Patrick Murphy praises Alabama offense after 9-run first inning in Tuscaloosa Regional final

It appeared as though Southeastern Lousiana was going to give Alabama some stiff competition after scoring a first-inning run and taking an early 1-0 lead against the Crimson Tide during Sunday’s Tuscaloosa Regional matchup.

That was until the Alabama bats stepped up to the plate. Their bats wouldn’t slow down against SLU, winning 12-2 in five innings to advance to the Crimson Tide to the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament for the 18th time in 19 seasons.

The Crimson Tide pulled no punches at the plate with a 10-hit, nine-run bottom of the first inning — the most the Crimson Tide has scored in a single inning during an NCAA Tournament game since 2000. Over 29 minutes elapsed between the first and last pitch as Alabama took firm control of Sunday’s matchup — and never scored by hitting a home run.

Tide head coach Patrick Murphy praised his team for their efforts at the plate to begin the game, setting the tone as they punched their ticket to the Super Regional round.

“I think it’s just a sigh of relief, seriously,” Murphy told the broadcast team on ESPN2. “And it started with Kristen [White] and Larissa [Pruitt] in the first inning and then it just snowballed from there. And we knew we had it in us. I always say to the team, ‘The best is yet to come.’ You gotta believe that and hopefully today that’s the story. We’ve still got some innings to play, though.”

The scoring onslaught began after leadoff batters Kristen White and Larissa Pruitt reached base. Kenleigh Cahalan singled to right field with two runners on base, scoring White and keeping a pair of runners on base. Jenna Johnson‘s single added another run to the board before Bailey Dowling added to the party with a two-run double.

Another pair of RBI singles by Kali Heivilin and Riley Valentine added to those totals. Valentine’s single loaded the bases where, by then, the order had restarted and after SE Louisiana recorded its first out 10 batters into the ballgame, the Crimson Tide managed to add three more runs to their total to take a 9-1 lead before the end of the inning.

It was a reminder of Saturday’s 6-3 win over SE Louisiana where the Crimson Tide scored five innings in the ninth inning to remain undefeated in the Tuscaloosa Regional.

“[It] was unreal,” Murphy said of Saturday’s rally. “And I know you people had said maybe it’ll transfer over to today. And I think you got the answer in the first inning.”

SE Louisiana earned a run back in the second inning, but a triple by Cahalan that nearly left the park scored another two runs and by the end of the third inning, Alabama led SLU 12-2.