TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – A difficult day at the dish with runners in scoring position and a number of timely hits from No. 3 Alabama, was too much for the No. 21 Tennessee softball team to overcome in a 7-1 loss on Saturday at Rhoads Stadium.

The result evened the series between UT (21-4, 2-3 SEC) and Alabama (23-2, 4-1 SEC), setting up a rubber match on Sunday afternoon.

The Orange & White struggled with runners on base, finishing the afternoon, 0-for-13, when there was a runner anywhere around the diamond.

Alabama also capitalized on each of its opportunities, scoring in each of the days final four innings.

Senior Amanda Ayala, was the lone Lady Vol to finish the day with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-4 at the plate. Ayala is now 5-for-8 in the series heading into Sunday’s showdown.

Sophomore Kiki Milloy went 1-for-2 and scored Tennessee’s only run following a bit of effective base running.

The Lady Vols opened the scoring­­­ in the second with a run manufactured by Milloy. The Woodinville, Washington native reached on an infield single, stole second during the ensuing at-bat. Advanced to third on a groundout from Ally Shipman and later scored on a wild pitch while Madison Webber was at the dish.

Over an inning later, the Crimson Tide knotted things up at 1-1 on an RBI single from Kaylee Tow.

Bama added a pair of runs in the fourth after loading the bases and Bailey Hemphill delivered a solo shot in the fifth to put the Tide up 4-1 heading into the final two innings of the afternoon.

The Crimson Tide plated a trio of runs in the home half of the sixth, before ending the Lady Vols final comeback bid in the seventh to close the afternoon.

UP NEXT
Alabama and Tennessee conclude the weekend series with a 2 p.m. ET first pitch from Rhoads Stadium tomorrow afternoon. All the action can be seen on ESPNU.

PDF Box Score | Updated Overall Stats PDF | Series Stats

-UT Athletics