Alabama Softball Bounces Back to Shut Out Florida in Series Finale

Kayla Beaver threw seven shutout innings, and the Crimson Tide offense came alive for eight hits to beat the Gators.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama softball isn’t leaving SEC opening weekend empty handed. After two disappointing losses at home, the Crimson Tide bounced back with a win over Florida in the series finale.

Behind another dazzling performance from Kayla Beaver in the circle and an awakening on offense, No. 10 Alabama beat No. 13 Florida 3-0 on Monday night at Rhoads Stadium.

Alabama (20-4, 1-2 SEC) head coach Patrick Murphy said his team had to have short term memory after the way the first two games of the series had gone. His team is realizing that the Crimson Tide will always be circled on opponents' schedules. 

"We have to bring our best every single time because they are. That's the key," Murphy said after the game. "Tonight, Beaver was terrific. The hitting was clutch. The defense was great

Florida (21-4, 2-1 SEC) ace Keagan Rothrock came into the matchup only allowing six total earned runs and 20 hits on the season in 69.1 innings pitched. In her first game against the Crimson Tide, she only allowed one hit in a seven-inning shutout. It was a different story Monday night.

Alabama jumped on Rothrock with three hits in the first inning and scored its first run on an RBI single from sophomore catcher Marlie Giles. The Crimson Tide tacked on another run in the fourth inning with a leadoff home run from senior Bailey Dowling, her second of the season.

"They passed the bat down really well," Murphy said. "That was big for us–just to get a little momentum on our side, which we had not had. And just to score first. To let a little pressure off Beaver was huge."

After struggling all weekend at the plate, the Alabama offense finished with eight hits and three runs. The offense tacked on an insurance run in the seventh inning after a leadoff pinch hit single from Kendal Clark and single from Kenleigh Cahalan.

Beaver was phenomenal in the circle. In the first game, she didn’t allow any earned runs but was let down by her defense and wasn’t supported by the offense. She got help from both on Monday.

The fifth-year pitcher faced a little adversity in the seventh inning, but still held on to shut out the Gators. Beaver lowered her ERA to 0.41 with her efforts this weekend. The defense played error-free after committing six errors in Game 2. 

Alabama has a midweek watchup at No. 16 Florida State on Wednesday before a three-game series at No. 6 Georgia begins on Friday. 

"This was a key win," Murphy said. "We needed this."

How it happened...

(latest updates at the top)

FINAL: Alabama 3, Florida 0

Top 7- Florida

• Strikeout looking. Ballgame. Alabama wins. 

• Another walk loads the bases with two outs. Quick meeting in the circle for the Crimson Tide. 

• Four-pitch walk has runners on the corners with two outs. 

• Beaver cleanly fields a ball hit back to her to start the double play. Two outs, but Florida has the runner on third. Another great play in the field by Beaver. 

• Back-to-back singles give the Gators runner on first and second with no outs. 

• Leadoff single for Erickson on the first pitch she sees. 

• 3-4-5 due up for Florida

END 6: Alabama 3, Florida 0

Bottom 6- Alabama

• Jenna strikes out looking to end the inning. 

• Broadfoot comes in to pinch hit for White and strikes out swinging after a good at-bat. Two outs for Jenna. 

• Cahalan singles out to center field. Falby bobbles the ball, which allows Clark to score from second. Alabama 3, Florida 0

• Dowling lays down a sac bunt to move Clark into scoring position with one out. 

• Kendal Clark pinch hits for Esman and leads off with an infield single. 

MID 6: Alabama 2, Florida 0

Top 6- Florida

• Wallace grounds out, and it's another three up, three down inning for Alabama in the field. 

• Cahalan is positioned perfectly to snag the chopper from Falby and makes a quick throw to retire the speedster. Two outs. 

• Beaver strikes out Kistler to open the fourth. 

END 5: Alabama 2, Florida 0

Bottom 5- Alabama

• Heivilin flies out on the first pitch to kill any chances of a two-out rally. 

• Giles draws a two-out walk to reach base for the third time today. 

• Duchscherer also goes down swinging. Two outs. 

• Preuitt strikes out swinging. One out. 

• Lauren, Duchscherer, and Giles due up for Alabama in the B5. However, it looks like Larissa Preuitt will be pinch hitting for Lauren. 

MID 5: Alabama 2, Florida 0

Top 5- Florida

• Strikeout and groundout retire the side. Another impressive inning for Beaver.

• One-out single to right field for Otis. 

• 5-6-7 due up for the Gators. 

END 4: Alabama 2, Florida 0

Bottom 4- Alabama

• Wallace makes a nice play up the middle to rob Jenna of a hit. Side retired. 

• McClellan makes a running catch in right field to take away a potential XBH from Cahalan. 

