TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Kaitlyn Medlam tossed 3-1/3 innings of scoreless, no-hit relief and Callie Alford drove in two runs as the Georgia State softball team shocked No. 2 Alabama, 5-1, in front of 2,253 at Rhoads Stadium Tuesday night.

The victory represents the highest ranked team that the Panthers have ever beaten in any team sport.

Medlam and starter McCall Langford combined to hold the Crimson Tide (40-3) to one run on four hits. After the Tide scored their lone run in the fourth inning, the Panthers (32-12) erupted for five runs in the fifth and then held on for the historic victory.

Whitney Phillips tied the game for the Panthers with a bases-loaded, run-scoring single. After the go-ahead run scored on a wild pitch, Lauren Coleman drove in a run with a bases-loaded walk, and then Alford delivered her two-run single.

Medlam earned her 13th win of the season in relief of Langford, who gave up a run on four hits and struck out four Alabama batters. Meanwhile, the loss was only the second of 2012 for the Crimson Tide and first time that Alabama lost to an unranked team since 2006.

The Crimson Tide broke open a scoreless ball game in the fourth inning with one unearned run on an infield single and an error. The Panthers answered with five runs in the top of the fifth for the game's final score.

Before tonight, the highest-ranked victory for the GSU softball team was a 1994 victory over No. 6 Cal State-Northridge, while the highest ranked team that any Panther squad had beaten was the baseball team's win at No. 3 Georgia Tech in 2009.

The Panthers take a four-game winning streak on the road to Delaware this weekend for a CAA series from April 21-22 in Newark, Del.

www.GeorgiaStateSports.com