Alabama
Alabama takes down No. 3 Tennessee 1-0 in series finale to avoid sweep: Observations, takeaways
Kayla Beaver held Tennessee to a season-low two hits and zero runs as Alabama softball avoided the series sweep vs. No. 3 Tennessee, winning the series finale 1-0.
With the win, Alabama was able to avoid being swept in conference play for the first time since 2013. The Crimson Tide dropped the series opener on Friday night by a score of 5-0 followed by a 2-0 loss on Saturday, before bouncing back and taking the series finale.
Here are takeaways and observations from Alabama softball’s (32-14, 9-12 SEC) series vs. Tennessee (37-9, 16-5 SEC):
Alabama softball vs. Tennessee pitching staff
Tennessee’s pitching staff ranks first in the country with a 1.33 ERA. Individually, Lady Vols pitchers Payton Gottshall (1.07 ERA) and Karlyn Pickens (1.12) each rank within the top-10 in the country in individual ERA.
Alabama faced Gottshall in the series opener and finale. In the series opener, Gottshall held Alabama scoreless and allowed three hits across 7.0 innings, one hit apiece by Kali Heivilin, Kristen White and Bailey Dowling. In the series finale, Gottshall allowed four Alabama hits — two from Kenleigh Cahalan one from White and Lauren Esman — and one run across 4⅔ innings pitched.
On Saturday, Pickens started in the circle for the Lady Vols and held Alabama scoreless and to a season-low one hit. Its the second time with one hit this season, the first time coming in a 2-0 loss vs. Florida on March 9. Kristen White got the lone hit for the Crimson Tide, coming off of a sixth inning bunt single to break the possible no-hitter, which would have been Alabama’s first no-hit loss since April 20, 2004.
Freshman pitcher Jocelyn Briski throws second-straight complete game
Jocelyn Briski started in the circle for Alabama on Saturday in her third SEC start. It was another strong performance from the freshman after her outing vs. Arkansas last week, allowing just one earned run for the second-straight game over seven innings pitched. It was also her fourth complete game of the season in her eighth career start.
Tennessee’s first run on Saturday was unearned, coming from a two-out RBI single in the second inning. Its second run came from a solo home run in the fourth inning. Briski also struck out two batters and did not allow a walk.
“Jocelyn Briski gave us a great start,’ coach Patrick Murphy said after Saturday’s game. “She has been excellent over the past few weeks and she gave us a good enough start to win the game tonight.”
Briski has begun to emerge as the No. 2 pitcher on the Alabama staff, alongside ace pitcher Kayla Beaver. Over the last two conference series, Beaver has gotten the start in the series opener and finale, with Briski starting in the second game of the series.
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2024 SCHEDULE: Alabama softball schedule 2024: Here’s a list of every game with dates, times and locations
27 scoreless innings drought ends in series finale
Prior to Sunday’s fifth inning run, the Crimson Tide had been held scoreless for 27-straight innings, its last run dating back to their April 20 contest at Arkansas which they won 5-1.
Kristen White broke the Crimson Tide’s scoreless drought in the series finale with an RBI single that brought home Kenleigh Cahalan, who had reached base on a two-out triple. It was White’s second RBI of the year, and she finished the game 2-for-3 from the plate for the Crimson Tide.
“I’m glad that I could get the job done in that moment” White said after Sunday’s game. “There was not a doubt in my mind that I could get it done for my team, so I am glad that I did.”
What’s next?
Alabama closes out regular season play next week in a three-game conference series at Auburn, with the series starting on Thursday and ending Saturday. The SEC softball tournament is slated for the week after next, going May 7-11 in Auburn.
Anna Snyder covers high school sports and University of Alabama softball and football recruiting for The Tuscaloosa News. Reach her at asnyder@gannett.com. Follow her on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, @annaesnyder2
PENSACOLA, Fla. — A bipartisan bill is making its way through Washington that would preserve and possibly restore a famous piece of naval aviation history.
The F-14 Tomcat was in service with the Navy for more than 30 years and was famously used in the original “Top Gun” movie.
But when the aircraft retired in 2005, the U.S. government destroyed a majority of the airplanes that were here in the U.S. This made the prospects of the jet returning to the skies next to impossible.
The “Maverick Act” hopes to bring a jet that inspired a generation back to life.
“The Maverick Act got a lot of support,” “It passed the Senate unanimously. It now heads to Congress for a final vote.”
Pensacola Navy veteran Dan McCort can still feel the raw power the F-14 Tomcat brought to naval aviation.
“It was a blast to fly. I gotta tell you I got it,” McCort said. “I love the airplane. I love the missions because it came with a huge mission set.”
The only country in the world flying the jet was Iran. The jets were given to Iran in 1979. But when the government was overthrown, the jets fell into the hands of an anti-American government.
Because of that, when the jet retired in 2006, the U.S. ordered most of the aircraft and its parts be destroyed.
During Operation Epic Fury, American and Israeli pilots destroyed Iran’s entire Air Force, including all the remaining flyable F-14s.
“We had to take them out, but boy that was hard for me to watch,” McCort said.
A bill dubbed the “Maverick Act” was introduced through a bipartisan effort. The legislation would preserve and restore three F-14s sitting in our nation’s boneyard.
“That airplane inspired an entire nation, partly because of the movie, partly because of the times it was hard Cold War, and it represented frankly American air power,” said McCort.
“A fantastic piece of equipment that served our country well,” Congressman Jimmy Patronis said. “But I can’t help but poke fun at it simply because of what Tom Cruise has done with the most recent ‘Top Gun’ movies.”
The bill calls for the Navy to donate the Tomcats to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where they will be restored. If there’s enough spare parts, the bill calls for one of them to be restored to flight status to be flown at airshows across the country.
All of this would be funded by private donors, and not American taxpayers.
“If there’s no taxpayer dollars being used to restore these things then put it on the table,” said Patronis.
McCort says restoring the airplane will cost millions of dollars.
“A foundation that could generate some donations to defer the costs of making this thing fly because it will not be inexpensive,” said McCort. “I believe we’ll pay dividends down the road, both for the museum as well as a recruiting opportunity… as well as a recruiting opportunity for the country in general, and for the Navy frankly.”
Alabama football’s first game of the 2026 season has a kickoff time.
Alabama vs. East Carolina will be at 11 a.m. CT Saturday, Sept. 5 from Bryant-Denny Stadium on ABC. The game will be a part of an SEC tripleheader on the network, along with Baylor vs. Auburn (2:30 p.m. CT) and LSU vs. Clemson (6:30 p.m. CT).
East Carolina is one of three nonconference games for Alabama in 2026, along with Florida State on Sept. 19 and Chattanooga on Nov. 21.
Here’s a look at Alabama’s full 2026 schedule:
- Sept. 5: Alabama vs East Carolina; 11 a.m., ABC
- Sept. 12: Alabama at Kentucky
- Sept. 19: Alabama vs. Florida State
- Sept. 26: Alabama vs. South Carolina
- Oct. 3: Alabama at Mississippi State
- Oct. 10: Alabama vs. Georgia
- Oct. 17: Alabama at Tennessee
- Oct. 24: Alabama vs. Texas A&M
- Nov. 7: Alabama at LSU
- Nov. 14: Alabama at Vanderbilt
- Nov. 21: Alabama vs. Chattanooga
- Nov. 28: Alabama vs. Auburn
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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