After an extra innings loss in game one, No. 15 Alabama took down No. 14 Arkansas, 5-1 in game two, to even up the series on Saturday night. The Tide powered its way to victory on the back of a five-run fifth inning. Freshman starting pitcher Jocelyn Briski went complete, earning her seventh win of the year.
The Razorbacks took an early lead in the first inning after a wild pitch scored the lead-off single with two outs. The score remained 1-0 until the Crimson Tide finally got to the southpaw, Robyn Herron, with five runs in the fifth inning.
The frame opened up with a lead-off double by Kendal Clark and a single by Emma Broadfoot to put two on with no outs. Alabama then tied the game up after a throwing error by the right fielder. Lauren Johnson put the Tide out in front with a run-scoring single through the left side.
Then, her sister – Jenna Johnson put the exclamation point on the victory with a three-run home run to dead center. “We needed that offensive life to come back tonight, and it sure did,” said Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy.
Jocelyn Briski threw her third complete game of the season and was dominant late to hold on to the win. The freshman only allowed two singles in the final three innings of the game. She has now gone complete in two of her last three outings. Her final line from tonight: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K.
“Tonight was an opportunity for them to show off to the world what they can do on the field,” said coach Murphy. “Jocelyn was tremendous tonight and she got even better as the game went along.”
Offensively, Jenna Johnson led the way for Alabama with a strong 2-for-4 performance with three RBIs. This marked her fifth multi-hit game of the season and her third outing with three or more RBIs.
The Crimson Tide improved to 31-11 on the season and 8-9 in conference play. Alabama snapped a short three-game losing streak to set up a rubber match on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT. Game three will air live on ESPNU.
