Alabama Softball Splits Saturday Doubleheader

The Crimson Tide lost the first game against Texas State, but avenged Friday's defeat by beating Texas in the nightcap.

AUSTIN, Texas – Alabama softball split a Saturday doubleheader in Austin, falling to Texas State in the afternoon before gutting out a marathon 4-3 win over No. 9 Texas in 11 innings in the nightcap.

In the first game of the day, Alabama (20-5) faced an early deficit after a Texas State (17-6) solo home run in the top of the second and the Bobcats plated another on a two-out fielding error in the third to lead 2-0. The Crimson Tide got out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth to keep it a two-run game but Texas State added some insurance in the seventh with an RBI single to stretch the lead to 3-0. Ally Shipman led off the bottom of the seventh with a double, advanced to third on a fly out and came home on a sacrifice fly but a strikeout ended the game as Alabama fell, 3-1.

In the nightcap against Texas (21-3-1), the Tide got on the board immediately in the first inning on an RBI single from Shipman and tacked on two more in the second with a two-run single from Jenna Johnson. Texas got one back on a sac fly RBI in the third and took advantage of Alabama fielding errors in the fourth, scoring two unearned runs to tie it at 3-3. The two teams couldn’t break the tie in regulation, playing all the way to the 11th with the same score before Kenleigh Cahalan came through with the big RBI, dropping a single into left to drive in Larissa Preuitt and put the Tide ahead 4-3. Texas got a runner into scoring position in the bottom half but a strikeout ended it as Alabama held on to win.

Montana Fouts (10-2) threw a career-high 11.0 innings and 162 pitches in the win over the Longhorns, striking out 14. She is now just seven away from becoming the fifth player in program history to reach 1,000 career strikeouts. Cahalan, Kristen White and Jenna Johnson each had two hits in the win, while Larissa Preuitt scored two runs including the go-ahead in the 11th.

Alabama will wrap up the Bevo Classic with its final opponent being Wisconsin.

See also: No. 1 Alabama Basketball Secures SEC Title Game Berth with 72-61 Win over No. 4 Missouri

Full-Court Press: Takeaways from Alabama Basketball vs Missouri

Alabama Baseball Loses Weekend Series to Columbia after Being Blasted 15-3