TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama softball earned a convincing 11-3 run-rule win in five innings over Texas A&M Thursday night in the series opener at Rhoads Stadium as Bailey Hemphill became the all-time walks leader for the Crimson Tide.
Alabama (27-4, 7-3 SEC) jumped ahead early over Texas A&M (25-6, 4-3 SEC) with five runs in the first inning, including a grand slam from Claire Jenkins. The Crimson Tide added another in the third to lead by six before the Aggies cut the lead in half with a three-run fifth inning. Alabama answered right back with five runs in the bottom half of the inning to take the eight-run lead and complete the run-rule victory.
Bailey Hemphill reached base safely in each of her four plate appearances, drawing a pair of walks to push her career total to 200, passing Haylie McCleney for the Alabama career record. Her 200 career walks also ranks fourth in SEC history.
Jenkins’ grand slam was part of a 3-for-4 day at the plate with a career-high six RBIs. Seven other players earned a hit in the game and five drove in at least one run. In the circle, Lexi Kilfoyl (11-2) took home the victory with eight strikeouts while Makinzy Herzog (9-2) took the loss for the Aggies.
From Head Coach Patrick Murphy
“I am really happy for Claire. Usually all it takes to get her going is a single but tonight she got the big grand slam right away and then had a great day. Kilfoyl battled and made the pitches when she needed to. Her changeup was awesome tonight. We got a little sloppy there when they scored their three runs, but other than that the five runs in the first and last innings were awesome.”
Highlights
- Alabama improves to 17-4 all-time vs. Texas A&M, including a 6-1 record at home
- The 13 runs scored is the most by Alabama in an SEC game since March 22, 2019 at Texas A&M
- The game was the seventh run-rule victory of the season for Alabama and its first in conference play since a five-inning 11-1 victory at Texas A&M on March 23, 2019
- Bailey Hemphill drew two walks to earn the 200th of her career, passing Haylie McCleney for the Alabama career record
- Hemphill’s two RBIs improves her career total to 213, two shy of second-place Kaila Hunt
- Claire Jenkins’ grand slam was the second this season for Alabama and the second of her career, last doing so on March 27, 2019 against Georgia Tech
- Jenkins’ six RBIs are a career high and the most for any Alabama player since Maddie Morgan earned six against Penn State on Feb. 22, 2020
- The three hits tie a career high for Jenkins, her most since March 5, 2017 vs. Jacksonville
- Thursday’s game was Elissa Brown’s eighth multi-hit game of the year
Scoring Summary
- B1 | With the bases loaded, Kaylee Tow pulled a single through the right side to move everyone up 60 feet (1-0, 0 Out)
- B1 | Claire Jenkins blasted a grand slam to left field (5-0, 0 Out)
- B3 | Elissa Brown slapped an RBI single up the middle to drive in Jenna Johnson from second (6-0, 2 Out)
- T5 | A fielding error allowed a Texas A&M runner to score from second (6-1, 0 Out)
- T5 | The Aggies’ Haley Lee hit a two-run home run (6-3, 2 Out)
- B5 | A bases-loaded single from Bailey Hemphill scored two (8-3, 1 Out)
- B5 | Jenkins dropped a double into the gap in right center, driving in two runs (10-3, 1 Out)
- B5 | Lexi Kilfoyl ended the game with an RBI single to left center (11-3, 1 Out)
Up Next – Alabama vs. Texas A&M (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
- Friday, April 2 – 5 p.m. CT
- Saturday, April 3 – 11 a.m. CT (SEC Network)
For the latest information on the team, follow @AlabamaSB on Twitter, BamaSB on Instagram and Alabama Softball on Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.
