabama improved to 30-8 on the season, securing its seventh ranked victory of the year. The Tide will look to take the series from the Aggies tomorrow in game two with first pitch set for 3:30 p.m. CT. The game will air live on ESPN2.
