Alabama Crimson Tide Softball Loses Ground in Series Defeat to South Carolina

The Crimson Tide (36-20, 12-12) missed out on making the post-season road a little smoother for themselves.

GAME 1: ALABAMA 13, SOUTH CAROLINA 1 – (Run Rule, 5 innings)

Alabama scored first from the benefit of South Carolina mistakes. It was a sign of things to come. After Kali Heivilin walked, Brooke Ellestad hit a nubber to the pitcher who was aiming for a fan in the stands when she threw towards first base, 1-0.

In the 2nd with one out and Salen Hawkins on second base, Marlie Giles stroked a solid single to the SC left fielder who had trouble corralling the ball. That bobble was enough for Hawkins to round third base and score. Following a Larissa Preuitt double, Audrey Vandagriff crushed a double over the left fielder’s head that tallied two more runs.

The Tide was not done yet. Lauren Johnson doubled Vandagriff in and Kali knocked LoJo in. After a pop out, a walk and a single loaded the bases for Abby Duchscherer who singled in two. On Giles’s second at bat of the inning, she took a pitch deep for a 3-run homer and the rout was on.

Alabama scored ten runs on 9 hits and an error in the frame.

The Gamecocks got one back in the bottom of the 2nd on some small ball. Bama retaliated with two in the 4th on a pair of singles, a walk, and two batters hit by pitches. But a noisy out by Kali left the bases loaded.

A ten run inning from your favorite team is always an enjoyable sight to behold. But to assume the final outcome was beyond doubt when it is just the top of the 2nd is risky.

For the most part, the pitching by Jocelyn Briski was solid. She gave up 4 hits in her 4 innings of work. Alea Johnson pitched a 1-2-3 5th inning.

Hawkins got charged with a tough luck error on an in-between pop-up that had a little miscommunication with the outfield on who would make the catch*. Beyond that play, the defense was good. It was the offense took a little siesta after that big inning. If this team could learn how to keep the pressure on, they could be dangerous.

NOTES

• * After the above mentioned error put a Gamecock runner on second base, a dribbler came Hawkins’s way and she smartly caught the Gamecock too far from the bag and picked her off. The next batter singled. Thus, Hawkins redeemed herself and basically saved a run.
• SC committed three errors.
• I don’t know how many games in a row this is but once again, Patrick Murphy pulled Lauren Johnson from the outfield in favor of Larissa Preuitt. If you can find video somewhere of this game, check out the final out of the game. A lazy fly ball to right center field was almost dropped by Preuitt. Again, nothing against her but it’s not like she is Haylie McCleney out there. Johnson is a better defender and has the highlight reel to prove it.

GAME 2: SOUTH CAROLINA 3, ALABAMA 1

Catelyn Riley got the start in the circle and lived up to her inconsistency. The first and third batters for SC walked, and then lightning struck when the fifth batter put the ‘Cocks up 3-0 with one swing of the bat.

And then REAL lightning struck. Like Benjamin Franklin-flying-a-kite lightning. The game was delayed at the start of the third inning and finally suspended until Saturday morning.

15 hours later, Salen Hawkins was hit by a pitch and stole second. A ground out moved her up a station and she scored on a Marlie Giles single. Sadly, that all the offense Alabama could muster.

For Riley’s part, she pitched a one-hit complete game. Yup. That one hit was the three-run dinger. Ugh.

NOTES:

• As mentioned above, Riley no-hit the Gamecocks following the home run. Oddly enough, she did not record a strikeout.
• Giles is red-hot at the plate. She went 3 for 3 in both Game 1 and Game 2. Bama had five total hits for this game.
• Patrick Murphy pulled out an all-time classic. In the final inning with Giles on first base and one out, he pinch hit for Larissa Preuitt. Granted, Preuitt has been in a bit of a slump, but The Gut® picked out little-used freshman Mari Hubbard who hasn’t had an SEC at bat in a month. Unfortunately, she grounded into a game-ending double play.

