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No. 7 Alabama needs 4th-quarter rally, defensive stand to hold off South Carolina and avoid disaster

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No. 7 Alabama needs 4th-quarter rally, defensive stand to hold off South Carolina and avoid disaster


Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe mostly struggled, but did just enough in Alabama’s win over South Carolina Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — There are SEC teams who pride themselves on their calm, relentless march to victory, and there are teams who live in chaos, every game an adventure where wins aren’t assured but madness is. Alabama used to be one of the former teams. Now, in the Kalen DeBoer-Jalen Milroe era, it’s very much the latter.

You’d never get a soul within a hundred miles of Tuscaloosa to admit it, but last week’s loss to Vanderbilt rattled the Tide to their core. You could see it in the secondary ticket market, which collapsed in the hours following last week. You could see it in the empty seats all over the upper reaches of Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday. And you could see it in the final 97 seconds of the first half, where the Tide defense completely fell apart and allowed 12 points — on three separate possessions — to the visiting South Carolina Gamecocks.

Yes, Alabama won, in a deeply unconvincing 27-25 victory after intercepting South Carolina on a potential winning drive in the final seconds.

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The Gamecocks were stopped on a potential game-tying two-point try in the final minute, and they got one more shot when they recovered the ensuing onside kick. But Domani Jackson picked off SC quarterback LaNorris Sellers in the closing seconds to save the day for the Tide.

But wow, are there problems in T-Town.

It makes sense, the Tide’s shaken self-image. When you establish your identity on a generational expectation of excellence, you’re not exactly built to handle the sledgehammer-to-the-heart of a loss to Vanderbilt. If the sun rose blue in the west, that’d be pretty upsetting too.

Given a chance to redeem itself for that Vanderbilt faceplant with a home game against South Carolina, Alabama once again inexplicably, maddeningly fell far short of expectations. Instead, the Tide did a whole lot to confirm the idea that the crew that hung 28 straight on Georgia was the aberration, and the team that flailed against the Commodores is a whole lot closer to the true 2024 Tide.

Alabama took the opening kickoff and proceeded to march 75 yards into the end zone in four minutes even, and for a moment, the Crimson Tide’s fortunes seemed to have turned back in the expected direction. When the Tide took a 14-0 lead with 4:38 left in the first half, well, it wasn’t pretty, but hey, at least it was a two-possession lead, something the Tide never managed against Vanderbilt.

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But then came the final 1:37 of the half, 97 seconds which defined this year’s Tide program and probably detonated the Heisman hopes of Alabama QB Jalen Milroe. First, the Alabama defense suffered yet another stunning defensive lapse, allowing Gamecock receiver Mazeo Bennett Jr. to get wide open in the end zone on a fourth-and-9. That cut the lead to 14-7.

On the ensuing possession, Milroe, under pressure, intentionally grounded the ball, resulting in a safety. Alabama forced South Carolina to punt, but Milroe then threw the first of his two interceptions. The clock appeared to run out, but officials put a second back on the timer … and that’s never good news for Alabama. South Carolina kicked a field goal to run out the half and draw within 14-12.

The Gamecocks kept the beat going in the third, grinding out a monstrous 16-play, 85-yard, 8 ½-minute drive that ended in a go-ahead touchdown. The stunned aura of what the hell is happening hung thick over Bryant-Denny Stadium, and when Milroe threw an interception in the end zone on the Tide’s next possession, disbelief veered toward fatalism.

But this is the Alabama of 2024, where nothing goes as expected. The very next play, South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers fumbled away the ball, and Alabama flipped it into a touchdown to retake the lead in just 1:23.

From there, Milroe and crew righted the ship and held on for the win. Milroe provided some redemption by running for a 7-yard TD and throwing the clinching 34-yard score to Germie Bernard on third-and-10 with under two minutes in the game.

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Alabama fans, for the moment, could exhale.



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Alabama softball vs Texas today: recap, score and highlights

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Alabama softball vs Texas today: recap, score and highlights


The SEC Tournament championship trophy is headed to Austin.

The Texas Longhorns erased an early 1-0 deficit and never looked back in a 7-1 victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC’s title game Saturday at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky.

