After a two-week homestand, Alabama headed to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to face off against the Razorbacks for a three-game SEC series. Unfortunately, in game one, Alabama was walked off, 1-0.
“It is always a great game when these two squads match up. They had a great game plan coming in and unfortunately, we weren’t able to do enough to win,” said Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy.
The game was taken to extra innings for the third straight meeting between Alabama and Arkansas. Razorback shortstop Lauren Camenzind put the exclamation point on the game with a walk-off single in the ninth inning. Heading into extras, both teams left a combined 12 runners stranded on base.
A consistent theme from this season rang true for the Tide in this one, strong pitching combined with untimely hitting. Offensively, Alabama was 0-15 with runners on, 0-7 with runners in scoring position but 4-9 when leading off the inning.
Kayla Beaver was outstanding in the circle, yet again. The fifth-year senior pitched the whole game, throwing 122 pitches, and only allowing one run. Her final line: 8.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. Beaver held the Razorbacks to 2-17 with runners on base.
On the other hand, Razorback starting pitcher Morgan Leinstock was just as dominant. The red-shirt senior tossed a complete-game shutout allowing just four hits. She finished the game with a total of six strikeouts and only one walk allowed.
On a positive note, Kenleigh Cahalan went 2-for-4 from the leadoff spot, picking up her eighth multi-hit game of the year. “Kenleigh has been ripping the ball in practice and games for the last two weeks,” said coach Murphy. Kendal Clark and Riley Valentine had the only other hits for the Tide.
With this loss, Alabama fell to 30-11 on the year and 7-9 in SEC play. The Tide will look to even the series on Saturday with the first pitch set for 8 p.m. CT. The game will air live on the SEC Network.
