Bama Central

Alabama Softball Blows Late Lead Against Liberty for Second Loss of Day

The Crimson Tide offense rallied from an early deficit, but another bad inning in the field led to the second loss in Clearwater.

Katie Windham

Patrick Murphy and Marlie Giles
Patrick Murphy and Marlie Giles / Alabama Athletics

Alabama's first day at the Clearwater Invitational ended in disappointment. The Crimson Tide held a two-run lead heading into the sixth inning against Liberty, but Alabama was once again plagued by a late-inning meltdown in the field.

The Flames added on four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to reclaim the lead on the way to a 7-6 victory over No. 12 Alabama on Friday evening. The Crimson Tide added on one run in the top of the seventh after a triple from Marlie Giles but still fell one run short.

Liberty jumped out on top of Alabama starter Jocelyn Briski with three runs in the bottom of the second capped by an RBI from former Alabama outfielder Savannah Woodard. After a rough offensive performance in its first game in Clearwater against San Diego State, the Tide offense rallied to score five unanswered runs thanks to RBI hits from Alexis Pupillo, Salen Hawkins and Larissa Preuitt, who now leads the team in RBIs.

Alabama out-hit Liberty but left eight runners on base. The Tide had the opportunity to add on some insurance runs in the top of the sixth inning when the first two runners got on after back-to-back singles. But the next three batters couldn't put the ball in play to move the runners around or bring another run in.

Briski had to get pulled in the sixth inning after giving up seven runs (four earned), and Catelyn Riley came in to relieve her. Alabama (4-3) has now lost three of its last four games and will be back out on the fields in Clearwater tomorrow at 9 a.m. CT against Ohio State.

Alabama softball's final stats vs. Liberty
Alabama softball's final stats vs. Liberty- 2/14/25 / Statbroadcast
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Katie Windham
KATIE WINDHAM

Katie Windham is the assistant editor for BamaCentral, primarily covering football, basketball gymnastics and softball. She is a two-time graduate of the University of Alabama and has covered a variety of Crimson Tide athletics since 2019 for outlets like The Tuscaloosa News, The Crimson White and the Associated Press before joining BamaCentral full time in 2021. Windham has covered College Football Playoff games, the Women's College World Series, NCAA March Madness, SEC Tournaments and championships in multiple sports. 

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