Alabama Softball Falls to Tennessee in SEC Tournament Semifinals, 7-6

Friday, May 12

Fayetteville, Ark.

TBA

Alabama

40-18

Tennessee

43-8

Alabama

Tennessee

Alabama Softball Falls to Tennessee in SEC Tournament Semifinals, 7-6

5/12/2023 11:09:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

The Crimson Tide awaits its NCAA Tournament fate, with the selection show airing Sunday at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Alabama softball fell just short of its 10th SEC Tournament Championship appearance, falling to Tennessee in Friday's semifinal, 7-6.

Alabama (40-18) pressured Tennessee (43-8) immediately in the top of the first, loading the bases with nobody out on a pair of singles and a walk. Bailey Dowling drew a bases-loaded walk to drive in the first run of the day and a wild pitch in the next at-bat allowed the three runners to advance 60 feet, as Larissa Preuitt slid into home to make it 2-0. Two batters later with the bases loaded again, a foul popup was caught but the fielder ran into the dugout, allowing the three runners to advance 60 feet as it went out of play. An RBI groundout made it 4-0 before a strikeout ended the half-inning. The Lady Vols weren't down long however, loading the bases with two out before Lair Beautae quickly tied it up with a grand slam.

A Kiki Milloy solo home run gave Tennessee the lead in the bottom of the second and a two-run shot from Katie Taylor in the fourth extended it to 7-4. Preuitt led off the top of the fifth with a single, setting up Ashley Prange for a towering two-run home run into left field to make it a one-run ballgame at 7-6. The score remained the same heading to the top of the seventh with the top of the Crimson Tide batting order due up, but Alabama went down in order as the Lady Vols held on for the one-run victory.

Prange's home run was her team-leading 16th of the season, with the fifth-year senior going 4-for-7 (.571) with five runs scored, three home runs, five RBIs and five walks at the SEC Tournament. Larissa Preuitt went 2-for-4 with two runs scored batting second, her seventh multi-hit game of the season including three of her last six games.

From Head Coach Patrick Murphy

"She [Karlyn Pickens] is a really good pitcher. She's the SEC Freshman of the Year and she didn't get an out against us. That's a feather in our cap that we have to take with us. On the other end, we let [Payton Gottshall] get a little too comfortable. We went three innings in a row where she shut us out. That was a big part of the game. They punched right back and we didn't do anything. All of their runs came with two outs and they were all home runs. We have to do better at keeping the ball in the park and finishing off innings when you get two outs."

Highlights

Alabama is now 46-28 all-time in SEC Tournament play, including a 4-4 mark vs. Tennessee
All-time the Crimson Tide is 40-29 vs. the Lady Vols, 6-5 at neutral sites
Ashley Prange hit her team-leading 16th home run of the season and her third at the SEC Tournament, finishing this week hitting 4-for-7 (.571) with five walks, five runs scored and five RBIs
Larissa Preuitt was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, posting her seventh multi-hit game of the season and her third in the last six games

Scoring Summary

T1 | Bailey Dowling drew a bases-loaded walk (1-0, 0 Out)
T1 | A wild pitch with the bases loaded allowed Larissa Preuitt to score from third (2-0, 0 Out)
T1 | A Tennessee fielder went out of play on a foul popup, allowing all three Alabama runners to advance 60 feet (3-0, 0 Out)
T1 | An RBI groundout drove in another run for the Tide (4-0, 1 Out)
B1 | Lair Beautae tied the game with a grand slam (4-4, 2 Out)
B2 | Kiki Milloy gave Tennessee the lead with a solo home run (4-5, 2 Out)
B4 | Katie Taylor extended the Lady Vols' lead with a two-run home run (4-7, 2 Out)
T5 | Ashley Prange hit a two-run home run to left field (6-7, 0 Out)

Up Next: NCAA Softball Selection Show

Sunday, May 14 – 6 p.m. CT – ESPN2

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.