Alabama
Tennessee
Late Alabama Softball Comeback Falls Short in 4-3 Loss Friday to Tennessee
3/19/2021 9:25:00 PM | Softball
The Crimson Tide brought the potential game-winning run to the plate with no outs in the bottom of the seventh
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama softball brought the potential game-winning run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh but could not complete the Friday night comeback, falling to Tennessee 4-3.
Alabama (22-2, 3-1 SEC) took the first lead of the game, scoring two on a Tennessee (21-3, 2-2 SEC) error in the first inning. The Lady Vols took the lead with three runs in the top of the third before adding a fourth in the top of the sixth. Leading off the bottom of the seventh, Bailey Dowling hit a solo home run to cut the deficit to one. A 14-pitch at bat to Claire Jenkins ended in a walk, putting her on base as the potential tying run with nobody out but a fly out and two strikeouts ended the rally.
KB Sides and Alexis Mack each earned a hit batting at the top of the order, with Mack extending her reached base streak to 12 games. Bailey Hemphill drew career walk number 196, putting her three shy of tying Haylie McCleney's school record, and Bailey Dowling hit her team-leading sixth home run. Montana Fouts (8-2) took the loss in the circle for the Crimson Tide while Ashley Rogers (10-3) earned the complete-game victory for Tennessee.
FROM HEAD COACH PATRICK MURPHY
"Tip your cap to their pitcher because she did a great job. We got two runs in the first and then didn't do anything again until the seventh which was the story of the game. The goal is always to get the tying run to the plate. Tonight we had the winning run at the plate three times. Three people had a chance to tie it or win it, we just needed one more hitter to get on and we could have done it. It was a good rally and we showed a lot of energy there at the end. Dowling got us started and gave us a shot which is really all you can ask for as a coach."
HIGHLIGHTS
- Alabama is now 36-26 all-time against Tennessee and 19-8 against the Lady Vols at home
- The game was the Tide's first loss this season when scoring first
- Alexis Mack extended her reached-base streak 12 games
- Bailey Hemphill now has 196 walks, three shy of Haylie McCleney's school record of 199
- Bailey Dowling has hit a home run in three of her last four games, leading the team with six
SCORING SUMMARY
- B1 | A fielding error on a double steal attempt plated two runs for Alabama (2-0, 1 Out)
- T4 | Ally Shipman put the Lady Vols on the board with an RBI double to left center (2-1, 0 Out)
- T4 | Amanda Ayala tied it with an RBI single to let (2-2, 2 Out)
- T4 | An RBI single to center gave Tennessee the lead (2-3, 2 Out)
- T6 | An infield single with the bases loaded moved everyone up 60 feet to score a run (2-4, 0 Out)
- B7 | Bailey Dowling made it a one-run game with a solo home run (3-4, 0 Out)
UP NEXT - ALABAMA VS. TENNESSEE (TUSCALOOSA, ALA.)
- Saturday, March 20 – 2 p.m. CT
- Sunday, March 21 – 1 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
For the latest information on the team, follow @AlabamaSB on Twitter, BamaSB on Instagram and Alabama Softball on Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.