GAME 3: SOUTH CAROLINA 7, ALABAMA 2 (Weather – 5 Innings)

Speaking of inconsistent pitching, Jocelyn Briski got rocked in the 2nd inning for 5 runs. Alabama started the scoring in the top of the inning. Marlie Giles got her seventh hit in seven straight at bats, knocking a double off the outfield wall. Salen Hawkins drover her home with a single. But back to the bottom of the frame…

After getting the first two SC batters out, Briski walked the bases loaded. A single and a double made it 4-1 ‘Cocks. Alea Johnson relieved Briski and gave up an RBI single.

The Tide drew within three runs in the 3rd when Lauren Johnson hit a hard double and Kali Heivilin singled her in.

Freshman Braya Hodges started the bottom of the 3rd inning and did fine in that frame. But then she walked a pair and then gave up a back-to-back RBI singles with two outs in the 4th to make it 6-2. Next up was Emily Winstead who managed to get the last out.

Lightning again plagued this series in the bottom of the 5th inning. After about two hours of weather delays, the decision was made to call the game with South Carolina earning the 7-2 win. Had the lightning occurred during the top half of the inning with Bama still batting, the game would not have counted.

NOTES:

• Alabama ends the season with a 12-12 conference record and 36-20 overall. It is the third straight season of 20 or more defeats. Since the turn of the century, Alabama softball has not lost more than 22 games in a season (2023).
• Heivilin committed a fielding error in the bottom of the 5th. That turned out to be the final play of the game.

SERIES NOTES

• This series was reminiscent of the Oklahoma series in which the Crimson Tide had one big inning in the three-game set.
• Brooke Ellestad went 0 for 8.
• The University of Alabama announced student-athlete graduations this past week. Three names of Kali Heivilin, Kendal Clark, and Emily Winstead were expected. Two were not. Emma Broadfoot who exhausted her playing eligibility a year ago, finished up her requirements as a double undergraduate. The other name is Abby Duchscherer who earned her Bachelor’s degree in just three years. She still has one more year of playing eligibility after this season. Not mentioned was senior Brooke Ellestad who started her career at University of St. Thomas in Minnesota and played at ULL last season before transferring to Alabama. She may have lost a few credits along the way. Also missing was Catelyn Riley who transferred from Ole Miss and is in her final playing season.
• The SEC announced 12 finalists for 2025 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. For the first time that I can recall, no Alabama player made the cut. Bri Ellis from Arkansas is our pick. The former Auburn Tiger is absolutely raking. Karlyn Pickens from Tennessee is a close second, but definitely SEC Pitcher of the Year. Both will be in the running for National awards.

MVP

GILES – 7 for 8, 1 DBL, 1 HR, 4 RUNS, 4 RBI

UPCOMING ALABAMA SCHEDULE

The SEC Tournament starts on Tuesday, May 6 in Athens, GA. With a few SEC games still ongoing, there are still tiebreakers – that determine seedings – to be decided. Seeds 10 through 15 (stupid Vandy does not have a softball program) play on Day 1 of the SECT. Nos. 5 through 9 have a first round bye. 1 through 4 get double byes.

Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Tennessee, and Texas have clinched double-byes. Kentucky, Georgia, Auburn, and Missouri are locks for Day 1 games. Coming into Saturday, six teams were within one game of each other in the standings at 13-10 or 12-11. Alabama was in that latter group. A win today might have gotten them a bye.

HOW TO WATCH

All games will be televised! Those up until the semi-finals will be on the SEC Network. The semis will be on the Deuce and the final is on the 4-Letter.

WISHFUL THINKING SCHEDULE

• Tue May 6 – Sat May 10: SEC Tournament, Athens, GA
• Fri May 16 – Sun May 18: NCAA Regional
• Thu May 22 – Sun May 25: NCAA Super Regional
• Thu May 29 – Fri Jun 6: Women’s College World Series, Oklahoma City, OK

#RollTide #Team29