TUSCALOOSA, AL. (WFIE) – University of Southern Indiana Softball battled No. 11 University of Alabama to the final inning on Sunday to conclude the Easton Bama Bash, but the Screaming Eagles came up just short in a 2-0 final against the Crimson Tide.
Trailing 2-0 in the top of the seventh inning against ranked Southeastern Conference power Alabama (10-0), Southern Indiana (1-4) gave itself a chance by bringing the tying run to the plate and potential go-ahead run to the on-deck circle. Following a leadoff single up the middle by junior infielder Hailey Gotshall (Lucerne, Indiana), senior first baseman Lexi Fair (Greenwood, Indiana) stepped up to the dish. Unfortunately, for the Screaming Eagles, a groundball right to the second baseman led to a 4-3 double play, preceding a game-ending strikeout.
Runs were at a premium on Sunday with only five combined hits. The game’s only two runs were scored in the bottom of the first inning. The Crimson Tide scored their first run on a bases-loaded walk and the second run in the next at-bat with a bases-loaded sac fly. From there, USI junior starting pitcher Josie Newman (Indianapolis, Indiana) settled into a pitcher’s duel against the Alabama pitching staff.
Newman backed up her first win and first complete game of the season on Saturday with another strong effort in the circle on Sunday against Alabama. The right-hander went the entire way, allowing only two runs off two hits, three walks, and one hit-by-pitch. Newman struck out three in six innings of work. Newman finished the outing with three consecutive 1-2-3 innings, holding the Crimson Tide hitless after the third inning. The hard-luck loss moved Newman’s record to 1-2 in 2024.
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For Alabama, right-handed pitcher Alea Johnson picked up her first win, hurling 5.1 innings of relief. Johnson struck out six and surrendered three hits.
Offensively, for the Screaming Eagles, senior catcher Sammie Kihega (Greenfield, Indiana) and sophomore Caroline Stapleton (Shirley, Indiana) tallied USI’s other two hits next to Gotshall’s single in the seventh.
At the Easton Bama Bash, the Screaming Eagles faced their first Power 5 opponents against Alabama and the University of Virginia since USI made the jump to D-I last season. Plus, Sunday marked the first game for USI Softball against a Division I top-25 team since reclassifying.
With their opening weekend in the books, the Screaming Eagles will next make a return trip to the state of Alabama next weekend, Friday through Sunday, for five games in the Cocky Classic at Jacksonville State University. USI faces the University of Southern Mississippi on Friday at 12:30 p.m., Jacksonville State at 10 a.m. and Belmont University at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, and Southern Miss at 10 a.m. and Jacksonville State at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday. Coverage links can be found on the USI Softball schedule page at usiscreamingeagles.com
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – For those incarcerated in Alabama, there is a path to employment through the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles Re-Entry Program.
The Bureau looks at where someone may live after serving their sentence and starts connecting them with potential employers, while also conducting drug screenings to help ensure employers and communities are getting a safe employee.
“We make sure as they’re moving through our re-entry programs that they’re re-assessed for mental health stability for substance abuse challenges,” said Rebecca Bensema, Assistant Director of Re-entry and Rehabilitation.
Bensema said the agency sits down with inmates to gauge their interests and review their work history to help match them with opportunities.
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Bureau Director Cam Ward explained that there are areas where an individual would be unable to work because of their conviction.
“For example, if I committed check fraud, I’m not going to be able to get a job at the bank. Sex offense… you’re not going to be eligible to work anywhere near kids or sensitive facilities,” Ward said.
Ward said offering job possibilities to people leaving incarceration is key to reducing recidivism and repeat offenses.
“Give the employer all the information and if they want to hire somebody based on their criminal history, let the employer decide, don’t let the government be the one who dictates it,” he said.
The Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles says it currently has positions open that people with a criminal background can apply for.
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Alabama football is hosting an impressive group of 2027 recruits throughout this weekend. This is the first of several weekends the Tide will host top recruits for official visits.
So, will Alabama add a commit this weekend? This is very much possible, and there are a few prospects Touchdown Alabama has our eyes on.
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Justin Smith is the Managing Editor and Lead Writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine with over 10 years of writing experience & expertise. Smith has consistently delivered high quality, extensively researched information on the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide football team that fans can trust. Smith is official credentialed media with the University of Alabama under Touchdown Alabama Magazine. He is also the Director of Recruiting for Touchdown Enterprises, specializing in scouting and analyzing high school recruits around the nation, specifically focusing on recruits within the state of Alabama.
OKLAHOMA CITY–– UCLA’s home run power made headlines all season, but it was Alabama’s super sluggers who stepped up in the biggest moments on the biggest stage during the Crimson Tide’s opening game of the Women’s College World Series.
No. 1 Alabama was trailing by two runs heading into the fifth inning of Thursday’s game before Alexis Pupillo tied it up with a two-run shot in the bottom of the frame.
The Tide had struggled with runners in scoring position all game, but when Alabama’s home run leader Brooke Wells stepped to the plate with two on in the sixth inning, she made sure that wasn’t going to happen again. In her first ever game at the WCWS, Wells hit one over the right field wall to give Alabama a three-run lead.
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That score would hold as No. 1 Alabama beat No. 8 UCLA 6-3 to move into the winners’ bracket at the WCWS.
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The moment meant a lot for Wells after she went without a hit during the super regional round against LSU. The team rallied around her, and head coach Patrick Murphy put a card in her locker at the beginning of the week.
“It was great to do it for these girls,” Wells said after the game. “These girls are so great. They had my back all last weekend, you know, how he said. It wasn’t the best weekend for me, but they never lost trust in me, they never lost faith in me. Murph gave me a card, the girls picked me up all weekend. I walked in here feeling as confident as ever. Didn’t really cross my mind anything that happened last weekend.”
This is the first trip to the World Series for both Wells and Pupillo as transfers into Alabama. Pupillo is in her final season and has now hit a home run in three straight postseason games and is up to 20 on the season.
“This is the moment that I’ve been waiting for since I was like eight years old,” Pupillo said. “I walked through the gates today, I kind of started tearing up for a second because it just felt surreal. I just remember watching Montana Fouts pitch in the World Series when she threw the perfect game. That moment of me when I was eight years old watching it on the TV, man, I really want to do that.”
Alabama junior ace Jocelyn Briski shut down the UCLA batting order the first time through, but the Bruins bats wouldn’t stay down for long. UCLA rallied for three runs on four hits, including two home runs, in the third inning to take a 3-1 lead.
She did not allow another run to the potent UCLA offense over the next four innings. Briski finished with nine strikeouts against a team that does not strike out much.
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“You could see they hit two home runs, we hit two home runs, but the ability to come up with those timely hits with runners on obviously makes a difference,” UCLA coach Kelly Inoyue-Perez said after the game.
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Coming into the matchup, Alabama knew UCLA would score. It just wanted to limit the damage, and Briski was able to do that.
Jena Young set the tone for the offense at the top of the lineup, reaching base four times with three hits. She scored in the first inning on an RBI-single from Alabama’s senior captain Marlie Giles, Pupillo’s home run and on the Wells’ home run in the sixth inning.
Alabama (55-7) will face the winner of Thursday night’s game between No. 4 Nebraska and No. 5 Arkansas on Saturday. Winning the first game sets the tone for the rest of the series and makes the path a lot smoother. Around 90 percent of previous college softball national champions win their opening game at the WCWS.
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