Reagan Dykes had two hits for Bama

The softball scoreboard cannot differentiate between an earned run and an unearned run, but one couldn’t blame Hawaii pitcher Brittany Hitchcock if she didn’t think she deserved better against the nation’s number four team in the final game of the Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu Saturday.

Alabama ran its record to 31-0 with its sixth win in the tournament as the Crimson Tide downed Hawaii, 6-2. Bama benefited greatly from the generosity of the host team as four Alabama runs were unearned owing to three Hawaii errors.

Hawaii fell to 19-9.

Coach Patrick Murphy’s Crimson Tide will be open during the midweek, but continue Southeastern Conference competition Friday at College Station against Texas A&M. The Tide an Aggies will meet at 6 p.m. CDT Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday, and 1 p.m. Sunday. Bama is 3-0 in SEC play.

Of Alabama’s 31 victories, 17 have been played away from Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa. Bama previously won tournaments at Troy (Trojan Classic) and Arizona (Hillenbrand Invitational), as well as two home tournaments (Bama Bash and Crimson Classic).

Bama, which had been using powerball throughout the tournament, did not have an extra base hit in Saturday’s game, but all three Hawaii errors were instrumental in Crimson Tide runs.

Alabama was held to only seven singles, with only Reagan Dykes getting two hits off losing pitcher Hitchcock (8-5), who went the distance for Hawaii. Kaylee Tow scored two runs for Bama (one earned) and Bailey Hemphill had two runs batted in (both unearned).

Sarah Cornell ran her record to 11-0 with a complete game four-hitter. She gave up only one walk and struck out seven.

Alabama got off to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, and also got its first unearned run of the game. After three consecutive singles by Merris Schroder, Claire Jenkins, and Maddie Morgan produced a run, Hawaii seemed to be out of the inning when with two outs Elissa Brown grounded to shortstop. An error, however, allowed Brown to reach and Jenkins to score.

In the fourth, Alabama added three more runs, all of them unearned courtesy of Hawaii errors. Morgan walked, Brown was safe on an infield hit, and Kaylee Tow was safe on an error with Morgan scoring and Brown going to third. With two outs, Bailey Hemphill singled to center and an error allowed both Brown and Tow to cross, making it 5-0.

Alyssa Sojka provided the Hawaii runs in the sixth inning with a two-run homer.

Alabama tacked on a final run in the top of the seventh. Tow walked, went to second on a sacrifice bunt, advanced to third on a fielder’s choice, and scored on Reagan Dykes’s two-out single.

Alabama’s 31 wins to start the season is the all-time Crimson Tide record, surpassing the previous mark of a 27-0 start by the 2001 Bama team.