Live Updates: Alabama Softball vs. Florida State at the Women's College World Series
OKLAHOMA CITY— It is semifinal Sunday at the Women's College World Series, and Alabama softball is one win away from its first championship series appearance since 2014.
The Crimson Tide (52-7) enjoyed a day of rest on Saturday, while their opponent, No. 10 Florida State (46-11-1), had to play twice. Alabama started the world series with a 5-1 win over Arizona ,and the 6-0 perfect game behind the arm of Montana Fouts over UCLA.
Florida State dropped its opening game to UCLA forcing them to fight out of the loser's bracket to reach the semifinals. The Seminoles beat Arizona on a walk-off sac fly Saturday afternoon, and then had to wait until after midnight to start their second elimination game against Oklahoma State. A little after 2:15 a.m. Florida State beat the Cowgirls 4-2.
Alabama and Florida State played twice the opening weekend of the 2020 season with the Noles taking both games. In the first game, Alabama was up 7-3 in the bottom of the seventh when FSU tied it with a grand slam before walking it off in the eighth. They then run-ruled the Crimson Tide 8-0 the next day. Eight of the nine starters from that game are still in the starting lineup for Alabama in 2021 and will be trying to avenge those 2020 losses.
The matchup between the Tide and Seminoles is supposed to start at 2:30 on ESPN, but will be delayed because of the game before between Oklahoma and James Madison. The top-seeded Sooners must win, or they will be eliminated.
Alabama and Florida State will start approximately 30 minutes after the end of the Oklahoma/James Madison game.
We will keep you updated with a start time, and then provide updates throughout the Alabama game.
Update: Oklahoma wins 6-3, forcing the if-necessary game against James Madison. Alabama and Florida State will begin at approximately 3:21.
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Here are the starting lineups:
No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide (52-7)
1. Alexis Mack- LF
2. Bailey Hemphill- C
3. Kaylee Tow- 1B
4. Jenna Johnson- DP
5. KB Sides- RF
6. Savannah Woodard- 2B
7. Maddie Morgan- 3B
8. Taylor Clark- SS
9. Elissa Brown- CF
Lexi Kilfoyl- P
- Alabama is the designated visiting team and will bat first.
- Lexi Kilfoyl making her first appearance in the circle at the WCWS.
No. 10 Florida State Seminoles (46-11-1)
1. Kaley Mudge- LF
2. Sydney Sherrill- 3B
3. Elizabeth Mason- 1B
4. Cassidy Davis- DP
5. Devyn Flaherty- 2B
6. Dani Morgan- CF
7. Josie Muffley- SS
8. Anna Shelnutt- C
9. Kalei Harding- RF
Caylan Arnold- P
LIVE UPDATES:
TOP of 1- Alabama batting
- Mack lines out to shallow left to start the game. One out.
- Hemphill hits a ball hard to short that gets stopped by the infielder from getting through, but not enough to stop Hemphill from reaching first with a one-out single.
- Tow strikes out swinging. Two outs.
- Johnson lines out softly to third. Half inning over.
- MID 1- Alabama 0, Florida State 0
BOTTOM of 1- Florida State batting
- Lexi Kilfoyl is making her WCWS debut.
- Mudge leads off the inning with a single.
- Mudge appears safe on a stolen base at second, but is called out for leaving the base early. One out.
- Game is in a LIGHTNING DELAY in the bottom of the 1st.
- Tarp is out on the field. No update given yet on an estimated start time.
- 4:30 update: Tarp is still on the field. A pretty heavy rainstorm just passed through. Still no update on what time the game will resume.
- ESPN's Holly Rowe says the game will not resume until at least 6 p.m.
- The tarp came off, went back on, and has now come back off again at 5:06. A crew is working on drying off the field now.
- We have a resume time, 6:13. Both teams are out on the field re-warming up.
- The game will be on ESPN 2 instead of ESPN when it starts back.
- Fans have started filing back into the stadium.
- And the Crimson Tide defense is officially back on the field. Kilfoyl will be in the circle facing Sherrill with a 3-1 count.
- The first pitch back is a ball, and Sherrill walks.
- Mason grounds into a fielder's choice back to Kilfoyl. Sherrill out at second. Two outs.
- Davis strikes out looking, and almost exactly three hours after first pitch, the first inning is over.
- END 1- Alabama 0, Florida State 0
TOP of 2- Alabama batting
- Sides strikes out swinging. One out.
