Bama Bombs Blast Past the Competition

The Alabama offense got rolling early on in Atlanta and did not slow up.

GAME 1: ALABAMA 17, VILLANOVA 0 (5 innings, run rule)

A lot of stuff to unwrap here. First off, Abby Duchscherer started at third base. To my recollection, she had never played that position in the three previous seasons at Alabama. Houston transfer Brooke Wells started first base and Iowa transfer Jena Young was at second base as expected. Surprisingly,

head coach Patrick Murphy’s Gut® favorite, Larissa Preuitt, did not start. The starting outfield left to right was Lauren Johnson, Audrey Vandagriff, and Ana Roman and stayed that way for four games. That move paid off as all three of them went 2 for 3 with a homer each in Game 1.

Bama got off to a slow start with only a walk in the first two innings against the Wildcats. The Crimson Tide scored 11 runs on nine hits in the 3rd inning. They added four more in the 4th and a pair of runs crossed the plate in the 5th.

Vandagriff, Lo-Jo, Roman, Brooke Wells, Ambrey Taylor, Alexis Pupillo (grand slam), and Salen Hawkins, all went deep on Villanova.

True freshman Vic Moten and sophomore Braya Hodges combined for a 5 inning no-hitter while striking out nine.

NOTES:

Bama tied their single-game home run output. The previous occasion was in 2011 against Western Michigan.
It’s deja vu all over again: The combined no-hitter from Moten and Hodges is the 47th no-no in program history and the first since Kayla Beaver did so on opening day in 2024. That feat also came against Villanova at that year’s edition of the same Buzz Classic tournament in Atlanta.

GAME 2: ALABAMA 9, EAST CAROLINA 1 (5 innings, run rule)

More homers for the Tide as Ana Roman and Brooke Wells both went yard for the second game in a row. Bama loaded the bases in the 1st inning and Alexis Pupillo doubled all three runs in for an early 3-0 advantage. Roman hit her 3-run jack in the 3rd. Three batters later, Wells hit one as well.

Alabama freshman Kaitlyn Pallozzi made her first collegiate start and may have had some butterflies. The right-handed pitcher threw four straight balls to start the game and then gave up a single to the second batter. A wild pitch moved a runner to third and she would score on a ground out. But it was smooth sailing after that rocky 1st inning as Pallozzi set down the Pirates in order in the 2nd and 3rd innings. Alea Johnson pitched the 4th and 5th allowing one single and whiffing a pair.

NOTES:

At this point, Pupillo had 7 RBI in five at bats.
Jena Young committed the first error of the season at second base, but her only one of the weekend.
Five different Tide players were hit by a pitch in this game.
Vandagriff and Young each stole a base against the Pirates.

GAME 3: ALABAMA 9, GEORGIA TECH 0

In the 2nd inning of a scoreless game, Salen Hawkins absolutely ripped a line drive homer that got out of the park about as fast as you will ever see and appeared to tattoo the building beyond the left field wall.

An inning later, Audrey Vandagriff walked and Brooke Wells doubled her in. Alexis Pupillo followed that up by smacking her second round-tripper of the young season for a 5-0 advantage.

Marlie Giles joined the dinger party with a three run shot in the 7th inning.

Vic Moten had another stellar start, going 6.0 innings while allowing only two hits and two walks. She struck out seven Yellow Jackets. Alea Johnson pitched a scoreless 7th.

NOTES:

Giles was 2 for 3 with three RBI, three runs scored and just missed a double by inches and would eventually earn a walk in that at bat.
After a Tech batter walked to lead off the 2nd inning, Giles threw a perfect ball down to second to easily throw out the runner. That’ll be something to work on this week.
Freshman Ana Roman attempted a steal, but left first base too soon and was called out.
The first batter to face Alea Johnson was robbed of a single by a diving nab by Hawkins at short. Top Ten.

GAME 4: ALABAMA 9, VILLANOVA 3

In her second start of her college career, Kaitlyn Pallozzi again had some early issues with her control. The leadoff hitter for ‘Nova hit a clean single on the first pitch of the game. Pallozzi proceeded to bean the next two batters to load the bases. A wild pitch would yield one run and a ground out pushed another across the plate for the Wildcats. Pallozzi would strike out two of three in the 2nd frame but ran into a little trouble in the 3rd that scored a third Villanova run.

Following that inning, Patrick Murphy brought in Jocelyn Briski for her first action of the season. Bama was thinking they may be without her services for the Atlanta series as she battles a lingering leg injury. Previous to this weekend, Murphy told reporters “not sure about Briski. She’s got a little bit of a leg thing. She pitched yesterday (last Monday) and hit 68 (mph) on the gun several times. So, it’s probably going to be game-time. I’m sure she would love to do it, but we’ll see. Everybody else is good to go.” Well, she did finally make an appearance on Saturday and hurled 4 outstanding innings in a no-hit, 7 strikeout performance to earn the win.

