GAME SIX: Alabama Forces Game Seven Against Tennessee Tech
5/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
TUSCALOOSA ?? The Alabama Crimson Tide won its third game in a row at the NCAA Softball Championships Tuscaloosa Regional, beating Tennessee Tech 19-10 and forcing a game seven for the regional title.
The Tide seemingly had the game salted away in the fifth with Alabama leading 12-0 heading into the bottom of the inning. But Tech responded to a pitching change by reeling off seven runs, including a grandslam homerun, to make it 12-7.
Alabama kept its offensive barrage going, scoring in the sixth and adding six runs in the top of the seventh. The Golden Eagles added three runs in the bottom of the sixth, including another homerun, before getting closed out.
Alabama’s Blair Potter picked up the win, going to 19-2 on the season. Bonnie Bynum took the loss, falling to 34-11. Potter left the game after four innings with a perfect game and seven strike outs. She would later return to pitch another one and two-thirds innings.
The Tide’s 19 runs is a school record while its 19 hits was a season high, the third most in school history and its best in NCAA regional play. The Tide’s five homeruns in the game ties the school record, accomplished three times previously, with the latest coming in 1999 against Auburn.
The Tide’s offensive barrage helped it set single season school and SEC records with 448 runs and 391 RBI.
