ALABAMA 7, ARKANSAS 1
Patrick Murphy retooled the lineup in a way we have been pining for for a couple of weeks now. He moved Alexis Pupillo out of the leadoff spot and moved her down to third in the batting order. Jena Young took her spot at the top of the order.
Alabama put two runners on base in the 2nd inning with no outs. However, the Tide could not capitalize. In the 3rd, Robyn Herron struck out Young, Brooke Wells, and Pupillo in order – perhaps the first time all season that an opposing pitcher struck out the side
on Alabama.
Alabama had some miscues in the top of the 4th when Tianna Bell hit a ball to right fielder Ana Roman. Charging in, the freshman misjudged the ball and it skipped under her glove and all the way to the wall. Bell made it to third base with one out. Starting Bama pitcher Jocelyn Briski threw a pitch to the next batter that must have slipped out of her hand because it skipped the ground several feet in front of home plate. Catcher Marile Giles could not corral the ball and the runner scored. On the play, Briski must have forgotten there was a runner on third, since she neglected to cover home plate as Giles scrambled to retrieve the ball.
In the bottom of the frame, the first two Bama batters struck out for six whiffs in a row. But Audrey Vandagriff swung on the second pitch and drove the ball over the right center field wall.
Ambrey Taylor followed up with a double, but Salen Hawkins struck out to end the inning.
It was a better outcome for the top of the order the third time through the lineup. Young hit a sky-high ball to left field that found an imaginary hole in the Arkansas fielder’s glove. The left fielder was battling the sun, but the ball seemed to go right through her glove. With Young on second base, Brooke Wells made Arky pay for the mistake with a first pitch bomb to center field.
One batter later, Pupillo golfed a ball to almost the same spot to put the Tide up 4-1.
That was the end of the day for Herron.
Alabama was not done with the long-balls. In the 6th, Taylor crushed a ball over the fence.
Following a ground out, Kristen White hit a solid single up the middle and Wells knocked her in with a single. Pinch-hitter Abby Duchscherer hit a sharp grounder to third base that the Arky fielder simply whiffed on and pinch-runner Gerritt Griggs came around to score the seventh Tide run of the game.
Outside of the unusual wild pitch, Briski (21-2) was masterful. She only allowed the one unearned run and 3 hits while striking out 7. The most mature thing from Briski is how she shook off the mistakes of the 4th inning and kept her roll going.
NOTES:
- Briski had pitches clocked at 71 and 72 MPH.
- Herron gave up three home runs for the first time in her long storied college career. It was also the first instance of her giving up two round-trippers in one inning.
- Wells, Vandagriff, and Talyor all collected two hits.
- Wells is up to 22 four-baggers which puts her at third for most in an Alabama season. Bailey Hemphill (26 – 2019) and Kelly Kretschman (25 – 1998) are one-two in that category.
- Freshman Taylor now has ten dingers. Bama now has four players (Wells, Pup, Roman, Taylor) with double digit homers.
- Duchscherer stayed in the game at first base and committed a fielding error in the 7th inning. Maybe she was a little rusty?
SEC TOURNAMENT RESULTS
Auburn’s loss to Florida eliminated them from NCAA Tournament eligibility. The Tigers finish the year with a losing record (27-28) for the first time since 2007 and miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013.
- Game 8 | No. 3 Florida 10, Auburn 9 – F
- Game 9 | No. 2 ALABAMA 7, Arkansas 1 – F
- Game 10 | No. 4 Texas vs. Ole Miss – 4pm/5pm
- Game 11 | No. 1 Oklahoma vs. Georgia – 7pm/8pm
SCHEDULE
- Game 12 | Friday, May 8: No. 2 ALABAMA vs. No. 3 Florida – 4pm/5pm
HOW TO WATCH… ALLEGEDLY
ESPN will cover the semis and the final. If there are weather delays, networks could change.
FLORIDA (48-9, 17-7 SEC)
FLORIDA 10, AUBURN 9 – F
THROW THE BALL
The Gators and Tiger had a wild back-and-forth game. UF starter Keagan Rothrock was rocked for five earned runs over the first four innings. No. 2 pitcher Olivia Miller was not much better, yielding four runs of her own. It took two more Florida pitchers to close out the 7th inning. It will be interesting to see who the Gators start tomorrow.
HIT THE BALL
Florida leadoff hitter Taylor Shumaker was 3 for 5 with two runs scored. Kendall Grover was 3-4 with 3 RBIs and a dinger. UF had 11 hits but also gave up 12 to Auburn.
CATCH THE BALL
Two errors for Fla.
HOT HEADS
The hot head of hot heads: Tim Walton is in his 21st season in Gainesville.
TEN CENT ANALYSIS
What a relief to see the big bats return. The Gators have big bats too, but they have never faced Vic Moten. IF she is on, the Tide should roll.
