Alabama Softball Silenced by Oklahoma in Game 1 of Norman Super Regional

The Crimson Tide was shut out for just the second time this year, and now Alabama has its season on the line on Saturday.

Alabama Softball vs. Oklahoma in Norman Super Regional Game 1 / Alabama Athletics' X/Twitter

No. 15 Alabama softball fell to No. 2 Oklahoma 3-0 in Game 1 of the Norman Super Regional on Friday evening in a packed Love's Field. The Crimson Tide was shut out for just the second time this season.

This loss now puts the Crimson Tide in a win-or-go-home situation, as if it falls to the Sooners once again on Saturday, Alabama's season is over.

Alabama will now need to win its next two games in this best-of-three series, which was the same outcome during the regular season. The Tide defeated the Sooners 2-1 in a series-deciding Game 3 on April 14 following a walk-off home run by Audrey Vandagriff.

But on Friday, Oklahoma surpassed its run total from that mid-April evening in just the third inning thanks to a two-run home run by left fielder Kasidi Pickering. Jocelyn Briski got the start on the circle for Alabama and only gave up a single before Pickering's bomb to center field.

Briski allowed two more singles in the fourth frame, as Crimson Tide pitchers Alea Johnson and Catelyn Riley started to warm up in the bullpen. However, Briski and the Alabama defense got out of it via two groundouts, one being a double play, and the score remained 2-0 Sooners.

Alabama's offense struggled as its third hit of the game didn't occur until the beginning of the fifth inning, as right fielder Larissa Preuitt reached on a single. She was able to reach third base two outs later, but in a long full-count battle, Oklahoma pitcher Sam Landry struck out Tide second baseman Kali Heivilin.

This moved the momentum needle even more toward the home team and Oklahoma center fielder Abigale Dayton hit a leadoff double in the same fifth inning. And two outs later, freshman Sydney Barker singled to right center to bring in a run and increase Alabama's deficit to 3-0.

Briski was subbed off for Johnson after the inning. In five innings, she allowed three runs on six hits with a walk and a hit-by-pitch, while throwing one strikeout on 93 pitches.

Facing desperate times and six outs away from a major loss, Alabama's Alexis Pupillo started the sixth inning strong with a leadoff double. The time to capitalize was right there, but Landry retired the next three batters, two of which went down on strikes.

The seventh and final inning wasn't any better as Alabama's batters went down 1-2-3, including the second out coming from a diving catch in center field by Hannah Coor. The game ended on Landry's 108th pitch, which resulted in a line out to second base by Vandagriff.

Landry pitched a complete game, allowing zero runs on just four hits with two walks and a hit-by-pitch, while throwing five strikeouts. 12 of Alabama's 21 outs were grounders.

“Well, it was just a good, well-played defensive game that we're kind of used to in the SEC," Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy said during the postgame press conference. "They got the key hits and we didn't. That was the story of the game. We had runners in scoring position but we just didn't get that key hit. In high-level softball, there are three things that you need: number one, a great start. Oklahoma got that. Number two, team defense. Neither team had an error. And then the third, probably the toughest to get, is a key hit. They got two and we didn't get any. So kudos to [Sam] Landry. She pitched a good game.”

Alabama aims to rebound from this rough outing with a win against the Sooners on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT on ESPN. If the Tide comes out victorious, these SEC foes will go to a series-deciding Game 3 on Sunday.

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