STARKVILLE, Miss. - A Saturday shutout on the road clinched the weekend series for Alabama softball over Mississippi State, with the Crimson Tide defeating the Bulldogs, 6-0.

Alex Salter (6-2) went the distance with the complete-game shutout, allowing just three hits and one walk. The solo shutout is Salter's third of the season and fourth of her career.

For the second time in the series and the third-straight game, Alabama (31-12, 8-6 SEC) scored in the first inning as a Mississippi State (23-18, 3-10 SEC) error and an Emma Broadfoot RBI single plated a pair of runs for the Crimson Tide.

Alabama doubled its lead in the fifth with an RBI single from Bailey Dowling and a sac fly RBI from Jenna Johnson and then added another in the sixth with another sac fly to make it 5-0.

In the top of the seventh, Kali Heivilin went from first to third on a single by Johnson and then broke for home after a fielding error on the same play to make it 6-0. Having retired 10 straight heading to the bottom of the seventh, a leadoff walk for the Bulldogs broke the streak but that was all they got in the final half-inning.

Alabama was just one hit shy of its season-high in conference play, tallying 11 between seven different players, including a 3-for-3 day from Johnson and two-hit games from Dowling and Broadfoot.

From Head Coach Patrick Murphy

"I'm really proud of [Alex] Salter. Other than the Tennessee game, this was one of the best games of her career. She had them off balance all day. Lance [McMahon] called a good game and Ally [Shipman] caught a good game. I really liked our start offensively, especially with two outs. We had really clean defense all day and it was just a great day on the diamond.

"We've done the hard part - you have to win the first two games to get the chance to sweep. I told our team after the game that Mississippi State doesn't want to get swept. They're going to come out tomorrow with everything they have and paly one of their best games of the year. We just have to match the energy."

Highlights

• The series win is Alabama's 16th three-game series win all-time over Mississippi State, the Crimson Tide's sixth on the road.
• The 11 hits were just one shy of Alabama's conference-best this season, previously tallying 12 at Missouri on April 1.
• Alabama is now 14-3 when scoring in the first inning, having done so in each of the last three games.
• Alex Salter's complete-game shutout was her third this season and fourth of her career.
• Jenna Johnson went 3-for-3 at the plate, earning her seventh multi-hit game of the season and her second of the weekend series.
• Ashley Prange went 1-for-2 with a walk to extend her reached-base streak to eight games.

Scoring Summary

T1 | A fielding error allowed Ashley Prange to score from third. Emma Broadfoot poked a single through the right side to drive in a run. Bama 2, Mississippi State 0.

T5 | With two on base, Bailey Dowling dropped a single into left-center to plate a run. Jenna Johnson lifted a sac fly RBI to right, with Ally Shipman tagging up and scoring from third. Bama 4, Mississippi State 0.

T6 | Larissa Preuitt scored from third on a sac fly RBI. Bama 5, Mississippi State 0.

T7 | Kali Heivilin went from first to third on a single by Johnson and then came home on an error on the same play. Bama 6, Mississippi State 0.

Up Next

Alabama is at Mississippi State again Sunday with first pitch slated for 1 p.m. CT. The game will be televised by SEC Network.