March 20, 2010
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 8/5 Alabama (20-7, 4-2 SEC) had its offense come to life in an 8-0 win in five innings over South Carolina (9-17, 0-8) in the first game of the doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at the Alabama Softball Stadium.
The Tide got on the board in the second when Amanda Locke brought home Whitney Larsen on a sacrifice fly. Larsen started the inning by reaching on an error. Three more runs came across in the third when Larsen lined the 2-1 pitch from Gamecock sophomore Kelsey Goodwin over the wall in center. The blast came with two outs, as did the hit by Cassie Reilly-Boccia and the walk to Charlotte Morgan.
Alabama posted three more runs in the fourth. Kayla Braud dropped a hit into left that was kicked away by a sliding fielder, allowing Jennifer Fenton to score from first. Three pitches later, Reilly-Boccia took the offering over the right-field wall to put Alabama on top, 7-0. The final run came with one out in the fifth when pinch-hitter Olivia Gibson singled home Whitney Larsen to end the ballgame.
Crimson Tide starter Kelsi Dunne (10-4) picked up the win, fanning 11 batters while giving up just three hits in the five-inning shutout. Goodwin (0-9) got the loss, giving up eight hits, seven runs, six earned while striking out three in 3.2 innings.
Sophomore Kaitlin Westfall had a double for the Gamecocks, while classmate Lauren Lackey and senior Adele Voigt also posted hits.