For the offense, the Bama Bombs were back for more. Abby Duchscherer finally joined the hit parade with a two-run homer. In the third, Pupillo had a sac fly RBI which was followed by back-to-back jacks by Marlie Giles and Ana Roman. A Salen Hawkins sac fly in the 4th made it 7-3 Tide. Audrey Vandagriff rounded of the scoiring in the 6th inning with a 2-run jog around the bases.

NOTES:

Hawkins had a throwing error to first. That runner would later score. It was the second and last error by Bama for the tournament.
Duchscherer was moved down to 8th in the batting order and came through with her first RBIs of the season.
Frosh Gerritt Griggs got the start at second base. Kristen White started in center field as Vandagriff moved over the left field.

GAME 5: ALABAMA 7, GEORGIA TECH 2

In the 1st inning, Salen Hawkins had a two out single and Alexis Pupillo doubled her in for an early 1-0 advantage. But Tech quickly struck back on starter Vic Moten with back-to-back four-baggers to put Alabama in a 2-1 hole.

In the 3rd, it was Hawkins again with a two-run screamer over the left-center field wall.

In the 4th, it was young Jena Young’s turn to go deep for 2-RBIs.

I am glad there is video of this one because Audrey Vandagriff made an amazing play on batted ball that would have easily scored two runs. She got a great jump and extended to make the catch. If she had dove for it, she probably would have made ESPN’s Top Ten. But she made that play look so easy, I don’t know if people realize.

Young struck again in the 6th as she doubled in a run. Following a Tech pitching change, Lauren Johnson tripled in Young for a 7-2 lead.

Moten went 6.0 innings, giving up 5 hits and 2 earned runs with 3 walks and 6 Ks. Alea Johnson pitched the 7th and struggled a little bit. The first batter hit a sharp grounder fielded by Wells at first base for an unassisted out. The next batter struck out but AJ then allowed a one out single and a walk. Following that, a hard hit ball went right at Mari Hubbard, who appeared to double the runner off at first. However, video review overturned the potential game-ending double play. A line drive to Hawkins ended the rally and the game.

NOTES:

This time around, Georgia Tech was seeing the ball a little better against Moten. The YJs collected only five hits, but had a lot of noisy outs that were corralled by the Tide defense.
Mari Hubbard played third base in place of Duchscherer. She was 0-3 with a run scored.
The Tide had 3 doubles, a triple, and 2 homers in this one.
No stolen bases for Bama in this game.

[SURGEON GENERAL WARNING: The section below is not all rainbows, lollipops, and unicorns. If we see an issue that we deem worth discussing, RBR is not going to shy away from it. That is the MO that this whole website is based on. If you want sunshine pumped up your nether regions, there are PLENTY of those people more than willing to provide that service. If you are easily triggered, stop reading now and play the above video on repeat. If you live in the real world, carry on my wayward son.]

SERIES NOTES

There seems to be a different feel around this team. They appear more focused and more intense. Don’t believe me? Watch the above video. This new aura may be due to Vandagriff as that is her demeanor. Only a sophomore, this feels like it is her team. Giles, Pup, and Salen are other team leaders.
Alabama made a big statement with their offense and defense. Pitching was good, but shaky at times from the two freshmen, Moten and Pallozzi, who were leaned on to do most of the work in the circle. Hodges pitched only two innings in the opening 17-0 rout of Villanova. Alea seemed okay but had to escape some trouble. Briski made a strong debut, but is she ready to pitch a 7 inning game?
A big part of the Tide’s offensive success from this weekend was their aggressive approach at the plate. The pop has always been there for Pupillo. It felt like she did not get enough playing time last year. If she can stay on this level of hitting – watch out!
In the five game series, the Crimson Tide smashed 18 round-trippers. Team29 hit 60 last season with now-graduated Kali Heivilin accounting for 15 of them. Alabama scored 51 runs for a tick over 10 runs per game. 9 doubles and a triple were also recorded. 28 extra base hits over 5 games is a nice number.
Alabama had two or more home runs in each game and at least 4 extra base hits.
At the opening broadcast of Game 5, the announcers were spotlighting Vandargriff with a graphic of her name and stats, but the camera was following Larissa Preuitt. At one point, Audrey was behind Preuitt, but then she walked off-frame and the camera continued to follow the wrong player. LOL on ACCN.
Speaking of Preuitt, she was the only Tide player to participate in every game last season and started 55 of 63 games. This past weekend, she had no starts and pinch-hit in three games plus one game as a late defensive replacement.
Every UA player made an appearance in this tournament. There will be no redshirting.
Vandagriff was 4 for 4 in stolen bases.
Kinley Pate subbed in as a pinch runner 5 times and scored 4 runs.
Outside of Duchscherer’s home run against Villanova, she had only one other hit and no RBI on the weekend. She and fellow third-bagger Hubbard are a combined 2 for 14 at the plate. That’s a problem.

Georgia Tech employed a safety base for this series. But for some odd reason, it was green instead of bright orange.
Before departing for Atlanta, the team had a guest speaker who has watched a softball game or two – Kalen DeBoer.