Softball picks up home win over Georgia State

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CW/ Hannah Saad

James Benedetto, Staff Reporter

In its final home midweek game of the season, Alabama softball defeated Georgia State 5-1 to improve its record to 39-4.

Junior Elissa Brown remained hot at the plate as she went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and an RBI. Her 31st stolen base of the season ranks her second in the SEC and her speed continued to be a factor for the offense in the game.

“She’s been doing great,” coach Patrick Murphy said. “Her on base percentage is going up, I don’t know what it is right now but it is steadily going up that was the thing we really talked about. We couldn’t have a lead off at .375 to .350ish. She needed to be at over .420 and I think she is climbing in that direction. She has been very consistent, she hit .417 at South Carolina. She was our most consistent hitter all weekend.”

The Crimson Tide also had offense from its freshman class. Skylar Wallace, Kloyee Anderson and Kayla Davis all got hits while Wallace led the team in RBIs for the game with two.

“That was good for her she will have a big confidence boost,” Murphy said. “I was going to see if Kloyee wanted to go to right because it was still sunny  and I said, ‘Are you going to be able to handle the sun?’ and [Kayla] said, ‘I got it,’ so I said, ‘Get out there then.’ You love to hear that. She did not hesitate and I believed her.”

This faith has also extended to starting pitcher Krystal Goodman who had another consistent outing for Alabama. Goodman pitched a complete game, allowing one run on two hits and striking out four in her seventh win of the season. The Long Beach, Mississippi, native’s combination of her fastball and her changeup had the Panther hitters off balance all game long.

“My change up came back into the zone, its kind of been out lately,” Goodman said. “I have worked on it and I think that was a major difference.”

When asked about her recent trend of consistent starts, Goodman attributed her success to getting more comfortable within the team.

“I think a lot of it is settling into the team and learning my role,” Goodman said. “The more consistent my role is, the more consistent and comfortable I am on the mound and getting that routine and getting used to everything here, I think it is finally clicking.”

The Crimson Tide look forward to No. 13 Georgia as the Bulldogs come to Tuscaloosa off of an SEC series win over Texas A&M.

“The Georgia-Alabama rivalry is top notch,” Murphy said. “Every time we play them it is a great series.”

First pitch of game one is slated for Saturday, April 13 at 11 a.m.