re: Bama Softball 39-20 (10-14) (2023-24)

Beaver pitched a gem yesterday. And she has been excellent at fielding the ball too. Florida’s 2 runs were unearned, stemming from an errant throw from SS to 1st base. Neither team showed any prowess on offense. A strong (strong) headwind kept a couple of Bama hits in the park that might have helped. But presently it is pop up city for Bama at the plate.

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A pair of unearned runs were the difference in a low-scoring pitcher's duel Saturday afternoon at Rhoads Stadium, as Alabama dropped its conference opener to Florida, 2-0.

Alabama (19-2, 0-1 SEC) fell behind after a two-run single in the top of the second plated a pair of unearned runs for Florida (20-3, 1-0 SEC). With the score still 2-0 in the bottom of the seventh, a leadoff walk brought the potential tying run to the plate. After a flyout, a ball up the middle was batted down and corralled for a forceout at second before a fly ball ended the game.

Lauren Johnson posted the lone hit for the Crimson Tide's offense, improving her team-leading reached base streak to 13 games. Kayla Beaver (7-1) took the complete-game loss in the circle, striking out eight and holding the Gators to three hits with both runs going as unearned.

From Head Coach Patrick Murphy
"Today, the wind was like a steel curtain. Jenna [Johnson] might have had a home run, as well as Bailey [Dowling] and Abby [Duchscherer]. Jenna also smoked one right at the shortstop. We just hit right at them today. Florida's pitcher made the big pitches today too, especially in the seventh inning. We had a walk and then they made a great play up the middle for the forceout, but we had the tying run at the plate and that's always the goal when trailing at the end of the game. Put some pressure on the opponent and let the home crowd help us out. [Kayla] Beaver pitched great. They did their damage in one inning with two unearned runs and got the hits when they needed them."

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