- Woodard flies out just shy of the warning track in left centerfield. Two outs.
- Morgan pops out in foul territory. Three outs.
- Nothing doing for the Tide in the 2nd.
- MID 2- Alabama 0, Florida State 0
BOTTOM of 2- Florida State batting
- Flaherty strikes out swinging. One out.
- Morgan strikes out looking for Kilfoyl's third strikeout of the day. Two outs.
- Two-out single for Muffley.
- Shelnutt pops up to Kilfoyl to end the inning.
- END 2- Alabama 0, Florida State 0
TOP of 3- Alabama batting
- Clark strikes out swinging. One down.
- Brown grounds out to third. Two outs.
- Mack lines out in foul territory past left field. Three up, three down for the second straight inning for Alabama.
- MID 3- Alabama 0, Florida State 0
BOTTOM of 3- Florida State batting
- Harding grounds out on the first pitch she sees.
- Mudge goes down swinging. Two outs.
- Kilfoyl makes a nice place to throw out Sherrill at first on a check swing that rolled fair.
- END 3- Alabama 0, Florida State 0
TOP of 4- Alabama batting
- Hemphill will be leading off for Alabama, the only Tide batter with a hit in the game.
- Hemphill walks on four pitches. Kat Grill in to pinch run.
- Tow pops up to shallow center. One out.
- Johnsons pops out in foul territory on the first pitch she sees. Two outs.
- Sides strikes out looking. Half inning over for Alabama.
- MID 4- Alabama 0, Florida State 0
BOTTOM of 4- Florida State batting
- Mason goes down swinging. Five strikeouts for Kilfoyl. One out.
- Davis strikes out looking. Two outs.
- Flaherty strikes out looking. Kilfoyl strikes out the side in the 4th.
- Scoreless game through four.
- END 4- Alabama 0, Florida State 0
TOP of 5- Alabama batting
- After a lengthy battle at the plate, Woodard pops out. One out.
- Morgan lines one into left field for Alabama's first hit since the first inning.
- Kayla Davis in to pinch run for Morgan.
- Davis advances to second on a passed ball.
- Clark hit in the helmet with a pitch, but she stands up and is okay. Runners on first and second with one out.
- Kilfoyl in to pinch hit for Elissa Brown.
- Kilfoyl strikes out swinging. Two outs.
- A pitching change for Florida State. Arnold is out, and Kathryn Sandercock comes in to pitch for the Seminoles with Mack coming up for the Tide.
- Mack grounds out to second. Three outs. Alabama strands two runners in the inning.
- MID 5- Alabama 0, Florida State 0
BOTTOM of 5- Florida State batting
- D. Morgan bunts her way on base to lead off the inning for Florida State.
- Muffley flies out to center. One away.
- Shelnutt singles through the right side. Two on with one out.
- Kaia LoPreste pinch hitting in the nine spot for Florida State.
- LoPreste strikes out swinging. Two outs.
- Mudge legs out an infield single. Bases loaded with two outs for Florida State.
- Sherrill walks with the bases loaded to score the first run of the game for either team. Florida State 1, Alabama 0
- Mason flies out to end the inning.
- Florida State scores one, but Kilfoyl limits the damage and leaves the bases loaded.
- END 5- Florida State 1, Alabama 0
TOP of 6- Alabama batting
- Alabama looking to respond to the Seminoles' run.
- Hemphill grounds out to third.
- Tow grounds out on the first pitch. Two outs.
- Johnson lines out to center field. Three up, three down for Alabama. No runs through six innings.
- MID 6- Florida State 1, Alabama 0
BOTTOM of 6- Florida State batting
- Davis pops out to shallow right. One out.
- Flaherty grounds out to second. Two outs.
- D. Morgan triples off the wall in right center. A runner on third for the Seminoles with two outs.
- Muffley singles through the right side to drive in a run. 2-0 Florida State.
- A stolen base and an error on the catch allows the pinch runner to reach third.
- Shelnutt strikes out swinging to end the inning, but Florida State adds a big insurance run heading into the seventh.
- END 6- Florida State 2, Alabama 0
TOP of 7- Alabama batting
- Last chance for Alabama in the seventh down two runs.
- Sides grounds out on the first pitch.
- Woodard grounds out. Two down.
- Morgan grounds out to the right side. Game over, 20-game winning streak over for Alabama. Florida State forces the if necessary game.
- Alabama shut out for the fourth time this year and first since April 16.
