MONTEVALLO - Ala. - In its 2017 season opener, the Truman softball team nearly upset No. 1-ranked and defending National Champion, North Alabama, but the Lions walked it off with a three-run home run, 7-5. For game two, West Alabama put up 18 runs on the Bulldogs, who fell by a score of 18-4 in five innings.

Truman is off to an 0-2 start for the first time since 2007 while North Alabama improved to 8-2 and West Alabama now sits at 3-4 overall. The Lions have won six in a row since beginning their campaign at 2-2 and after an 0-4 start, the Tigers are 3-4.

The Bulldogs wasted no time taking the lead against the Lions with four first-inning runs including a run scoring on a single from Lex Van Nostrand and a three-run bomb to left center off the bat of Sydney Scherzinger. North Alabama then got one back in the bottom of the frame to make it 4-1, but Truman scored its fifth and final run with an RBI single from Van Nostrand in the second.

Later, in the third, the Lions hit homers in back-to-back at-bats on pitches to first baseman, Anna Gayle Norris (two-run), and catcher, Mackenzie Roberts (solo), that slimmed the margin to just one, 5-4. Those two long balls knocked Bulldogs' pitcher, Lauren Dale, out of the game after two and one-third innings pitched. Dale gave up four earned runs on eight hits with one walk.

Making her first collegiate appearance in relief was Alyssa Hajduk. Hajduk threw the final 4.1 innings and gave up three earned on four hits with four free passes and two strikeouts. One of those two punchouts came with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth before North Alabama ended things in the bottom of the seventh.

**At the time of this release, stats were not readily available for the West Alabama game.

Next up, Truman stays in Montevallo on Sunday to face Delta State at 9 a.m. and Mississippi College at 11:15 a.m. Live stats for both of those contests will be available right here at TrumanBulldogs.com.

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