No. 22 Alabama handed No. 2 Oklahoma its second series loss of the season, and just its fifth loss overall, in an extra-innings thriller. Audrey Vandagriff hit a walk-off home run to send the defending national champions home in the eighth inning.
Game 1
Saturday's series opener was disappointing for Alabama, as the Crimson Tide blew a late 1-0 lead to an Oklahoma team whose bats had gone cold. The Sooners rallied with five runs in the top of the seventh inning to steal the game on the road.
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Game 2
Alabama didn't let the blown lead in the first game slow it down, handing Oklahoma its biggest loss of the season in a 6-1 win that evened the series at one apiece. Jocelyn Briski pitched her third complete game of the season and her first in conference play against a tough Sooners offense, holding them to just one run, which came on a Sydney Barker solo homer in the seventh.
Game 3
Alabama came into Rhoads Stadium Monday looking to close out one of the hottest teams in college softball and notch a big series win against a tough conference opponent.
The Tide struck first when Kali Heivilin doubled to left-center field in the third inning to bring home Audrey Vandagriff. But the Sooners answered right back in the fourth when Nelly McEnroe-Marinas hit a solo shot over the left-field wall to tie it. Both teams would get runners on base over the next three innings, but neither could muster a run, forcing extras.
Oklahoma's Ella Parker opened the eighth with a single through the right side. Catelyn Riley retired the next two batters before Ailana Agbayani hit another single to put Parker in scoring position. Riley survived the inning, though, and gave the Tide a chance to win it in the bottom of the eighth.
And it didn't take long. Alabama's hottest bat of the night, Vandagriff, stepped into the batter's box with two hits in her first two plate appearances. She wasted no time, sending the first pitch over the left field wall to walk it off for Alabama.
WALK IT OFF AUDREY VANDAGRIFF!!!!!!
— Alabama Softball (@AlabamaSB)
📺SEC Network |
Alabama improves to 30-16 overall and 7-8 in SEC play. Oklahoma suffers just its second series loss, falling to 36-5 on the season, and 10-5 in conference play.
