After opening the season with three consecutive tournaments on the road, the Washington softball team returned to Seattle to host the Husky Classic over the weekend.

And the Huskies probably won’t want to leave any time soon. UW went 3-1 for the tournament, including an impressive 6-3 victory over No. 1 Alabama Saturday.

For all the talk of Washington’s school record 18-0 loss to a mediocre Wichita State last weekend, the Huskies looked more like the team that swept Alabama in last season’s Super Regional.

“I’m not so concerned about beating a No. 1 team as I am about our team continuing to get better,” UW coach Heather Tarr said.

The difference in the game came in the bottom of the first inning. UW used a hit, an error and a walk to load the bases for Ashlyn Watson. After the count ran to 2-2, Watson deposited a fastball over the left-center field fence for her first career grand slam, giving the Dawgs a 4-0 lead out of the gate.

Washington tacked two more runs on in the second, using a Jace Williams single and another Alabama error to take a 6-1 lead.

Even though UW starting pitcher Caitlin Noble was pulled in the second inning due to control problems and a concerning number of illegal pitches, the Crimson Tide couldn’t capitalize. Aleah Macon took over with runners on first and second with nobody out; she struggled to find the strike zone but eventually worked out of trouble after allowing one run without the benefit of a hit.

Macon pitched six innings to earn the win, striking out 11 batters and allowing four hits.

Alabama loaded the bases again in the fourth, but a line drive off the bat of Brittany Rogers was snared by Husky shortstop Morgan Stuart, who stepped on third base for the unassisted double play, preserving the UW lead.

Macon found trouble in the seventh inning, as Alabama once again loaded the bases with nobody out. The Tide plated two runs before Macon quelled the rally, striking out back-to-back batters to notch the victory.

The Dawgs (10-6-1) topped Nevada 2-0 on Sunday, then mercy-ruled Portland State 10-2 after resuming where they had left off Friday before play had been halted due to rain. Alicia Blake led the way for UW over the Vikings, hitting two homeruns as she tallied four RBIs.

In the nightcap of Sunday’s triple-header, Portland State scored two runs in the top of the eighth to secure a 4-2 win in eight innings. The win was the first ever for the Vikings over the Huskies.

“We had lots of opportunities to score in the fourth game, and it’s disappointing that we didn’t come through when we had opportunities,” Tarr said. “With successes, sometimes you miss opportunities. You’re not going to succeed every single time there’s runners in scoring position.”

[Reach reporter Christian Caple at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.]