No. 2 Alabama Shut Out for First Time All Season in Game 2 Loss at Tennessee

The Lady Vols evened the series against the Crimson Tide behind a one-hit performance in the circle by Sage Mardjetko.

Alabama softball team huddle at Tennessee | UA Athletics

A day after scoring 12 runs, Alabama was down to its final two outs before recording its first hit.

For the first time this season, the No. 2 Crimson Tide was shut out as No. 9 Tennessee beat Alabama 2-0 behind a one-hitter from starter Sage Mardjetko at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium in Knoxville on Sunday afternoon.

Alabama (44-5, 16-4 SEC) brought the winning run to the plate in the seventh inning after a leadoff walk by Marlie Giles and one-out single from Audrey Vandagriff. The bottom part of the order couldn't come through with the timely hit. Mardjetko's changeup kept the Crimson Tide offense off balance all day.

Outside of the seventh inning, Alabama's best chance to score came in the fourth with two runners on and one out after Brooke Wells drew a walk, and Jena Young was hit by a pitch. The next two batters struck out to strand the runners.

Freshman Vic Moten (16-4, 1.75 ERA) gave Alabama a solid start in the circle, and the defense made some impressive plays behind her, but she just didn't get any run support from the offense.

The only runs Moten allowed came on solo home runs by Gabby Leach in the fifth inning and Emma Clarke in the sixth inning to provide some insurance for Tennessee (39-8, 13-7 SEC) and Mardjetko.

Despite getting one hit, Alabama actually left more people on base than Tennessee with five total runners left on. Even with an off day at the plate, the Crimson Tide still had a chance to win the game in the final inning.

Head coach Patrick Murphy often says the three keys to a game are a good start in the circle, good defense and the key hit. Alabama only got two of the three on Sunday.

With how well she pitched, Alabama will likely face Marjetko again in Game 3. Jocelyn Briski shut out the Lady Vols in the series opener and will almost certainly start again for the Crimson Tide in the rubber match.

Alabama and Tennessee will meet in the series finale on Monday at 6 p.m on SEC Network. The Crimson Tide now 1.5 game behind Oklahoma for first place in the SEC standings with four games to go.

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