Alabama lost to Texas, 9-1, in the opening game of their softball series at Rhoads Stadium on April 2. The Crimson Tide struggled both offensively and defensively against the top-ranked Longhorns.
The result is significant as Alabama entered the game ranked fourth nationally with a strong record of 33-3 overall and 7-3 in Southeastern Conference play. Texas improved its record to 32-2 overall and leads the conference at 9-1.
Texas started quickly with a solo home run in the first inning and continued to score throughout five of the next six innings. Alabama managed just five hits during the game. The team’s only run came from an RBI single by Marlie Giles in the fourth inning. Alexis Pupillo scored that run and went two-for-three at bat, extending her reached-base streak to a career-best 32 games. Jocelyn Briski took her first loss of the season as pitcher for Alabama.
Head Coach Patrick Murphy said, “It wasn’t a good performance for us tonight. The pitching and offense were not what I’ve seen for 35 games. With such a good team like Texas, we’ve really got to be better tomorrow and keep up with them throughout the game. We have the best fans in college softball and tomorrow night we’re going to need them more than ever. It’s a 7:30 p.m. game under the lights at the Rhoads House. It doesn’t get better than that.” Ambrey Taylor is currently on a six-game hitting streak for Alabama.
The teams are scheduled to meet again Friday night at Rhoads Stadium.
