Tag Archives: Jadyn Spencer

Alabama sports sweep Tuesday action

Alabama bat-and-ball sports took Tuesday seriously, combining to go 2-0 with a combined score of 18-4, as the Alabama softball team beat Southern Miss 11-0 in a mercy-rule decision and the baseball team beat UAB 7-4.

The baseball team got another strong midweek start from walk-on Mike Oczypok, throwing six innings and giving up five hits and one run. Oczypok’s record improved to 3-0 with the win while Jay Shaw go this fist save with a 1.2 inning appearance in which he gave up just one hit.

Alabama catcher Ben Moore had a nice night at the plate, ripping a two-RBI double in the first inning then a RBI triple in the third. Right fielder Andrew Miller also had a multi-hit game, going 2-4 from the plate with one RBI.

It was a bench-clearing night for the Crimson Tide softball team, as all but one player saw the field in the 4.5 innings of action.

Offensively, the Tide did it with both speed and power. Alabama stole three bases, including one by left fielder Kayla Braud, who went 2-2 from the plate and worked around the bases to score a run both times.

The power came from the bats of catcher Jordan Patterson and first baseman Jadyn Spencer, both hitting deep balls in the bottom of the 4th to extend Alabama’s lead to the final 11-0 margin.

Both teams will stay at home for the weekend to capitalize on the crowds in Tuscaloosa for A-Day. The baseball team hosts Texas A&M in a three-game series starting on Friday and the softball team will do the same against Mississippi State.

Long balls push both Alabama baseball and softball to Tuesday night wins

Alabama third baseman Kenny Roberts had one of two three-run home runs in the bottom of the sixth that pushed Alabama's offense to the win. (Photo courtesy of UA Athletics)

Alabama third baseman Kenny Roberts had one of two three-run home runs in the bottom of the sixth that pushed Alabama’s offense to the win. (Photo courtesy of UA Athletics)

The Southeastern Louisiana Lions had put together five strong innings, outhitting the Crimson Tide five to three through five innings.

Then, for the first time since June of 2010, Alabama had multiple home runs in one inning, as third baseman Kenny Roberts and first baseman Austen Smith both turned on two-out three-run homers in the bottom of the sixth, pushing Alabama to a 9-1 win.

“I’ve got no problem with three-run homers,” Alabama baseball coach Mitch Gaspard said. “That was good to see and to especially have one that was a no-doubter.

“I’m happy for Kenny Roberts – not only tonight, but the way he has stayed with it and stuck with a plan and really had a consistent year for us both offensively and defensively and that was a big blow for him tonight to hit the three-run homer.”

Roberts and center fielder Georgie Salem both had multi-hit games, both going 2-4 and combining for four RBI and two runs.

The Tide used four relief pitchers after Tucker Hawley’s five-inning start in which he walked two batters and struck two out while giving up five hits. Mike Oczypok, Justin Kamplain, Mitch Greer and Ray Castillo all pitched one inning in the win.

Relief pitcher steadies softball Tide in mercy-rule win

Alabama pitcher Lauren Sewell left the circle in disappointment, having her start ended by coach Patrick Murphy after 3.1 innings, allowing five hits and striking out seven batters.

What ended her start five outs early with that kind of line? The seven free passes – four via the walk and three via hit batters.

“I think when your starting pitcher hits (a batter), walks, hits, walks and strikes out seven or eight, it just doesn’t make sense to me,” Murphy said. “If she can strike out seven or eight she doesn’t need to hit or walk a couple of them, so we need to work on that.”

It was Leslie Jury that entered and pitched 1.2 no-hit shutout innings and watched as Alabama scored 11 runs on 12 hits to earn the 11-3 win in five innings over Jacksonville State.

The Tide scored in bunches against the Gamecocks, scoring five in the bottom of the second then four more in the bottom of the fourth. It was first baseman Jadyn Spencer’s three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth that put Alabama in mercy-rule range before a two-out two RBI single from Jackie Traina ended the game two innings early.

Alabama center fielder Haylie McCleney went 4-4 from the plate with two RBI and three runs, including the game’s winning run. Senior left fielder Kayla Braud, batting behind McCleney in the No. 2 hole, went 2-2 with an RBI and two runs scored.

