Alabama
28-16, 5-8
Oklahoma
36-3, 10-3
Alabama Softball Drops Game One to Oklahoma, 5-1
4/12/2025 6:48:00 PM | Softball
The Crimson Tide gave up a late 1-0 lead as the Sooners scored five in the top of the seventh
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama softball gave up a late lead to Oklahoma in the top of the seventh as the Sooners rallied to defeat the Crimson Tide, 5-1, in Saturday's series opener at Rhoads Stadium.
After two scoreless innings, Alabama (28-16, 5-8 SEC) took the first lead over Oklahoma (36-3, 10-3 SEC) with a third inning sac fly RBI from Brooke Ellestad. The Sooners looked to break through in the top of the fifth, putting two in scoring position after a sac bunt for out number one but a pair of quick groundouts ended the threat and kept the score at 1-0. It remained a one-run ballgame in the top of the seventh and Oklahoma had a runner on with one out. With pinch hitter Maya Bland down to two strikes, she pulled a two-run home run to right to give the Sooners the late 2-1 lead. Oklahoma added some insurance, scoring three more to make it 5-1 before the Crimson Tide defense was able to get out of the inning. Now facing a four-run deficit on offense in the bottom half, Alabama went down in order unable to start a rally.
From Head Coach Patrick Murphy
"You cannot beat Oklahoma with three hits. We almost did, but it almost doesn't count. We obviously had the lead, but scoring in the first inning [with the bases loaded] could have helped. Catelyn [Riley] gave us a great start, we played great team defense and I think everyone knew that we came to play. That's probably the best first six innings we've played in a series all year. We had a great crowd today, the girls loved it and I think it's great for the sport of softball."
Highlights
- Audrey Vandagriff and Kali Heivilin went a combined 3-for-6 at the top of the order, with the pair now having a hit in each of the last three games
Scoring Summary
- B3 | Brooke Ellestad drove in Audrey Vandagriff with a sac fly RBI (1-0, 1 Out)
- T7 | Maya Bland hit a two-run home run to right field (1-2, 1 Out)
- T7 | Ailana Agbayani hit an RBI double down the left field line (1-3, 1 Out)
- T7 | Kasidi Pickering roped an RBI single to left (1-4, 1 Out)
- T7 | The Sooners added another with a squeeze bunt (1-5, 1 Out)
Up Next: vs. #2/2 Oklahoma (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
- Sunday, April 13 – 5 p.m. CT – SEC Network
- Monday, April 14 – 6 p.m. CT – SEC Network
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Landry, Sam (13-2)
L: Briski, Jocelyn (10-10)
Batting:
2B: Agbayani, Ailana 1
HR: Bland, Maya 1
RBI: Pickering, Kasidi 1 ; McEnroe-Marinas, N. 1 ; Bland, Maya 2 ; Agbayani, Ailana 1
SH: McEnroe-Marinas, N. 1 ; Dayton, Abigale 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Garcia, Gabbie 1 ; Bland, Maya 1 ; Dayton, Abigale 1 ; Helton, Chaney 1 ; Agbayani, Ailana 1
CS: Dayton, Abigale 1
Batting:
2B: Vandagriff, Audrey 1 ; Heivilin, Kali 1
RBI: Ellestad, Brooke 1
SF: Ellestad, Brooke 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Vandagriff, Audrey 1
HBP: Duchscherer, Abby 1
