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No. 1 Softball Splits with No. 11 Tennessee
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The
top-ranked Alabama softball team won in dramatic fashion in the first
game and dropped its first contest of the season in the nightcap. The
Tide won an 11-inning, 3-2, thriller and then fell, 5-2, to move to
26-1 overall and 7-1 in Southeastern Conference play.
Game 1
After
throwing nearly 200 pitches in the contest sophomore Jackie Traina took
matters into her own hands as she belted a two-out, walk-off home run
to lead Alabama to a thrilling, 3-2, 11-inning victory over rival
Tennessee.
Traina (16-0) muscled her way to the complete game
victory, allowing two runs – one earned on nine hits while tying a
career-high with 15 strikeouts. The extra inning win is the second of
the season for Traina and the Tide as she went all nine innings in the
win at Kentucky.
After having her streak of 22 straight
batters retired broken in the fourth inning, Tennessee was able to
strike first against Traina with a single run atop the frame. Raven
Chavanne scored when the Lady Vols loaded the bases and Cheyanne
Tarango singled a flare to second.
Alabama rallied with two runs
in the bottom of the fifth to seize the lead. Jennifer Fenton, the
reigning SEC Player of the Week, doubled to center to score senior
Jazlyn Lunceford and then senior Cassie Reilly-Boccia hit a sac-fly to
left to plate junior Kayla Braud.
Tennessee then knotted the
game at two after loading the bases once again and scoring on an
infield hit. The score would stay that way for another four innings,
until the 11th inning heroics by Traina. The 11-inning game tied for
the longest ever by the Tide at Rhoads Stadium.
Tennessee
pitcher Ivy Renfroe (5-6) threw a career-high 10 2/3 innings and struck
out a career-best 14 batters. She allowed three runs on five hits and
walked four.
Game 2
After giving up a three-run
home run in the top of the second, the Tide got two back with a homer
of its own. Sophomore Kaila Hunt hit her team-leading ninth home run of
the season to pull Alabama within one in the fourth inning.
That
is all the Tide could muster though as it was held to a season-low
three hits. Hunt paced the Tide with two of the three tallies.
Ellen Renfroe (15-1) went the distance for the Lady Vols, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out seven.
UA
freshman Leslie Jury (7-1) was tagged with the loss after allowing four
runs on seven hits in four innings. Senior Amanda Locke allowed an
unearned run on three hits in three innings of relief.
The SEC
loss was the first for the Tide at home since March 28, 2010. The
26-game winning streak to start the season is the second longest in
school history.
Alabama will take a break from conference play
to host DePaul and Longwood in Tuscaloosa for the Easton Alabama
Challenge, held from March 23-25 at Rhoads Stadium.
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