Star Series: Pitchers and power bats push baseball and softball to 8-1 record

Jackie Traina wins the highest honor for the Alabama softball team. (Photo courtesy of UA Athletics)

Jackie Traina wins the highest honor for the Alabama softball team. (Photo courtesy of UA Athletics)

Each week for the duration of the Alabama baseball and softball seasons, Daily Bama Blog contributor Brett Hudson will track outstanding individual performances with the Star Series. Three players from each team will get 1-star, 2-stars and 3-stars with a running season tally.

Baseball

Click here to read about Alabama’s perfect 5-0 week, including success on the road in Southeastern Conference play for the first time in quite a while.

3-Star Player: Second baseman Kyle Oversteet. Oversteet, a serious contender for SEC Player of the Week, batted .688 (11-16) in the five games of the week, leading the team in that category to go along with total bases (15), slugging percentage (.938), walks (six) and on-base percentage (.773). Overstreet has one triple and scored five runs while batting in two more.

2-Star Player: Relief pitcher Ray Castillo. Castillo appeared three times over the course of the week, earning the save in all three of them. Castillo’s three appearances had him pitch 4.1 innings and give up just three hits with no walks while striking out five batters. Castillo held opposing batters to a .176 batting average in his three appearances on the week.

1-Star Player: First baseman Austen Smith. Smith held the power bat in the lineup for the Tide this week, hitting Alabama’s only homerun and slugging .700. Smith’s four extra-base hits tied for the team-lead for the week. Smith led the team with six RBI in the five games and in fielding percentage, amongst those with mor than 20 fielding opportunities, with a .974.

Season Tally:

Ben Moore: 6 stars

Brett Booth: 4 stars

Austen Smith: 4 stars

Georgie Salem: 3 stars

Cary Baxter: 3 stars

Kenny Roberts: 3 stars

Ray Castillo: 3 stars

Kyle Overstreet: 3 stars

Mikey White: 2 stars

Jon Keller: 2 stars

Charley Sullivan: 2 stars

Jake Hubbard: 1 star

Softball

Click here to read about Alabama’s series win over Auburn, including tweets from a huge accomplishment by Alabama coach Patrick Murphy.

3-Star Player: Pitcher Jackie Traina. Traina pitched 12.1 innings over the course of three appearances in four games, allowing five hits and two runs, both earned, while striking out 14 batters. At the plate, Traina was 5-9 with three runs scored and two RBI.

2-Star Player: First baseman Jadyn Spencer Spencer had one of the hottest bats in the Auburn series, combining to hit 6-10 with three runs and five RBI.

1-Star Player: Second baseman Kaila Hunt. Hunt went 5-12 from the plate in the three games, including 2-2 with two RBI and two runs scored in the Sunday blowout win.

Season Tally:

Haylie McCleney: 9 stars

Jackie Traina: 9 stars

Kaila Hunt: 8 stars

Kayla Braud: 5 stars

Danielle Richard: 4 stars

Andrea Hawkins: 3 stars

Jadyn Spencer: 2 stars

Keima Davis: 1 star

Danae Hays: 1 star

Softball moves to 16-0 after Easton Bama Bash Sweep

Alabama started a 14-game homestand over 12 days with five wins in three days in a clean sweep of the Easton Bama Bash. Alabama beat Western Illinois twice, Iowa twice and Winthrop once to claim the championship in its first of two tournaments it will host in the regular season.

Alabama started the tournament on Friday by winning both games of a doubleheader by a combined 26-0, including a tournament-opening 21-0 win over Western Illinois in five innings. Junior Kaila Hunt ripped a three-run homerun in the top of the first inning, part of a nine-run outburst for the Tide in the opening frame. Freshman center fielder Haylie McCleney was 3-3 from the plate in the opening game, while scoring all four times she got on base and batting in six runs.

In the second game against Iowa, Alabama was led by a complete game shutout from pitcher Jackie Traina. Traina gave up five hits and struck out six batters in the outing. Senior right firlder Keima Davis led the Tide offensively, going 2-3 at the plate with two runs scored and one RBI. Senior left fielder Kayla Braud went 2-4 from the plate with an RBI.

On Saturday, Alabama beat Iowa 4-1 to start the action and won the second game of the doubleheader against Western Illinois 6-0. McCleney was 5-7 from the plate in the two games, knocking in four RBI and scoring two runs. Against Western Illinois, first baseman Jadyn Spencer was 2-3 with a two-run homerun in the bottom of the 3rd inning.

In the tournament finale, a 6-1 win over Winthrop, Alabama went into the bottom of the sixth inning tied at one before a five-run outburst secured the victory, including a three-run home run from sophomore Danielle Richard.