⚾ 🥎 Tide wins Regional: Advances to Super Regional to face #1 Florida
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Final score from Tuscaloosa Regional: Louisiana Tech 8, Albany 1, Albany eliminated.
1:30 CT Elimination game La Tech vs Minnesota
4:00 CT Championship GM
Bases-Loaded Walk Gives Alabama Softball Extra-Inning Win Over Minnesota Saturday
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama softball and Minnesota needed nine innings to settle its NCAA Regional matchup on Saturday, with neither team scoring until a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth gave the Crimson Tide the one-run victory.
With the win, Alabama (44-16) advances to its 15th-straight NCAA Regional final, playing for a title every season since 2003. The Tide's NCAA Regional win streak also extends to 33 games, last falling in a regional game in 2007. The shutout over Minnesota (55-4) is the 25th of the season for Crimson Tide pitching staff, just one shy of the single-season school record.
Alabama and Minnesota were locked in a hard-fought pitcher's duel as Alexis Osorio (22-7) and Sara Groenewegen (30-3) were both stellar in the circle. The Tide were held hitless until the third inning and the Golden Gophers only had four base runners in regulation before tallying its first hit in the top of the eighth. Ultimately, Osorio would get the win, allowing just two hits over 9.0 shutout innings with 11 strikeouts. Demi Turner, making her first start since April 1, accounted for two of Alabama's four hits batting ninth while Reagan Dykes earned the game-winning RBI on a bases-loaded walk in the ninth inning.
With two of the nation's best pitchers in the circle, both offenses struggled to find momentum early. Minnesota drew a pair of walks in the first three innings and Turner tallied the first hit for either team with a two-out single in the bottom of the third.
Osorio would retire 10-straight batters before allowing a leadoff walk in the top of the seventh. The runner advanced to second on a groundout and, after a popup, a hit-by-pitch put two on base for the Gophers with two out. After a long battle at the plate, Osorio forced her counterpart Groenewegen to popup in foul territory to end the half-inning and keep it scoreless. In the bottom half of the inning, Bailey Hemphill poked a two-out single up the middle and pinch-runner Mari Cranek stole second but a fly ball would end the inning, sending the game to extra innings.
Minnesota led off the top of the eighth with its first hit of the day, a single up the middle, and followed that with a walk after a 14-pitch at bat. A popup and groundout put two outs on the board and, with first base open, Alabama intentionally walked Minnesota's home run leader Kendyl Lindaman to load the bases. With a full count at the plate, Osorio induced a groundout from Maddie Houlihan to strand the bases loaded and keep it tied at 0-0.
With good speed on the base paths in the bottom of the ninth in Elissa Brown and Chandler Dare, Marisa Runyon was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. With a 3-1 count at the plate, Dykes watched ball four go by to draw the bases-loaded walk and give Alabama the 1-0 win.
Next, Alabama advances to Sunday's NCAA Regional finale and will face the winner of Saturday's night's final game. First pitch on Sunday is set for a 1:30 p.m. CT first pitch.
Bases-Loaded Walk Gives Alabama Softball Extra-Inning Win Over Minnesota Saturday
1:30 CT Elimination game La Tech vs Minnesota
4:00 CT Championship GM
Bases-Loaded Walk Gives Alabama Softball Extra-Inning Win Over Minnesota Saturday
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama softball and Minnesota needed nine innings to settle its NCAA Regional matchup on Saturday, with neither team scoring until a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth gave the Crimson Tide the one-run victory.
With the win, Alabama (44-16) advances to its 15th-straight NCAA Regional final, playing for a title every season since 2003. The Tide's NCAA Regional win streak also extends to 33 games, last falling in a regional game in 2007. The shutout over Minnesota (55-4) is the 25th of the season for Crimson Tide pitching staff, just one shy of the single-season school record.
Alabama and Minnesota were locked in a hard-fought pitcher's duel as Alexis Osorio (22-7) and Sara Groenewegen (30-3) were both stellar in the circle. The Tide were held hitless until the third inning and the Golden Gophers only had four base runners in regulation before tallying its first hit in the top of the eighth. Ultimately, Osorio would get the win, allowing just two hits over 9.0 shutout innings with 11 strikeouts. Demi Turner, making her first start since April 1, accounted for two of Alabama's four hits batting ninth while Reagan Dykes earned the game-winning RBI on a bases-loaded walk in the ninth inning.
With two of the nation's best pitchers in the circle, both offenses struggled to find momentum early. Minnesota drew a pair of walks in the first three innings and Turner tallied the first hit for either team with a two-out single in the bottom of the third.
Osorio would retire 10-straight batters before allowing a leadoff walk in the top of the seventh. The runner advanced to second on a groundout and, after a popup, a hit-by-pitch put two on base for the Gophers with two out. After a long battle at the plate, Osorio forced her counterpart Groenewegen to popup in foul territory to end the half-inning and keep it scoreless. In the bottom half of the inning, Bailey Hemphill poked a two-out single up the middle and pinch-runner Mari Cranek stole second but a fly ball would end the inning, sending the game to extra innings.