Alabama, ranked third in D1Softball’s top 25 rankings, fell to 49-7. Texas, ranked No. 6, improved to 42-10. The Crimson Tide will learn their NCAA tournament seeding and four-team regional draw in Sunday’s selection show, which begins at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.

Texas starter Teagan Kavan (22-4) was dominant in a complete-game masterpiece against the Tide, holding Alabama to one run on three hits. Her only blemish was a towering home run by Alexis Pupillo with two out in the first inning.

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Texas scored three runs in the fourth inning to open up a 5-1 lead. Katie Stewart lined an RBI single in the fourth and would launch her 25th homer of the season two innings later in the sixth to cap the scoring. Stewart was 3-for-5 at the plate as Texas outhit Alabama, 13-3.

Jocelyn Briski (21-3) suffered just her third loss of the season and was tagged for two runs on six hits in three innings. Vic Moten surrendered five runs (three earned) on five hits in 2 1/3 innings. Kaitlyn Pallozzi recorded the final five outs for Alabama.

Texas, the defending national champion, won its first conference tournament trophy since 2005. Alabama was seeking its seventh SEC Tournament title in program history, and its first since 2021.

The Crimson Tide will have to settle for a top-eight national seed in the NCAA Tournament and hopefully a run to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.

Following are live updates from Alabama-Texas in the 2026 SEC Tournament championship game on Saturday from Lexington.

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Kavan finished off a complete-game masterpiece with 108 pitches. She allowed just three hits against an Alabama lineup that had totaled 21 hits in its first two games at the SEC Tournament.

Kavan finished with 12 strikeouts in seven innings. Texas wins it, 7-1, and is your 2026 SEC Tournament champion.

Pallozzi yielded back-to-back singles with two out but escaped without giving up any damage. All the same, Alabama is down to its last three outs against Texas.

Audrey Vandagriff, Ambrey Taylor and Salen Hawkins are due up for the Tide as Kavan looks to finish off a complete game victory.

Kavan picked up her 10th strikeout when she retired Alexis Pupillo to open the bottom of the sixth. Ana Roman flied to left, and Alisa Sneed made a running catch in left on a hard-hit fly ball from Marlie Giles for a 1-2-3 inning.

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Texas leads, 7-1, and is three outs away from an SEC Tournament championship.

Reese Atwood drove in the Longhorns’ seventh run of the afternoon with an RBI sac fly to deep left. Hannah Wells flied out to center for the third out.

Texas now leads it, 7-1. Alabama wil look to get something going off Teagan Kavan in the sixth with Alexis Puplilo, Ana Roman and Marlie Giles due up for the Tide.

That home run felt inevitable. Stewart crushed her 25th homer of the season over the scoreboard in left to extend Texas’ lead to 6-1 in the sixth inning.

Texas is still threatening with runners at the corners and one after. Moten just departed after taking a hard-hit line drive to the stomach. Moten was in some obvious pain as Patrick Murphy and the trainers came out to check on her. Hopefully Moten will be OK and just got the wind knocked out of her a bit.

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She leaves after 2 1/3 innings. Kaitlyn Pallozzi (8-0, 1.62 ERA) takes over in the circle for Alabama.

Nothing doing for Alabama in the fifth.

Kristen White used her speed to leg out an infield single to shortstop with one down. Teagan Kavan fell behind 3-1 on Jena Young before getting Alabama’s leadoff hitter to swing at a rise ball for the second out. Brooke Wells grounded into a force at second to end the inning.

Texas holds a 5-1 lead over Alabama after five innings. Kavan has thrown 86 pitches and surrendered three hits.

Alabama pitching gets its first 1-2-3 inning of the afternoon as Vic Moten needed 10 pitches to retire Alisa Sneed, Jaycie Nichols and Ashton Maloney in order.

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Can Alabama build on some momentum from the fourth and cut into this Texas lead? Longhorns are up 5-1 heading to the bottom of the fifth. Salen Hawkins, Kristen White and Jena Young are due up for Alabama against Texas’ Teagan Kavan.

