Photo Credit: rolltide.com
After holding the Lady Sooners hitless in the first five innings, the Alabama Crimson Tide softball team (45-13) saw their 2-0 lead blown in a five-run sixth inning to lose the opening contest 5-2 in the NCAA Super Regional in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama starting pitcher Alexis Osorio (19-8) worked her usual magic through the first five innings, holding Oklahoma (49-7) hitless. It was the first time this season the Sooners had been held to no hits this far into a game. Osario worked the game for just over six innings. Sydney Littlejohn stepped in with one out in the top of the seventh to get the Tide the last two outs.
Game two will be played this afternoon at 4 PM CDT. It will be broadcast live on ESPN2. If a third game is necessary in this best-of-three series will be played 7 PM CDT and can also be seen on ESPN2.
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Women's Golf
Photo Credit: rolltide.com
The University of Alabama women's golf team is tied for sixth place in the suspended first round of the NCAA Championship in Bradenton, Florida. This is the Crimson Tide's 10th straight year to go to the NCAA Championship. This year's contest is being held at the par-72, 6,4468-yard Concession Golf Club.
"It is an up and down golf course," commented Alabama head coach Mic Potter. "You get one or two bad bounces and they can turn into big
numbers. A ball a little off line and it turns into a big number. The
key is to be patient, preserve and stay in the present, rather than
dwelling on the past and thinking about the future. That is what our
four and five players need to do."
The Lady Tide golfers had a total of six birdies on the four holes played prior to the weather delay. After a one-hour delay play resumed with the Tide started slow.
"I would have liked to have been able to warm up after the (first) rain delay," Potter said. "It is hard to get going again and they restarted us pretty fast. I understand everyone wants to finish, which we are not anyway, but I'm glad they called it now (after the second rain delay) so at least everyone can go out and warm up before finishing."
With the return of more bad weather a second delay was instituted just before 7 PM. It was then decided to suspend the match for the remainder of the day.
Half the field of 24 teams have yet to complete the first round. Stanford current leads at 3-over-par through 11 holes. Duke has finished round one with a 5-over 293 round. Baylor is at 7-over through 11 holes.
The Alabama team will tee off for the second round following the completion of the first round. Bama will play with Purdue and Texas at a time yet to be determined.
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Baseball
Photo Credit: rolltide.com
The Alabama Crimson Tide baseball teams late-season run showed promise, and carried the Tide into the Southeastern Conference Tournament with a little momentum. But the momentum ran into a determined Vanderbilt baseball club yesterday. In the quarterfinals of the tournment Bama was humbled by the No. 7 Commodores 16-1.
"It was unfortunate to finish out the tournament that way," said Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard. "Sometimes the game just doesn't work in your favor, and today was one of those days."
Alabama's lone run came in the first inning when the Tide was trailing the Commodores 1-0. A deep pop-out to right by Mikey White was enough to send Chandler Avant over home plate to tie the score at one apiece.
Though the first inning ended in a 1-1 deadlock, Vandy came back in the second to score another run to put the game at 2-1, where it remained until Bama was shell-shocked by a Commodore eight run scoring barrage to take a commanding 10-1 lead.
Alabama never recovered from the hard-hitting fourth inning, giving up more runs in subsequent innings. Three more runs crossed home for Vandy in both the fifth and sixth innings giving the Commodores an insurmountable lead at 16-1.
Though Bama was able to keep Vandy from scoring in the seventh, the Tide themselves were unable to score ending the game on the run rule at 16-1.
Following yesterday's contest Gaspard said, "Today's game doesn't take away from our team. No one can understand what this group has been through this year. To make a run at the end, after all we've been through -- that's something I'm proud of. I'm very proud of the class that these guys showed throughout the course of the season."
Bama had one run, four hits, and 1 error. Vandy had 16 runs on 19 hits and 0 errors. The Tide was able to only record four hits. Alabama's record slides to 32-28 in what is likely the last game of the season. An official announcement will come Monday at 11 AM CDT.