Minnesota led off the top of the eighth with its first hit of the day, a single up the middle, and followed that with a walk after a 14-pitch at bat. A popup and groundout put two outs on the board and, with first base open, Alabama intentionally walked Minnesota's home run leader Kendyl Lindaman to load the bases. With a full count at the plate, Osorio induced a groundout from Maddie Houlihan to strand the bases loaded and keep it tied at 0-0.
With good speed on the base paths in the bottom of the ninth in Elissa Brown and Chandler Dare, Marisa Runyon was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. With a 3-1 count at the plate, Dykes watched ball four go by to draw the bases-loaded walk and give Alabama the 1-0 win.
Next, Alabama advances to Sunday's NCAA Regional finale and will face the winner of Saturday's night's final game. First pitch on Sunday is set for a 1:30 p.m. CT first pitch.
Bases-Loaded Walk Gives Alabama Softball Extra-Inning Win Over Minnesota Saturday
Proving there is something in the water down there?
Three people who were in attendance said they could hear the contact.
bama alum
Member
Bama softball schedule changes for the weekend:
Saturday, May 20 - Louisiana Tech vs. Albany - 7:45 p.m. CT
Sunday, May 21 - Minnesota vs. Game 4 winner - 1:30 p.m. CT
Sunday, May 21 - Alabama vs. Game 5 winner - 4 p.m. CT
*if necessary game still TBD*
50+yeartidefan
Member
Three people who were in attendance said they could hear the contact.
Ok.....but the video?????!...and it was closest to flesh part of arm...
But...don't matter.
He called HBP...and that's what it is..
Someone I know sits directly behind the plate and he said he could hear it brush her jersey as it went by. I saw the replay as well and wondered. It means nothing in the end. As you said, it is what it is.
The biggest question today, as far as I'm concerned, is who Minnesota puts in the circle this morning. It would be nice to see them put their #2 out, she gets rocked, and their Ace has to pitch several innings before Bama's game. Hell, I wouldn't put it out of the realm of possibilities that La Tech takes the elimination game.
bama alum
Member
That would be ideal! Depends on the mindset of LaTech. Hopefully, they'll put up a real fight.
They have used 5 pitchers. Amber Fiser is #2.
(All games Sorted by Earned run avg)
Player era w-l app-gs cg sho sv ip h r er bb so 2b 3b hr ab b/avg wp hbp bk sfa sha
Sara Groenewegen 0.59 30-3 35-29 21 9/4 1 200.2 101 27 17 30 292 9 1 6 707 .143 15 12 0 0 14
Amber Fiser 1.69 14-0 22-17 5 2/4 0 82.2 64 28 20 33 78 7 2 0 306 .209 8 12 0 1 5
----------
Carlie Brandt 0.84 6-0 14-1 1 1/1 0 33.1 31 4 4 5 19 3 0 1 133 .233 2 1 1 0 0
Kendal Judge 2.47 0-0 4-1 0 0/2 0 5.2 3 2 2 3 2 0 1 0 19 .158 0 2 0 0 0
Tori Finucane 2.82 5-1 16-10 3 2/2 0 49.2 33 29 20 29 51 7 0 3 178 .185 6 2 0 2 5
Totals 1.19 55-4 59-59 30 21/7 1 372.0 232 90 63 100 442 26 4 10 1343 .173 31 29 1 3 24
GOPHERSPORTS.COM :: University of Minnesota Official Athletic Site :: Softball
A big difference in their Ace and their #2 when you look at innings pitched. I looked at those numbers when the Regional was announced. I recall GroenHoweverYouSpellIt pitching over 1100 innings versus less than 100 for Fiser. It's about a hit an inning and for every two hits a run. 14-0, I know. Against whom?
Safe to say, none of them on the level of La Tech.
Here is what the NCAA rulebook says about what happens if the regional is not completed:
0 games played: Highest seed advances.
1 game played: Highest seed advances.
2 games played: Highest undefeated seed.
3 games played: Highest undefeated seed.
4 games played: Highest seed.
5 games played: Highest undefeated seed.
6 games played: Winner of Game 6 unless each team has one loss, therefore the teams are tied, then head-to-head competition is the first tiebreaker and highest seed the second.
The "4 games played" part is unbelievable. For example: Oklahoma edged Arkansas in the fourth game of the Norman Regional. Tulsa is 2-0. OU is 1-1. If no further games are played, then OU advances. Even if OU had lost to Ark and was 0-2!!!
0 games played: Highest seed advances.
1 game played: Highest seed advances.
2 games played: Highest undefeated seed.
3 games played: Highest undefeated seed.
4 games played: Highest seed.
5 games played: Highest undefeated seed.
6 games played: Winner of Game 6 unless each team has one loss, therefore the teams are tied, then head-to-head competition is the first tiebreaker and highest seed the second.
The "4 games played" part is unbelievable. For example: Oklahoma edged Arkansas in the fourth game of the Norman Regional. Tulsa is 2-0. OU is 1-1. If no further games are played, then OU advances. Even if OU had lost to Ark and was 0-2!!!
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