So much for cutting into the Longhorns’ lead there. After loading the bases with one out, Teagan Kavan struck out Audrey Vandagriff for a big second out. Ambrey Taylor went down swinging to leave the bases loaded.

Alabama drove Kavan’s pitch count up a bit that inning. The Texas starter is at 72 pitches after four innings, but the Horns still lead the Tide, 5-1, headed to the fifth.

Alabama is starting to make more consistent contact. The Tide caught a break when Brooke Wells reached on a fielding error at first to open the fourth inning. Alexis Pupillo then grounded back to the mound to move pinch runner Kinley Pate to second.

Another ball that took a strange bounce, this time off Jaycie Nichols at third, allowed Ana Roman to reach on a single as Pate moved to third with one down. Marlie Giles drew a walk to load the bases.

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Audrey Vandagriff is up with the bases loaded and one down in the fourth against Teagan Kavan.

Walks, hit batters, wild pitches, errors, dropped third strikes. They all plagued Alabama in that fourth inning.

Ashton Maloney used a high hop at second base for a single with one out. With two down, a wild pitch from Moten allowed Maloney to reach second. That proved costly as Moten took Katie Stewart to a full count before the Texas slugger lined a single into left for a 3-1 Longhorns lead. Stewart took second on the throw in.

Martinez drew a four-pitch walk, and Moten hit Leighann Goode with a pitch to load the bases for her third free pass of the inning.

Alabama looked to be out of the inning without further damage, but Audrey Vandagriff appeared to lose a fly ball in the sun. Two runs cross the plate to make it 5-1.

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Texas scores three runs on only two hits in the fourth as eight batters came to the plate. Moten threw 39 pitches in the fourth inning. She struck out Hannah Wells for the third out.

Still some chances for Alabama to get back into the game with the heart of the order due up, but with Teagan Kavan dealing, the SEC Tournament championship trophy looks headed to Austin midway through this one.

After three shaky innings from Briski in the circle, Vic Moten takes over for Alabama in the fourth. Briski allowed two runs and six hits. Moten is scheduled to face the 9-1-2 spots in the order for Texas: Jaycie Nichols (1-for-2), Ashton Maloney (0-0) and Kayden Henry (0-2).

Kavan is dealing. She froze Salen Hawkins for a strikeout to open the bottom of the third before doing the same to Kristen White on a drop ball at the knees. Jena Young flied out to center for the third out.

Kavan, the Most Outstanding Player in last year’s Women’s College World Series, has struck out six of the first 10 batters she’s faced and has thrown back-to-back 1-2-3 innings. She’s given up one hit, the home run to Alexis Pupillo.

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Texas leads Alabama, 2-1, headed to the fourth inning.

Texas strands two in the third after picking up two more hits.

Leighann Goode singled to right with one down, and Reese Atwood fought back from a 1-2 pitch for a single up the middle. After a lengthy at bat, Hannah Wells popped up in foul territory to Ambrey Taylor. Briski then struck out Alisa Sneed for the third out.

That was a 23-pitch inning for Briski, who doesn’t look comfortable at all in the circle today. She’s already thrown 70 pitches through three innings. Texas has had traffic on the bases in every inning. Salen Hawkins, Kristen White and Jena Young are due up for Alabama in the third.

Marlie Giles struck out swinging on four pitches to open the inning. Audrey Vandagriff, who was 4-for-7 in the tournament entering the day, just missed a double down the left field line before striking out on a rise ball up over the shoulders. Ambrey Taylor grounded to short as Teagan Kavan finished off a 1-2-3 inning.

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Vivi Martinez, Leighann Goode and Reese Atwood are due up for Texas in the third. Longhorns lead Alabama, 2-1.

Texas loaded the bases after freshman Jaycie Nichols reached on an infield single to second base with one out. Longhorns coach Mike White used pinch hitter Victoria Hunter to try to capitalize. She reached on a second straight infield single to Jena Young at second as pinch runner Taylor Anderson scored the tying run.

Ambrey Taylor made a terrific stretch at third to field a force out, but Alisa Sneed scored the go-ahead run on a fielder’s choice for a 2-1 Texas lead. Katie Stewart popped up to second base for a big third out.

