Kayla Beaver proud of Alabama's fight in extra-innings win vs. Southeastern Louisiana

Saturday afternoon, Alabama softball pitcher Kayla Beaver went the distance on the mound, throwing all nine innings as the Crimson Tide held off Southeastern Louisiana to advance to the Tuscaloosa Regional Final.

Alabama and SLU were locked in a dead heat for much of the game, with both squads knocking in just one run apiece in regulation before the floodgates finally broke open in extra innings, starting with the Tide’s turn in the top of the ninth. It was Riley Valentine who came to the rescue, scoring a three-run home run as part of a five-run ninth for ‘Bama.

With a 6-1 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth, Beaver closed things out after allowing two runs to secure a 6-3 victory and a spot in the regional final. After the win, she spoke with the ESPN+ broadcast and was asked what Saturday meant as her first postseason start with the Crimson Tide.

“It was awesome. You know, getting to wear this jersey on this field and play in a regional here, it means something really special to me, and I wouldn’t want to do it with anybody else,” she responded.

Beaver was also asked about what sort of confidence that offensive explosion in the ninth gave her and the rest of the pitching staff.

“It gives us so much,” she said, adding: “And I just want to give kudos to this team. They have so much fight and I couldn’t be more proud of them. They did everything they were supposed to do, and they did it when it matters, and I’m so proud of them.”

Particularly, Valentine’s home run really changed the momentum of the game to put Alabama in a terrific spot. Beaver recalled her emotions in that moment:

“Oh my gosh, that was awesome. I thought I was going to fall coming out of the dugout. I was so happy for (Valentine). She really needed that and I couldn’t be more proud of her.”

Lastly, the broadcasters asked Kayla Beaver how she and the team calm their excitement to re-focus on the regional final games coming up.

“I think we take it one pitch at a time. I don’t want us to come in here and try to do too much,” she said. “Just take it one pitch at a time, keep it simple, do what we’ve been doing in practice, execute it and have faith in each other.”