Alabama
Michigan
Eight-Run Seventh Leads Softball Over No. 4 Michigan
2/27/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 27, 2010
COLUMBUS, Ga. - Trailing 6-2 entering the final inning the No. 7 ranked Alabama softball team rallied for eight runs on the strength of three home runs to sink No. 4 Michigan, 10-6 Saturday afternoon at the Leadoff Classic. With the win the Crimson Tide improve to 11-2 on the season and have now won 10 in a row.
Entering the seventh inning after giving up five runs in the previous two frames the Crimson Tide showed resolve. Sophomore Jennifer Fenton started the scoring barrage by crossing the plate off an error by the left fielder.
With the bases loaded junior Whitney Larsen provided the heroics with a blast to left-centerfield that cleared the bases to give Alabama the 7-6 lead. The Crimson Tide was not done though as sophomore Jazlyn Lunceford and freshman Courtney Conley each went deep to extend the lead to the final 10-6 score.
The two teams were knotted at one up until Michigan put three more on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Alabama got one back when sophomore Amanda Locke hit a prodigious blast to left-center to make the score 4-2. The Wolverines would answer right back by plating two more runs in the bottom half of the sixth.
Freshman Kayla Braud paced the Tide at the plate with a 2-for-4 effort, scoring two runs and drawing a walk. Sophomore Cassie Reilly-Boccia batted 2-for-3 with a run while the freshman Conley also collected two hits and drove in two.
Charlotte Morgan started the game and then came in to wrap it up in the seventh. The senior tossed 5 1/3 innings and allowed three runs on five hits while fanning three. Freshman Lauren Sewell earned the win by throwing 1 2/3 innings of relief to improve to 3-0 on the season.
Alabama tagged Michigan All-American Nikki Nemitz for eight runs, seven earned, on 11 hits to fall to 1-3 on the season.