Texas scores two runs on three hits. That was a 32-pitch inning for Briski in the second. Marlie Giles, Audrey Vandagriff and Taylor are due up for Alabama in the second.

With two down, Alexis Pupillo got a pitch up in the zone and crushed it far out to right for a 1-0 Alabama lead. That’s Pupillo’s 17th home run of the season and her second in three days at the SEC Tournament.

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Teagan Kavan threw 19 pitches in the first inning for Texas. Reese Atwood, Hannah Wells and Alisa Sneed are due up in the second inning for the Longhorns.

Take a look at Pupillo’s no-doubt blast.

Katie Stewart won the first battle between SEC Player of the Year and SEC Pitcher of the Year. Stewart hit a sharp single to right off Jocelyn Briski with one out in the first. Stewart advanced to second on a groundout by Vivi Martinez, but Leighann Goode popped up in foul territory to Salen Hawkins for the third out.

Briski retired Kayden Henry on a first-pitch pop up to open the inning, which allowed her to throw 15 pitches in the first. Jena Young, Brooke Wells and Alexis Pupillo are due up for Alabama against Texas starter Teagan Kavan.

Will the Tide keep the bats hot for the third straight day in Lexington?

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Kayden Henry, Katie Stewart and Vivi Martinez are due up for Texas against Alabama ace Jocelyn Briski in the first inning. Stewart was named SEC Player of the Year on Friday, while Briski took home SEC Pitcher of the Year honors. Patrick Murphy earned SEC Coach of the Year honors.

The Crimson Tide take the field in their home white jerseys and pants with Crimson pinstripes. Texas is wearing its Burnt Orange jerseys over matching pants.

Chris Nabors is back behind the dish to call the balls and strikes today at John Cropp Stadium. Steve Gould is the third base umpire with Marty Abezetian down at second base. Cam Ellison will be making the decisions at first base.

First pitch for Alabama-Texas is less than 10 minutes away.

For Alabama:

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For Texas:

In the circle for the Longhorns today is Teagan Kavan (20-4, 2.72 ERA). Last year’s WCWS Most Outstanding Player, Kavan is making her 27th start of the season, and her third against Alabama.

Kavan held the Crimson Tide to one run on five hits in the opener of the regular-season series back on April 2 in Tuscaloosa. Two days later, she suffered the loss after Alabama tagged her for seven runs on seven hits in 3 1/3 innings.

In the Longhorns’ win over Georgia on Friday, Kavan allowed four runs in 4 2/3 innings. All four Georgia runs came in the fifth inning.

Here’s the 1-9 lineup for coach Mike White’s team.

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CF 21 Kayden Henry L .410
1B 20 Katie Stewart R .429
SS 23 Viviana Martinez L .381
2B 43 Leighann Goode R .375
C 14 Reese Atwood R .351
DP 13 Hannah Wells R .302
LF 9 Alisa Sneed R .268
3B 24 Jaycie Nichols R .330
RF 7 Ashton Maloney L .289

Alabama’s ace has been nothing short of magnificent in the circle this year. Her 1.38 ERA ranks second best nationally. Briski’s only real blemish in SEC play came against Texas back on April 2 in the opener of a three-game series in Tuscaloosa. She allowed five runs on six hits in three innings, marking only her second loss of 2026.

Across all three games of the series, Briski surrendered seven runs on 14 hits over 7 2/3 innings.

Murph is going with the same lineup and batting order for the third straight day at the SEC Tournament. That’s hardly a surprise. Alabama produced a combined 16 runs on 21 hits in its two games against Arkansas and Florida.

Jocelyn Briski (21-2, 1.38) is in the circle for the Crimson Tide and is seeking her 22nd win. She went the distance in Thursday’s 8-1 victory over Arkansas, surrendering one unearned run on three hits. Briski struck out seven and walked two.

