TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama softball team claimed the Tuscaloosa Regional championship with an 11-2 victory against Chattanooga on Sunday at Rhoads Stadium.
Alabama (49-8) has won 23 straight at home and seven straight NCAA regional titles.
“I just want to say congratulations to Chattanooga on a great year,” Alabama coach Patrick Murphy said. “I thought Kelsi (Dunne) did a great job against a very good lineup, and we played great defense behind her. That first inning set the tone with (Jennifer) Fenton and (Kayla) Braud getting on. It was just full on from there”
Dunne (26-3) pitched five shutout innings to earn her second win of the regional. The right-hander allowed one hit and struck out eight in the 84-pitch effort.
“I think it”s fortunate that we play in a tough conference,” Dunne said. “Our pitchers face good hitters all the time. They have good hitters, but our pitchers face good hitters all the time. As a result, we are mentally prepared when we face a good hitting team like today. We always have the same game plan to mix everything up, and that”s what we did.”
Senior Whitney Larsen went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored to pace the Crimson Tide. Junior Jennifer Fenton scored three runs, had two hits, and stole three bases, while junior Amanda Locke drove in three, scored twice, and had two hits.
Alabama stole five bases in the opening frame to take a 3-0 lead.
Sophomore Kayla Braud was hit by a pitch and then stole two bases, including home to score the first run. Fenton reached on a slap single and stole second and third before being brought home on a groundout by Larsen. Locke doubled and scored on a wild pitch.
Alabama doubled its lead with one swing of the bat, as Locke homered to left-center field to give the Crimson Tide a 6-0 lead in the fifth. Fenton and Larsen, who scored on the play, started off the inning with back-to-back singles.
Larsen continued her torrid pace as she made the score 8-0 with a sharp single down the line in left to score Fenton. Fenton walked and then stole second before she was brought home for the second RBI of the game from Larsen.
Back-to-back RBI doubles increased the Crimson Tide lead to 10-0 in the sixth. Lunceford started it off with a double down the right field line to plate Larsen and then freshman Jackie Traina doubled off the wall in center to score Lunceford. Traina scored on a bloop single by freshman Kaila Hunt to make it 11-0.
Alabama outscored its regional opponents 26-3, while hitting .346 and pitching at a 1.17 clip. Larsen went 7-for-10) with a double, triple, and nine RBIs. Dunne went 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA. The senior allowed one run on five hits and struck out 20 in 11 innings.
Alabama will face Stanford, which defeated Nebraska, at 7 p.m. Thursday in Game 1 of the Tuscaloosa Super Regional. Game 2 will be at 3:30 p.m. Friday, followed by an if-needed game at 7 p.m. Friday. The winner will advance to the Women”s College World Series.
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