Late Rally Falls Short as Alabama Softball Falls to Kennesaw State Sunday

Sunday, February 26

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

1 p.m. CT

Alabama

11-3

Kennesaw State

4-10

Kennesaw State

Alabama

Late Rally Falls Short as Alabama Softball Falls to Kennesaw State Sunday

2/26/2023 4:31:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

The Crimson Tide draw within two runs in the sixth inning but could not rally

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama softball couldn't dig itself out of an early hole Sunday against Kennesaw State, drawing within two runs in the sixth inning but ultimately falling, 5-3.

Alabama (11-3) fell behind in the first inning after Kennesaw State (4-10) scored a pair of early runs to lead 2-0 and the Owls added two more in the third take a four-run lead. The score remained the same until a leadoff double in the fifth from Kenleigh Cahalan eventually turned into a sac fly RBI from Larissa Preuitt, putting the Tide in the run column. KSU immediately got the run back in the next half-inning with a solo home run to make it 5-1 before Alabama answered with its own homer in the bottom half, a two-run blast from Ashley Prange to make it a 5-3 game. The Owls couldn't add to their lead in the seventh, but the Tide went down in order in the bottom half.

From Head Coach Patrick Murphy

"Nothing went right today. It was bad all the way around and I'll take full responsibility for that. On the weekend as a whole, I thought Faith Hensley had one of the best senior days we've ever had here. She was terrific. I think she scored eight runs, hit almost .800 or something, and then the two home runs. Usually they're pulling nerves and they don't do very well, but she was terrific. Today, you have to give Kennesaw State's pitcher credit. She made all the pitches she needed to and got people out when she needed to. We had first and second, in either the second or third, and then we had two Ks in a row. Their defense played errorless and made all their plays. We just didn't pass the bat down. We did it so well the first two days and today it didn't happen."

Highlights

Today was the first loss of the season for Alabama when the other team scores first, previously coming back to win each of the last four times
The game marked just the second time this season Alabama went into the seventh inning trailing
Kenleigh Cahalan extended her hitting streak to 14 games and Faith Hensley extended hers to five games

Scoring Summary

T1 | A groundout drove in a runner from third for KSU (0-1, 1 Out)
T1 | An RBI single to center made it a two-run lead for the Owls (0-2, 2 Out)
T3 | An RBI double to center tacked on another for KSU (0-3, 1 Out)
T3 | A two-out single drove in a runner from second for the Owls (0-4, 2 Out)
B5 | Larissa Preuitt drove in Kenleigh Cahalan from third on a sac fly RBI (1-4, 0 Out)
T6 | Kennesaw State led off the inning with a solo home run (1-5, 0 Out)
B6 | Ashley Prange slugged a two-run home run to center field (3-5, 0 Out)

2023 Easton Bama Bash All-Tournament Team

Kenleigh Cahalan *MVP* (Alabama)
Bailey Dowling (Alabama)
Faith Hensley (Alabama)
Ally Shipman (Alabama)
Cera Blanchard (Southeastern Louisiana)
Bailey Krolczyk (Southeastern Louisiana)
Maddie Watson (Southeastern Louisiana)
Lexi Benko (Indiana State)
Isabella Henning (Indiana State)
Kenley Hilleary (Kennesaw State)

Up Next: Southern Miss (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)

Wednesday, March 1 – 6 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.