Alex Salter Tosses No-Hitter as No. 4 Alabama Run Rules Alabama State

A lineup featuring seven freshmen handled business against the Hornets.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It was all about the newbies Tuesday night. 

You wouldn't know it by watching the game, but seven of the 10 players in the starting lineup were freshmen, including starting pitcher Alex Salter and all six members of the true freshmen class.

Salter was the star of the show as she threw the 40th no-hitter in program history in No. 4 Alabama's 8-0 win over Alabama State at Rhoads Stadium. 

"Honestly, I didn't even know until they said something after the game before we cheered ALABAMA," Salter said. "It's crazy. I'm speechless honestly. Just to be part of Alabama softball and being under the pitching staff is pretty incredible."

Alabama Athletics

Alabama Athletics

Alabama Athletics

Alabama Athletics

Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy said it's really cool to see this moment come to fruition for Salter after she chose to redshirt last season and got to pitch in practice against the likes of Alexis Mack, Elissa Brown and Bailey Hemphill every day. Now eight appearances into her freshman season, Salter throws her first no-hitter. 

"The key to the whole game was the first at-bat," Murphy said. "The kid that was hitting was over .400, was having a great year, hit a hard shot to our shortstop. You know we have seven freshmen on the field, which is unnerving in itself, and she handles the ball perfectly, throws her out. I think everybody kind of took a sigh of relief. And then after that Salter's off-speed was good. Her dropball was good."

Savannah Woodard delivered the walk-off hit to left field that delivered the final blow to the beleaguered Hornets (14-16) to end the game in five innings. 

"Everybody in the lineup had at least one hit, which hasn't happened very often this year," Murphy said. "So they passed the baton down really well and got the key hit in the bottom of the fifth to end the game early."

With several younger faces in the field, Alabama scored early and often with 11 total hits, including two from Megan Bloodworth highlighted by an RBI-double in the third. She said this game was a moment that her class has been looking forward to since signing day. 

"Seeing all of us being able to be on the field at once was incredible," Bloodworth said.

After several close, back-and-forth games with Florida State, Kentucky, and the series opener against South Carolina, Alabama (29-4) has now reeled off three straight comfortable wins. 

"During the middle of the South Carolina first game, we challenged them to fight a little bit and to really get after it, and I think they did," Murphy said. "Obviously we won the series, and we swept them, but I saw a little bit of fight that I hadn't seen all year."

Alabama will hope to continue that fight with another midweek game against Jacksonville State Wednesday night (weather permitting) in Albertville before hosting a weekend series against Georgia beginning on Saturday. 

This story will be updated with video.