re: Bama Softball 38-18 (10-14) (2023-24)

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After clinching the weekend series yesterday, Alabama secured the sweep with a 5-1 win over Ole Miss Sunday afternoon at Rhoads Stadium.

The win gives Alabama (29-8, 6-6 SEC) its first series sweep at home since 2022 and its 14th sweep all-time in a three-game series vs. Ole Miss (21-18, 3-12 SEC), including seven at home.

With two on and one out in the bottom of the second, the Crimson Tide took the first lead over the Rebels on a towering three-run home run from Kendal Clark that bounced off the scoreboard. Kali Heivilin made it a 4-0 lead with an RBI single in the third and the score remained the same until Ole Miss erased the shutout with a two-out RBI double in the top of the sixth. Emma Broadfoot stretched the lead back to four with a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the sixth before reliever Alea Johnson and the Alabama defense closed it out in the top of the seventh.

Seven different players in the Tide lineup earned a hit, including a double from Kenleigh Cahalan to extend her current hitting streak to five games. Broadfoot's home run was her third of the season and Clark's her second, with Sunday marking the 10th multi-homer game of the season for Alabama, including four games in SEC play. Kayla Beaver (13-3) threw 4.2 shutout innings in the start to earn her second win of the weekend while Alea Johnson backed her up 2.1 relief innings for her third save of the season.

From Head Coach Patrick Murphy
"When you can hold a team to two runs across three games, it says a lot about your pitching. Kudos to Lance McMahon and all our pitchers and catchers. Riley Valentine did a great job this weekend, especially since it's the first time she's caught all three games in a series. Today, Kendal Clark got up and after that pitch for the home run. She told everyone in the dugout she was going for that first pitch and she almost cleared the scoreboard. The defense and the pitchers did the rest. I don't care what team you're playing against, it's a feat to get three wins in the SEC over a weekend."

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