Alabama
#13 Oklahoma
Alabama Softball Defeats DePaul, Take Tough-Luck Loss to Oklahoma
3/19/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
FULLERTON, Calif. - Alabama split a pair of games in its final day of the Easton Tournament on the campus of Cal State Fullerton, defeating DePaul 14-6 in the opener before taking a tough-luck 2-0 loss to 13th-ranked Oklahoma in the finale.
Alabama's (26-5) offense was on full display in the win over DePaul (6-17) but fell flat in a pitcher's duel against Oklahoma (20-6), as the two teams only combined for four hits. Alabama totaled 18 hits in the win over DePaul, the team's most since doing so against Alabama A&M on Feb. 12, 2011.
GAME ONE: ALABAMA 14, DEPAUL 6 (6 INNINGS)
Alabama saw an early 3-0 lead erased in the bottom of the first as DePaul scored four to take a quick 4-3 lead. The Tide offense battled back however and eventually came through with a run-rule victory, 14-6, in six innings. Chandler Dare led the team with a career-high four hits, driving in three and scoring twice. Reagan Dykes and Marisa Runyon each earned three hits, including a two-run homer by Runyon in the fourth inning as part of a five RBI day.
Alabama starter Madi Moore (8-0) allowed six runs over 4.0 innings but earned the win to remain undefeated, while Sydney Littlejohn threw 2.0 perfect innings behind her with four strikeouts. DePaul's Megan Leyva (1-8) threw a complete game and was tagged for 14 earned runs.
Runyon got things started for the Tide in the top of the first, pulling a two-run double into the right field gap before Peyton Grantham drove her in on an RBI triple that got past a diving outfielder, giving Alabama an early 3-0 lead. A two-run double, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly allowed DePaul to take a 4-3 lead in the bottom half of the inning.
Alabama wasn't down for long, scoring three in the top of the second to regain the lead, 6-4. An RBI single by Dykes tied it at 4-4 before the Tide executed a double steal in the next at-bat to take a 5-4 lead. An RBI single by Runyon extended the lead to 6-4.
The Tide would score two more in the third inning on a two-run single by Dare and three in the fourth inning on a two-run homer by Runyon and an RBI groundout by Andrea Hawkins to extend the lead to 11-4. DePaul got two runs back in the bottom half of the inning to draw within five, trailing 11-6. Both teams would go scoreless in the fifth inning but Alabama would drop in three-straight RBI doubles in the top of the sixth to take an eight-run lead and a scoreless bottom half would give the Tide the run-rule victory with a final score of 14-6.
GAME TWO: OKLAHOMA 2, ALABAMA 0
In a rematch of last year's Super Regional series, the Sooners came away victorious in a pitcher's duel between Alexis Osorio (8-3) and Paige Parker (8-3) courtesy of a walk-off homer from Shay Knighten. Osorio was dominant in the circle, throwing 13 strikeouts, including a streak of 11-straight from the second through the fifth inning. She took the tough-luck loss however, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning before a single and a home run ended the game.
Both teams were hitless until the top of the third, when Andrea Hawkins beat out an infield single with one out in the inning. Alabama looked to break through later in the top of the fourth with two on and nobody out, but a double play and great leaping grab by the Oklahoma shortstop ended the inning and kept the Tide off the board.
The pitching on both sides dominated throughout the game, with neither offense able to break through against Osorio or Parker. Osorio took a no-hitter into the bottom of the seventh until Sydney Romero tallied the Sooners' first hit, a leadoff single up the middle. Two batters later, Knighten ended the game on one swing, launching a two-run homer over the fence in left center to give Oklahoma the 2-0 walk-off win.
Next up, Alabama begins a four-game homestand on Tuesday, March 22 against Alcorn State (4-13) at 6 p.m. CT. The following weekend, the Tide will host the Missouri Tigers (18-4) for a three-game SEC series beginning on Saturday, March 26. Sunday and Monday's contests will be aired live on the SEC Network with both games beginning at 6 p.m. CT.
