A walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth ultimately decided a back-and-forth contest between Alabama and Missouri on Sunday.
The game needed extra innings to pick out a winner, but the Tigers came out on top in the weekend series, making this the first series loss of the season for the Crimson Tide (32-6, 8-4 SEC). Meanwhile, this is the first series win in conference play for Missouri (20-14, 3-5 SEC).
The Tide scored first in the top of the fourth before the Tigers tied it back up in the bottom half, 1-1. Alabama moved back ahead 3-1 in the fifth before a two-run home run in the sixth tied it back up at 3-3. Both teams would put a runner on base in the seventh inning but neither would score, as the game moved to extra innings.
The Tigers came through with the key hit in the bottom of the ninth to win. Missouri drew a pair of four-pitch walks to lead off the inning, putting the potential winning run in scoring position with nobody out. A strikeout would go for out number one before another walk loaded the bases and put the potential winning run 60 feet away. Kolby Romaine ended the game in the next at-bat, poking a single up the middle to score Kirsten Mack from third for the 4-3 walk-off victory as the Tigers took the weekend series.
Reagan Dykes went 2-3, driving in two of the Tide’s three runs, while Marisa Runyon also notched a multi-hit day batting seventh, including an RBI single. Alexis Osorio (16-4) took the complete-game loss in the circle, fanning seven batters including her 200th strikeout of the season. Missouri starter Cheyenne Baxter (8-2) earned the win, exiting in the fourth inning before re-entering in the seventh with the game tied and ultimately hanging on to earn the win in extras.
Next, Alabama heads to Florence on Wednesday to take on Lipscomb at 6 p.m.