2B 4 Jena Young L .331
1B 15 Brooke Wells R .412
DP 31 Alexis Pupillo L .404
RF 21 Ana Roman L .326
C 34 Marlie Giles R .388
LF 12 Audrey Vandagriff L .314
3B 36 Ambrey Taylor R .340
SS 47 Salen Hawkins R .292
CF 3 Kristen White L .328

Surely there won’t be any “co-champions” in the SEC Softball Tournament this year. Today’s forecast for Lexington, according to the National Weather Service in Louisville:

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“Sunny, with a high near 75. West wind around 7 mph.”

It’s currently sunny and 71 degrees in Lexington with first pitch roughly 90 minutes away. No chance of rain in the forecast either Saturday afternoon or evening, per the National Weather Service.

Where to watch Alabama vs Texas softball today: TV channel, streaming for SEC Tournament championship game

  • TV Channel: ESPN
  • Livestream: Fubo, ESPN+

Alabama-Texas will broadcast nationally on ESPN in Week 14 of the 2026 NCAA softball season. Beth Mowins, Michele Smith and Jessica Mendoza will call the action from the broadcast booth at John Cropp Stadium. Streaming options for the game include ESPN+ and FUBO, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.

Alabama vs Texas softball start time today

  • Date: Saturday, May 9
  • Start time: 4 p.m. CT

Stream Alabama vs. Texas

The Alabama-Texas game starts at 4 p.m. CT Saturday from John Cropp Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky.

SEC Softball Tournament 2026: full bracket, final scores

First-round games, Tuesday, May 5

  • Game 1: Auburn 6, Missouri 2
  • Game 2: Mississippi State 4, Kentucky 3
  • Game 3: Ole Miss 2, South Carolina 0

Second-round games, Wednesday, May 6

  • Game 4: Auburn 11, Texas A&M 8
  • Game 5: Arkansas 3, Mississippi State 0
  • Game 6: Ole Miss 4, Tennessee 1
  • Game 7: Georgia 7, LSU 3

Quarterfinals, Thursday, May 7

  • Game 8: Florida 10, Auburn 9
  • Game 9: Alabama 7, Arkansas 1
  • Game 10: Texas 6, Ole Miss 0
  • Game 11: Georgia 10, Oklahoma 5

Semifinals, Friday, May 8

  • Game 12: Alabama 9, Florida 1
  • Game 13: Texas 5, Georgia 4

SEC Championship Game, Saturday, May 9

  • Game 14: Alabama vs. Texas, 4 p.m., ESPN

Follow us at @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook, for ongoing coverage of Alabama Crimson Tide news, notes and opinions.





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How to watch, stream Alabama softball vs Texas for SEC championship

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How to watch, stream Alabama softball vs Texas for SEC championship


For the first time in five years, Alabama is heading to the SEC Softball Tournament championship.

The No. 2-seeded Crimson Tide (49-6) is coming off a 9-1 run-rule win over No. 3 seed Florida (48-10) on Friday, May 8. Alabama first opened tournament play with a 7-1 win over No. 7 Arkansas (42-11) on Thursday.

The Crimson Tide will face No. 4 Texas, which is coming off a walkout 5-4 win over No. 9 Georgia.

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Alabama had not reached the SEC Tournament championship game since 2021, when it won its last conference championship.

Here’s what to know about how to follow the Crimson Tide against Texas in the SEC Tournament title game.

When does Alabama softball play vs Texas in SEC Tournament?

  • Location: John Cropp Stadium in Lexington, Ky.
  • Game time — 4 p.m. CT Saturday, May 9

First pitch in the Alabama softball vs. Texas matchup is set for 4 p.m. CT Saturday, May 9 for the championship title.

What channel is Alabama softball vs Texas in SEC Tournament?

The 2026 SEC Softball Tournament conference championship game will air on ESPN.

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How to listen to Alabama softball vs Texas in SEC Tournament

You can tune into each Alabama softball game on Catfish 100.1 FM.

2026 SEC Softball Tournament bracket

Click here to see the full 2026 SEC Softball Tournament bracket.

2026 SEC softball standings, conference records

All conference records are as of entering the SEC Softball Tournament.

