TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – It was not a good start to the 2020 season for the No. 1-ranked Alabama softball team this weekend.
The Crimson Tide was swept on the final day of the JoAnne Graf Classic and falls to 1-3. Alabama was shutout by Florida State 8-0 and blew a four-run lead in the bottom of the seventh inning to North Carolina, falling 9-8. It was the second walk-off loss for Alabama over the weekend.
In the opening game against No. 8 FSU (4-0), the Seminoles broke out for six runs in the third inning to take an 8-0 lead and made it hold up for a five-inning win.
Against North Carolina (2-2), an error on an infield single by sophomore Skylar Wallace allowed a pair of runs to come home for the Crimson Tide in the third inning. UNC took the lead in the bottom of the fourth on a three-run home run off Montana Fouts but Alabama rallied to retake the lead in the top of the fifth on RBIs from Wallace and senior Taylor Clark.
A wild pitch and errant throw in the bottom of the fifth tied the game back up on the unearned run.
Still tied 4-4 in the top of the seventh, Elissa Brown and Alexis Mack started the inning with singles and each stole to move into scoring position. The pair came home on back-to-back ground balls to put Alabama ahead 6-4.
A two-run double from Kaylee Tow added some insurance to make it 8-4 heading to the bottom of the seventh.
UNC rallied with two on base and two out. An RBI single and a two-run double made it a one-run game before UNC pinch-hitter Zoe Goodman came through with a walk-off, two-run double.
Brown was 3-for-4 on the day, scoring three runs in the game vs. UNC
Savannah Woodard had a two-hit performance against UNC, giving her at least one hit in three of the weekend’s four games.
Alabama returns to Florida for the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational next weekend. The Tide will play five games against Liberty, Washington, USF, UCLA and Oklahoma State.
