TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama softball gave up a late lead to Oklahoma in the top of the seventh as the Sooners rallied to defeat the Crimson Tide, 5-1, in Saturday’s series opener at Rhoads Stadium.

After two scoreless innings, Alabama (28-16, 5-8 SEC) took the first lead over Oklahoma (36-3, 10-3 SEC) with a third inning sac fly RBI from Brooke Ellestad. The Sooners looked to break through in the top of the fifth, putting two in scoring position after a sac bunt for out number one but a pair of quick groundouts ended the threat and kept the score at 1-0. It remained a one-run ballgame in the top of the seventh and Oklahoma had a runner on with one out. With pinch hitter Maya Bland down to two strikes, she pulled a two-run home run to right to give the Sooners the late 2-1 lead. Oklahoma added some insurance, scoring three more to make it 5-1 before the Crimson Tide defense was able to get out of the inning. Now facing a four-run deficit on offense in the bottom half, Alabama went down in order unable to start a rally.

“You cannot beat Oklahoma with three hits. We almost did, but it almost doesn’t count. We obviously had the lead, but scoring in the first inning [with the bases loaded] could have helped. Catelyn [Riley] gave us a great start, we played great team defense and I think everyone knew that we came to play. That’s probably the best first six innings we’ve played in a series all year. We had a great crowd today, the girls loved it and I think it’s great for the sport of softball.”

Highlights

Scoring Summary

• B3 | Brooke Ellestad drove in Audrey Vandagriff with a sac fly RBI (1-0, 1 Out)
• T7 | Maya Bland hit a two-run home run to right field (1-2, 1 Out)
• T7 | Ailana Agbayani hit an RBI double down the left field line (1-3, 1 Out)
• T7 | Kasidi Pickering roped an RBI single to left (1-4, 1 Out)
• T7 | The Sooners added another with a squeeze bunt (1-5, 1 Out)

Up Next: vs. #2/2 Oklahoma (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)

• Sunday, April 13 – 5 p.m. CT – SEC Network
• Monday, April 14 – 6 p.m. CT – SEC Network