Opening SEC play on the road couldn't stop the momentum for Alabama softball. With expected inclement weather on Saturday forcing a Friday doubleheader against Ole Miss in Oxford, Patrick Murphy's Crimson Tide kept doing what it has done all season so far: win, no matter the circumstances.
Alabama moved to 22-0 on the season by sweeping the Friday doubleheader against the Rebels, clinching the weekend series with the finale set for Sunday afternoon.
The first game of the day was a battle with the Tide prevailing 5-3. Ole Miss answered Lauren Johnson's two-run homer in the second with a two-run homer of their own in the bottom of the inning off Jocelyn Briski. A Brooke Wells homerun in the 3rd inning gave Alabama the lead back, but Ole Miss tied it again in the 4th.
A pair of RBI walks by Salen Hawkins and Abby Duchscherer put Alabama up 5-3, and Briski shut the door over the final two innings for the Tide to hold on to the win.
Alabama quickly turned the second game into a rout, running away from Ole Miss for a 13-2 win. The freshman duo of Vic Moten and Kaitlyn Pallozzi held Ole Miss to just five hits and two runs across six innings before the run-rule took effect.
A 3-run homer by Ana Roman in the 2nd inning broke the game open and put the Crimson Tide up 6-0. A pinch-hit 2-run homerun by Ambrey Taylor in the 6th inning put the exclamation point on the Alabama rout.
Patrick Murphy praises Alabama for its doubleheader win over Ole Miss
"It's very difficult to win an SEC series on the road, especially with a doubleheader," Murphy said. I thought the pitchers came through. That was Kaitlyn Pallozzi's best outing of the year, in my opinion. We're going to need that; we're going to need a true pitching staff, and she provided good innings for us today. I thought offensively we did a better job of driving in people from scoring position in the second game. The only blip on the day was I thought we left too many on base in the first game, but otherwise it was a really good day."
Ole Miss is a quality opponent and came into the weekend at 18-5 overall, so coming into their stadium and earning back-to-back wins on Friday is another feather in the cap for this Alabama softball team that continues to prove it is one of the best teams in the country.
Alabama will look to complete the series sweep of Ole Miss on Sunday in Oxford. They'll head back to Tuscaloosa after that for a mid-week matchup against Samford on Tuesday and then the SEC home opening series next weekend against Arkansas.