• HOME RUN Bailey Dowling. Alabama leads 2-0
• That's just Dowling's second HR of the year

💥Monday Nitro💥@DowlingBailey

📺SEC Network | https://t.co/AfCwfcYBb5#Team28 #RollTide pic.twitter.com/redKb9csqq

— Alabama Softball (@AlabamaSB) March 12, 2024

• Dowling, Cahalan and White due up for Alabama. 

MID 4: Alabama 1, Florida 0

Top 4- Florida

• Great play in the circle by Beaver. She fields a ball back to her and calmly throws to second, which starts the double play.  

Inning-ending double play!✌️

📺SEC Network | https://t.co/AfCwfcYBb5#Team28 #RollTide pic.twitter.com/0180lfe7ga

— Alabama Softball (@AlabamaSB) March 11, 2024

• Erickson singles through the left side. Runners on first and second with one out. 

• Fielder's choice gets Falby at second. Wallace stands at first with one out. 

• Falby flashes her speed and reaches on an infield single for Florida's first baserunner of the game. 

• Top of the lineup due up for the Gators. 

END 3: Alabama 1, Florida 0

Bottom 3- Alabama

• Esman strikes out on three pitches, and Alabama can't add on to its lead. 

• Diving snag by Kowalewski at third on a hard liner by Heivilin goes for the second out. Giles still stands on second. 

• One-out double for Giles. First double for a Crimson Tide hitter this month. 

• Duchscherer, Giles and Heivilin due up for Alabama. 

MID 3: Alabama 1, Florida 0

Top 3- Florida

• Quick three up, three down inning for Beaver in the circle. She only needed eight pitches to retire the Gators. 

• McClellan hits one hard, but right at White in centerfield. One out. 

END 2: Alabama 1, Florida 0

Bottom 2- Alabama

• Lauren pops up to end the inning. Rothrock gets out of the jam, and Alabama can't take advantage of having two runners on.

• Jenna hits into a fielder's choice. Wallace tags the lead runner. Still runners on first and second, now two outs. 

• White walks on four pitches. Two on, one out for the top of the lineup.

• Florida takes a timeout in the circle after White gets ahead in the count 3-0.

• One-out infield single for Cahalan. 

• Dowling, Cahalan and White due up for Alabama 

MID 2: Alabama 1, Florida 0

Top 2- Florida

• Beaver's second K of the game ends the frame. Another 1-2-3 inning in the field for Alabama. 

• Cahalan makes a nice play to charge the ball and retire Walsh for the second out. Even when the ball got stuck in her glove, she didn't panic and made the throw to first. 

• Brown, Walsh and Otis due up for Florida. 

END 1: Alabama 1, Florida 0

• Alabama gets on the board first with the RBI single from Giles. Encouraging start from the offense getting three hits in the first inning– matches the total from game 2 and surpasses the total from game 1. 

• Rothrock threw 25 pitches in the first inning for Florida.

Bottom 1- Alabama 

• Esman puts a charge in one, but it's caught at the warning track for the final out. 

• Heivilin hits a ground ball to shortstop and is retired, but both runners move into scoring position with two outs for Esman. 

• Giles singles up the middle, and Johnson comes in to score for the Tide to take the early lead. Alabama 1, Florida 0
• I believe this is the first time this month that Alabama has gotten a hit with a RISP. 

• Duchscherer singles through the left side, and for the first time this series, Alabama has put a little pressure on Rothrock. Runners on first and second with one out for Giles. 

• Soft liner from Lauren on the infield goes for the first out. 

• Bloop single for Jenna to lead off. Alabama has already matched its hit total from the first matchup against Rothrock. 

• Patrick Murphy went back to the same starting lineup as Game 1, so it will be Jenna Johnson, Lauren Johnson and Abby Duchscherer due up for Alabama. 

MID 1: Alabama 0, Florida 0

Top 1- Florida

• Erickson flies out to left field. Three outs. Good start for Beaver. 

• Beaver gets Wallace swinging for her first strikeout of the day. Wallace is a tough player to strike out. That was just her fifth strikeout this season. 

• Falby is retired on a grounder. Big first out for Alabama after the way last night started. Falby was 2-4 on Sunday.

• First pitch from Beaver is a ball, and this game is underway. 

Starting lineups

Pregame notes

• There is not a single player on the Alabama roster that has a double or triple in the month of March. The only non-singles this month are the home runs by Abby Duchscherer and Marlie Giles against Arizona. Three of Alabama's four hits this series through the first two games against Florida have been infield singles. 

• It will likely be a rematch of Game 1 in the circle with Keagan Rothrock for Florida and Kayla Beaver for Alabama. 

• Alabama is debuting new pinstripe uniforms tonight.

✨Fresh threads for Monday night ✨#Team28 #RollTide pic.twitter.com/Q4eIAcpP03

— Alabama Softball (@AlabamaSB) March 11, 2024

Alabama Softball Run-Ruled by Florida in Defensive Disaster