Bama’s McCleney helps Team USA Softball grab silver

10 hours ago

Photo: Alabama Athletics

TOKYO – Haylie McCleney became the second Alabama softball alum to earn an Olympic medal as Team USA took silver at this year’s Tokyo Olympic Games.

Team USA faced Japan in the gold medal game Tuesday, with the host nation coming out victorious. McCleney is now the second Alabama softball alum to earn an Olympic medal, joining Kelly Kretschman who won gold in 2004 and silver in 2008.

This year’s Olympics was the first to include softball since 2008.

Batting leadoff in every game for Team USA, McCleney finished the week hitting .529 with nine hits in 17 at-bats and just one strikeout, scoring four runs and drawing four walks. She scored the game-winning run in a 1-0 victory over Canada and in a 2-1 walk-off win over Australia. In the final game of pool play against Japan, McCleney broke up the no-hitter in the sixth inning and eventually scored the tying run, setting up a walk-off victory for Team USA in the next inning.

McCleney played at Alabama 2013-16 and ended her collegiate career as  the program’s all-time leader in batting average (.447), on-base percentage (.569), walks (199) and triples (16) . She also finished in the top five in runs (2nd – 279), stolen base percentage (2nd – .944), slugging percentage (3rd – .690), hits (4th – 313) and stolen bases (5th – 118).