Seventh-Inning Rally Falls Short in Alabama Softball Loss at Texas Friday in Austin

Friday, March 10

Austin, Texas

4 p.m. CT

Alabama

19-4

Texas

20-2-1

Alabama

Texas

Seventh-Inning Rally Falls Short in Alabama Softball Loss at Texas Friday in Austin

3/10/2023 7:53:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery

The Crimson Tide brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the seventh but could not complete the comeback

AUSTIN, Texas – In a top-ten matchup to open action at the Bevo Classic, Alabama clawed back from a five-run deficit against Texas to bring the go-ahead run to the plate in the top of the seventh, but the rally fell just short as the Longhorns held on to defeat the Crimson Tide, 5-3.

Alabama (19-4) and Texas (19-2-1) were scoreless until the Longhorns hung a crooked number in the third, plating five runs on three hits and an error. The Tide was hitless until a two-out single from Kenleigh Cahalan in the fifth put runners on the corners and Ashley Prange erased the shutout in the next at-bat with a three-run home run to make it a 5-3 ballgame. With the score the same in the top of the seventh, Faith Hensley and Cahalan hit back-to-back singles with one out to bring the potential go-ahead run to the plate, but Texas got out of the jam with a pair of strikeouts to end the rally.

Cahalan was 2-for-4 from the leadoff spot, earning her fourth multi-hit game of the season and extending her hitting streak to seven games. Prange extended her own hitting streak to six games, smashing her team-leading ninth home run of the season and tying her season high with three RBIs. Montana Fouts (9-2) took the loss in the circle while Alex Salter backed her up with 3.0 shutout relief innings, holding the Longhorns to just three hits.

Highlights

The loss was just Alabama's second to a ranked team this season, falling to 3-2 vs. ranked foes
The five runs scored in the bottom of the third are the most against the Tide in an inning this year
Alabama is now 6-2 this season when the opponent scores first
Tonight's start was the 100th of Montana Fouts' career, becoming the sixth pitcher in program history to make 100 starts
With seven strikeouts today, Fouts passed Jackie Traina's (2011-14) career total of 976 Ks and now sits alone at fifth all-time at Alabama with 979
Fouts is now just 21 away from becoming the fifth Tide player to reach 1,000 career strikeouts
Kenleigh Cahalan and Ashley Prange extended their hitting streaks to seven and six games, respectively
Prange's home run improved her team-leading total to nine and her three RBIs tied her season high, having done so three times previously this year

Scoring Summary

B3 | A failed rundown attempt allowed the Texas runner at third to score (0-1, 1 Out)
B3 | A bases-loaded double in the gap plated two more Longhorn runs (0-3, 1 Out)
B3 | A two-out fielding error allowed two Texas runners to score (0-5, 2 Out)
T5 | Ashley Prange erased the shutout with a three-run home run (3-5, 2 Out)

Up Next: at Bevo Classic (Austin, Texas)

Saturday, March 11 vs. Texas State – 12:30 p.m. CT
Saturday, March 11 at #9/10 Texas – 6:30 p.m. CT
Sunday, March 12 vs. Wisconsin – 9:30 a.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.