Over the weekend, No. 15 Alabama softball dropped two of three games on the road, losing the series against No. 14 Arkansas.
The Crimson Tide are now 31-12 overall with an 8-10 record in the SEC.
Nine innings were required to determine the winner Friday night in the series opener between Alabama and Arkansas. A walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth gave Arkansas the 1-0 victory.
Alabama and Arkansas engaged in a fierce pitcher's duel, remaining scoreless in regulation. The teams left a total of 12 runners on base, sending the game into extra innings. Although both teams had runners on base in the eighth, neither could score. In the bottom of the ninth, after a leadoff single and a sacrifice bunt, Lauren Camenzind's single to center drove in the winning run from second, giving the Razorbacks a walk-off win in game one.
Kenleigh Cahalan recorded her eighth multi-hit game of the season going 2-for-4 from the leadoff spot. Kayla Beaver suffered the loss despite allowing just one run, throwing a season-high 122 pitches over 8.1 innings in a complete-game effort.
Alabama bounced back in game two on Saturday night with a 5-1 victory, evening the series and setting up a Sunday afternoon rubber match.
Alabama fell behind early against Arkansas due to a wild pitch in the first inning, but the Tide rallied back in the top of the fifth. A fielding error followed by an RBI single from Lauren Johnson propelled Alabama to a 2-1 lead. Jenna Johnson provided the Crimson Tide some breathing room with a three-run home run that extended their advantage to 5-1. The Razorbacks' offense was kept in check for the remainder of the game, only managing two singles in the final three innings. Jocelyn Briski earned her seventh win of the season allowing just one run in her complete game performance.
Arkansas's seven-run first inning put the rubber match game out of hand early. By the run rule, Arkansas defeated Alabama 8-0 and won the weekend series.
Arkansas' offense came out of the gate on fire, scoring seven runs in the first inning, setting the tone for the game. Bri Ellis kick-started the scoring with a two-run home run to left field off Crimson Tide starter Kayla Beaver, giving Arkansas an initial 2-0 advantage. The Arkansas offense continued to plate run after run ending the first inning with a 7-0 lead.
In the fourth inning, the Razorbacks added their eighth and final run on a sacrifice fly to extend their lead to 8-0. Alabama’s offense was unable to plate a run in the fifth inning, and the game ended due to the run rule.
Alabama will host Tennessee on Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m. CT, with the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.
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