Peyton Grantham was one of four Tiders with home runs

Let’s do Alabama softball by the numbers.

The Crimson Tide of Coach Patrick Murphy allowed only one run in sweeping two games in Southern Miss’s Black and Gold Invitational Saturday. That gives Bama three wins in the tournament.

Alabama had plenty of offense with four home runs and now has four shutouts this year.

Both wins Saturday were five run affairs and the Tide is now 6-0 on the year.

And so it goes.

The results of the two run-rule games were Alabama 11, McNeese 1 in the first game and Bama 11, Mississippi Valley State 0 in the second.

Junior Courtney Gettins (2-0) was the winning pitcher in the first game, giving up one run on three hits, and freshman Madison Preston (2-0) pitched the shutout second, giving up two last-inning hits that broke up the no-hit bid.

Freshman Kaylee Tow had a big day at the plate, going a combined 3-5 over the two games with a three-run home run against the McNeese Cowgirls and an RBI triple against the Devilettes. Also delivering round-trippers were junior Reagan Dykes, senior Peyton Grantham, and sophomore Claire Jenkins.

Ninth-ranked Alabama concludes its weekend at the Black and Gold Invitational at 1 p.m. CST Sunday against No. 11 Baylor (5-0).

Here are the game details:

GAME ONE: ALABAMA 11, MCNEESE 1 (5 INNINGS)

After two hitless innings at the plate, Alabama led off the bottom of the third with three-straight hits to load the bases. Sophomore Bailey Hemphill lifted a sacrifice fly ball to left field, allowing junior Merris Schroder to tag up and score. Sophomore Gabby Callaway bounced a double off the wall in center field, scoring Tow from second to make it 2-0.

Following Callaway’s double, Grantham turned on the first pitch of her at-bat, bouncing the ball off the scoreboard for a three-run home run to make it 5-0. Two batters later, Jenkins blasted a solo shot to center field to stretch the lead to 6-0.

In the top of the fifth with two in scoring position and one out, McNeese scratched a run across with an RBI groundout to cut Alabama’s lead to 6-1. In the bottom half of the inning with the bases loaded for the Tide, Dykes knocked a two-run single up the middle to make it 8-1 and Tow ended it with a three-run home run to center field as Alabama took home the 11-1 run-rule victory.

GAME TWO: ALABAMA 11, MVSU 0 (5 INNINGS)

A pair of walks and a bunt single loaded the bases for Alabama in the bottom of the first and another walk to junior Caroline Hardy moved everyone up 60 feet to plate the Tide’s first run. The carousel continued with a walk, hit-by-pitch, pitching change, walk, and an RBI single from senior Carrigan Fain to 5-0. Sophomore Elissa Brown then dropped a two-run single into shallow center, pushing the lead to 7-0.

Junior Caroline Hardy led off the second inning with a single and Grantham bounced a double off the wall in left center to put two in scoring position with nobody out. Hardy tagged and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jenkins to make it 8-0.

In the bottom of the third, Brown laid down a bunt single and advanced to second on a throwing error before coming home on an RBI triple from Tow to make it 9-0. Fellow freshman KB Sides ripped a hard-hit single through the right side to score Tow and give Alabama a double-digit lead.

In the bottom of the fourth, Dykes entered to pinch hit and blasted a solo home run to center field, increasing the lead to 11-0.

In the top of fifth, MVSU broke up Preston’s no-hit bid with a one-out single down the left-field line, and would load the bases with one out. A strikeout and groundout would end the game and preserve the shutout, as Alabama won 11-0.