Alabama catcher Molly Fichtner hitting her three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning in Alabama’s 14-6 win over Missouri. (Photo courtesy of UA Athletics)
“That’s better,” Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy said. “I thought our hitters really took it to them. To score 14 against probably one of the top three pitchers in the country is just something else.
“I thought everybody battled hard. We took the walks when they gave them to us and then we hit good pitches when they gave those to us.”
Alabama ended the game one inning early in the bottom of the sixth when center fielder Haylie McCleney walked in Jackey Branham from third for the 14th run, invoking thee eight-run mercy rule.
Alabama got some runs from power, too, like a three-run home run from catcher Molly Fichtner in the bottom of the first to give the Tide a 4-1 lead after one inning. The four-run rally that followed in the bottom of the second started with a one-out triple in the right-center gap from senior right fielder Keima Davis.
Alabama won the series-opener over Missouri 4-1 Friday night before dropping Game Two 9-4.
The Crimson Tide wore special helmets during the three-game series to honor former Athletic Director Mal Moore. The helmets were white with a crimson stripe down the middle and crimson No. 15s on each side, the 15 representing the number of football national championships in school history. The 1961 national championship team, which Moore was a backup quarterback on, wore similar helmets.
The Tide (35-6, 10-5 SEC) will host two midweek games, Tuesday against Mississippi Valley State and Wednesday against UAB before a weekend off. Alabama will return to SEC play on April 19th against Mississippi State in Tuscaloosa.
