Late Comeback Falls Short for Alabama Softball Wednesday Against Florida State

Wednesday, March 16

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

6 p.m. CT

Alabama

22-3

Florida State

25-1

Florida State

Alabama

Late Comeback Falls Short for Alabama Softball Wednesday Against Florida State

3/16/2022 9:24:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery

The Crimson Tide had the tying run in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – A late push by No. 3 Alabama put the potential game-tying run in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh against No. 2 Florida State, but the Seminoles ended up edging out the Crimson Tide, 5-4, in front of a sold-out Rhoads Stadium Wednesday night.

Alabama (22-3) jumped ahead early on Florida State (25-1) as back-to-back singles from Ashley Prange and Ally Shipman set up Kaylee Tow for a towering three-run home run in the first inning to quickly give the Crimson Tide the 3-0 lead. In the top of the fourth, a single up the middle and a fielding error allowed an unearned run to cross for the Seminoles, but Alabama got a run back in the bottom of the fifth on a squeeze bunt from Jenna Johnson, driving in Savannah Woodard from third.

Florida State got a second chance with a two-out fielding error in the top of the sixth and took advantage, tying the game with a three-run home run in the next at-bat. A fielding error and RBI groundout in the top of the seventh then put the Seminoles ahead 6-4. With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Woodard laced a double into right field and Dallis Goodnight followed with an infield single to put runners at the corners. A wild pitch moved both up 60 feet, scoring a run to cut the deficit to 6-5 but a strikeout and groundout ended the late rally.

Woodard and Goodnight were both 2-for-3 batting eighth and ninth, respectively, with Woodard scoring twice. The home run was Tow's second of the season and her three RBIs tie a season high. Lexi Kilfoyl (3-2) took the loss in the circle, throwing 6.1 innings with just one earned run allowed and five unearned.

From Head Coach Patrick Murphy

"I want to thank Florida State for coming up on a midweek. It's their spring break as well and they came down here after playing in Nashville last night. If they don't come to us, this kind of atmosphere doesn't happen for college softball. It was a great game on national television and in front of 4,000 people here at Rhoads. It was just a fun night for softball that unfortunately didn't go our way. We competed really well. I thought we fought hard at the end. Our bottom of the order was awesome and the next time we are in this situation, I am confident we are going to come through."

Highlights

Over her last six games, Jenna Johnson is 8-for-15 with 10 RBIs, two home runs a double and two runs scored
Savannah Woodard's two doubles are a career high and mark the second time an Alabama player had two doubles in a game this season, with Dallis Goodnight doing so on Feb. 13 against New Mexico
This is the first time Alabama has lost a game when scoring in the first inning, now sitting at 10-1 when doing so
The home run was Kaylee Tow's second of the season and 32nd of her career

Scoring Summary

B1 | Kaylee Tow blasted a three-run home run to straightaway center (3-0, 1 Out)
T4 | A fielding error allowed an FSU runner to score from third (3-1, 1 Out)
B5 | With runners at the corners, Jenna Johnson laid down a squeeze bunt to score Savannah Woodard from third (4-1, 1 Out)
T6 | A two-out fielding error extended the inning and allowed Florida State to tie the game on a three-run home run (4-4, 2 Out)
T7 | A fielding error gave the Seminoles the lead (4-5, 1 Out)
T7 | An RBI groundout plated another run for the visitors (4-6, 1 Out)
B7 | A wild pitch with runners at the corners scored a run (5-6, 1 Out)

Up Next: vs. #8/11 Kentucky (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)

Friday, March 18 – 6 p.m. CT
Saturday, March 19 – 2 p.m. CT
Sunday, March 20 – 1:30 p.m. CT

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.