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  1. Oklahoma (20-4)
  2. Alabama (19-5)
  3. Florida (17-7)
  4. Texas (16-8)
  5. Tennessee (16-8)
  6. Texas A&M (16-8)
  7. Arkansas (15-9)
  8. LSU (12-11)
  9. Georgia (12-12)
  10. Mississippi State (9-15)
  11. Missouri (9-15)
  12. South Carolina (7-17)
  13. Ole Miss (6-18)
  14. Auburn (4-19)
  15. Kentucky (1-23)

Amelia Hurley covers high school and college sports for The Tuscaloosa News and USA TODAY Network. You can find her on X at ameliahurley_ or reach her at ahurley@usatodayco.com.



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Alabama softball sends Florida home from SEC Tournament: What we learned

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Alabama softball sends Florida home from SEC Tournament: What we learned


Alabama softball dominated all the way in its win to advance to its first SEC Tournament championship in five years.

The No. 2-seeded Crimson Tide (49-6) didn’t trail once in its 9-1 run-rule win over No. 3 seed Florida (48-10) on Friday, May 8. Alabama first opened tournament play with a 7-1 win over No. 7 Arkansas (42-11, 15-10) on Thursday.

Here are our three biggest takeaways from the Crimson Tide’s win over the Gators.

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Alabama softball offense is starting to click at the right time

Alabama did not have to wait until the middle innings to find its offense this time.

Freshman Ambrey Taylor opened the scoring with a leadoff solo home run in the bottom of the second inning. It was Taylor’s 11th home run of the season and her second in as many days after also going deep against Arkansas in the quarterfinals.

Alabama continued to build from there. With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the second, Ana Roman singled to right field to bring in another run. Marlie Giles followed with a two-run single, pushing Alabama ahead 4-0 before the inning ended.

Jena Young doubled to drive in two more runs, with one coming across on a fielding error, at the bottom of the third. Alexis Pupillo followed with an RBI single to stretch Alabama’s lead to 6-1 by the end of the inning.

Pupillo shot an RBI-double off the wall and Audrey Vandagriff doubled to score another, extending Alabama’s lead to 8-1, threatening run-rule territory with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, securing the run rule with an RBI single by Taylor.

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After needing a later-than-preferred power surge to pull away from Arkansas, Alabama’s lineup looked more comfortable early against Florida. The Crimson Tide finished with nine runs on 13 hits.

Vic Moten handles early pressure in first SEC Tournament appearance

Vic Moten’s first SEC Tournament appearance did not start easily, but the freshman pitcher kept Florida from taking advantage of the new kid on the block.

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Moten walked two batters in the first inning but answered by striking out three straight Gators to keep the game scoreless heading into the bottom half.

Her pitch count climbed quickly. Moten threw more than 30 pitches in each of the first two innings and more than 20 in the third, reaching 87 pitches after just three. But after battling through traffic early, she settled in with a seven-pitch 1-2-3 fourth inning.

Alabama’s lead gave Moten margin for error, but Florida’s offense still had enough firepower to threaten a comeback. Moten ended the complete-game effort striking out four and one run on three hits with seven walks. Not bad for the freshman’s first postseason appearance.

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Alabama moves one win away from SEC Tournament history

Alabama’s win over Florida moved the Crimson Tide one step closer to separating itself in SEC Softball Tournament history.

Both No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Florida entered Friday tied with six SEC Softball Tournament championships apiece. With the semifinal win, Alabama will now have a chance to become the first program in conference history to win a seventh SEC Tournament title.

The Crimson Tide had won only two of its last seven meetings against the Gators entering Friday, including a loss to Florida in the 2024 Women’s College World Series. This was the first postseason meeting between the two programs since then.

Alabama had not reached the SEC Tournament championship game since 2021, when it won the tournament title.

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When does Alabama softball play again?

After beating No. 7 Arkansas and No. 3 Florida on back-to-back days, the Crimson Tide will face the winner of No. 4 Texas vs. No. 9 Georgia in the SEC Softball Tournament championship game at 4 p.m. CT on Saturday, May 9.

Amelia Hurley covers high school and college sports for The Tuscaloosa News and USA TODAY Network. You can find her on X at ameliahurley_ or reach her at ahurley@usatodayco.com.



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