Defensive Mistakes Plague Alabama Softball in 4-2 Loss to Kentucky
A combination of defensive mistakes and stranded runners led to Alabama softball's downfall against Kentucky in game two.
No. 3 Alabama had a season high four errors in the 4-2 loss to the No. 7 Wildcats in Lexington on Sunday afternoon.
Crimson Tide starter Lexi Kilfoyl came into the game with a 10-0 record and a 0.44 ERA. She had not given up more than 2 runs in any outing this season.
However on Sunday, the Wildcats forced the Alabama defense into several miscues. It started in the first inning when Kayla Kowalik led off with a single, advanced to third on an error by Claire Jenkins and scored on another error by Savannah Woodard to give Kentucky the early 1-0 lead.
The Wildcats scored their next run because of another Alabama error, this time by Kaylee Tow that put the lead off runner on base in the third. She came around to score on a sac fly to build the Kentucky lead.
Kilfoyl gave up her first earned runs of the game in the bottom of the fourth which pushed the Kentucky lead to 4-0. Jaala Torrence and Sarah Cornell came into the game in relief and both saw their first SEC appearances of the season, combining to pitch 2.1 scoreless innings.
Alabama had the opportunity to take the initial lead with runners on first and third with one out in the top of the first, but could not convert the base runners into runs.
Once again in the fifth inning, the Tide had a chance to cut into the deficit with runners on second and third with one out and the heart of the lineup coming up. Alexis Mack came through with an RBI single, but Bailey Hemphill hit into a fielder's choice and Kaylee Tow struck out to end the inning leaving two runners stranded.
The Crimson Tide attempted to start one last rally in the top of the seventh as Elissa Brown got on to start the inning. Hemphill scored Brown with a two-out RBI single, and Tow reached with a single to bring the winning run to the plate. However, a deep fly ball to center ended the game.
In total, Alabama left nine runners on base. Alabama drops to 26-3 (6-2 SEC) and will look to regroup and go for the series win Monday night at 6.
