– An eight-inning affair ended with the 13th-ranked Georgia softball team falling to the #4 Alabama Crimson Tide, 2-1, in the second round of the SEC Tournament Thursday at Davis Diamond.
Georgia was led offensively by two-hit performances from Alyssa DiCarlo and Alysen Febrey. Both Bulldogs had a double and a single, combining for Georgia’s four hits.
Mary Wilson Avant pitched three and a third innings in her start in the circle, allowing a run on two hits. Alley Cutting relieved Avant and worked two and two-thirds scoreless frames. Kylie Bass (12-4) entered with a runner on first in the bottom of the seventh inning, retiring the next three to send the game into extra innings. Bass suffered the loss, allowing the walk-off home run in the bottom of the eighth inning.
A leadoff walk, an error, and a hit batsman led to trouble for Avant in the bottom half of the inning. A one-out bases-loaded walk tied the game at a run each. Cutting entered and worked to wiggle out of the jam and preserve the tie. The inning ended on a highlight reel catch by Ciara Bryan to strand the bases loaded.
DiCarlo broke up Alabama’s no-hit bid in the top of the fourth with a leadoff double. She immediately came in to score on a double ripped down the left field line by Febrey to take a 1-0 lead on the Tide.
The Bulldog pitching staff and defense worked to strand six Tide runners on in the next three innings, preserving the 1-1 tie and sending the game into extra innings.
DiCarlo and Febrey both reached on two-out singles in the top of the eighth but were stranded on in the frame.
Alabama’s Skylar Wallace walked off with a solo home run to right center, securing the 2-1 victory over the Bulldogs.
Georgia will await the NCAA Tournament Selection Show Sunday night at 9 p.m. on ESPN 2.