Alabama
30-5, 7-4
Georgia
31-6, 5-3
Sixth-Inning Surge Pushes Alabama to 9-3 Win over Georgia, Evens Weekend Series
4/3/2022 6:55:00 PM | Softball
The series rubber match is set for a 6 p.m. CT first pitch Monday live on the SEC Network
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – A six-run sixth inning pushed Alabama softball to a 9-3 comeback victory over Georgia Sunday afternoon, evening the weekend series.
Alabama (30-5, 7-4 SEC) trailed Georgia (31-6, 5-3 SEC) after a solo home run and sac fly RBI in the top of the third but Ashley Prange cut the deficit in half with an RBI double in the bottom half, ending the third inning with the score 2-1. The Bulldogs extended their lead with an RBI single in the fourth but the Tide quickly knotted up the score in the bottom half with an RBI double from Aubrey Barnhart and RBI single from Jenna Johnson, forcing Georgia to go to its bullpen in the process.
Still tied 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth, Kaylee Tow dropped a one-out single into right before Johnson blasted a two-run home run to left field to give Alabama its first lead of the series. Abby Doer made it 6-3 with a pinch-hit RBI single and Ally Shipman drove in two more with a bases-loaded single to make it 8-3. A Bailey Dowling RBI single brought the score to 9-3 before a double play ended the big inning. The Bulldogs got a two-out single in the seventh before Lexi Kilfoyl's (6-2) eighth strikeout of the game closed it out.
Johnson was 2-for-3 with three RBIs, her ninth multi-hit game and fourth multi-RBI game of the season. Prange went 2-for-2 with two walks batting second, extending her hitting streak to 11 games. Nine different batters earned a hit and eight scored at least one run. In the circle, Kilfoyl got the complete-game win with a season-high eight strikeouts.
From Head Coach Patrick Murphy
"I just want to say thanks to the crowd again for another sellout. They know exactly when to get loud. They give us the energy and then we throw it right back at them. It's just unbelievable. I really hope tomorrow night on national television we have 4,000 people screaming 'Roll Tide' and put on a show for everybody watching. I thought Lexi Kilfoyl gave us a good start. One kind of rough inning but after that I thought we made really good plays behind her. She kept us in the game. Finally, that sixth inning was awesome to see because we have been waiting for that kind of inning for a long time."
Highlights
- Alabama improves to 50-21 all-time vs. the Bulldogs, including a 26-8 mark in Tuscaloosa
- The Tide is now 3-0 this season in games tied after the fifth inning
- Jenna Johnson's home run was her fourth of the season, two of which have come in the last five games
- Ashley Prange extended her hitting streak to a career-best 11 games, part of a 2-for-2 day at the plate for her sixth multi-hit game of the season
- Ally Shipman's two RBIs gives her a team-leading 13 multi-RBI games
- The complete-game win is Kilfoyl's sixth of the season and her eight strikeouts are a season high
Scoring Summary
- T3 | Ellie Armistead hit a solo home run (0-1, 0 Out)
- T3 | Georgia tacked on another with a sac fly RBI to center (0-2, 1 Out)
- B3 | Ashley Prange bounced an RBI double off the wall in center (1-2, 2 Out)
- T4 | Savana Sikes hit an RBI single up the middle (1-3, 2 Out)
- B4 | Aubrey Barnhart pulled an RBI double down the right field line (2-3 0 Out)
- B4 | Jenna Johnson dropped a single into shallow left, driving in Savannah Woodard form third (3-3, 1 Out)
- B6 | Jenna Johnson cranked a two-run home run to left field (5-3, 1 Out)
- B6 | Abby Doerr pulled a pinch-hit RBI single to right field (6-3, 1 Out)
- B6 | Ally Shipman pulled a bases-loaded single through the left side to score two (8-3, 1 Out)
- B6 | Bailey Dowling roped an RBI single into left (9-3, 1 Out)
Up Next: vs. #15/18 Georgia (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
- Monday, April 4 – 6 p.m. CT – SEC Network
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.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kilfoyl, Lexi (6-2)
L: Macy, Kylie (8-2)
Batting:
2B: Mosley, Sara 1
HR: Armistead, Ellie 1
RBI: Sikes, Savana 1 ; Fincher, Lacey 1 ; Armistead, Ellie 1
SF: Fincher, Lacey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Fields, Jaiden 1 ; Landrum, CJ 1 ; Armistead, Ellie 1
Batting:
2B: Prange, Ashley 1 ; Barnhart, Aubrey 1
HR: Johnson, Jenna 1
RBI: Doerr, Abby 1 ; Prange, Ashley 1 ; Shipman, Ally 2 ; Dowling, Bailey 1 ; Barnhart, Aubrey 1 ; Johnson, Jenna 3
SH: Grill, Kat 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Goodnight, Dallis 1 ; Prange, Ashley 1 ; Dowling, Bailey 1 ; Woodard, Savannah 1 ; Tow, Kaylee 1 ; Johnson, Jenna 1 ; Bloodworth, Megan 2 ; Grill, Kat 1
SB: Goodnight, Dallis 1
