TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The No. 15 Alabama softball team took the lead first in Monday’s series rubber game against No. 4 Florida, but the Gators responded with three unanswered runs to claim a 3-2 victory at Rhoads Stadium.
The victory allowed Florida (34-6, 9-3 Southeastern Conference) to take two of three games in the series.
Alabama (25-11, 6-6) pulled ahead in the bottom of the third inning on a two-run home run from freshman Kaylee Tow, but Florida (34-6, 9-3 SEC) answered in the next half inning with a two-run double.
Danielle Romanello’s home run in the sixth off Alexis Osorio (9-5) provided the winning margin.
Kelly Barnhill (17-1) threw a complete-game four-hitter. She walked five and struck out four.
The Crimson Tide outhit the Gators, 4-2. Sophomore Bailey Hemphill drew two walks to extend her reached-base streak to 18 games.
Osorio threw a season-high 179 pitches in the complete-game effort. She walked 11 and struck out nine.
Alabama will play Arkansas (29-8, 6-6) at 6 p.m. Friday in Game 1 of a three-game weekend series in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The teams will play at 11 a.m. Saturday (ESPNU) and at 1 p.m. Sunday.
No. 22 Mississippi State will play host to Alcorn State
STARKVILLE — The No. 22 Mississippi State softball team will try to rebound from a series loss to No. 10 Texas A&M at 6 tonight (SEC Network+) when it plays host to Alcorn State at Nusz Park. MSU (29-11) will wear its teal uniforms in a “No One Fights Alone” game to bring awareness to ovarian cancer. Freshman Alex Wilcox is battling the disease.
n In related news, MSU holds steady at No. 19 in the latest Ratings Percentage Index (RPI).
Last week, MSU went 1-2, dropping two of three games in a three-game Southeastern Conference series to RPI No. 12 Texas A&M.
MSU will play this weekend at Ole Miss in a critical three-game conference series. Ole Miss (19-16, 4-11 SEC) is No. 34 in the RPI. The Rebels moved up one spot after a 2-2 week. They won at Southern Mississippi in a mid-week game and then won one of three games against No. 14 LSU.
MSU is the ninth-highest SEC team in the RPI rankings. Washington heads a group of four Pacific-12 Conference teams in the top four spots.
Alabama moved five spots to No. 18.
Ole Miss will play host to Central Arkansas, Belmont
OXFORD — The Ole Miss softball team will play host to Central Arkansas at 6 tonight (SEC Network+) and Belmont at 6 p.m. Wednesday (SEC Network+) at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.
Ole Miss is 8-2 all-time against Central Arkansas, including a 7-0 mark in Oxford.
Ole Miss is 12-0 all-time against Belmont.
Ole Miss lost to LSU in Game 1 of the series in 19 innings. It matched the longest game in SEC history (Alabama vs. Auburn in 1999).
Southern Mississippi will play host to Southern
HATTIESBURG — The Southern Mississippi softball team will play host to Southern at 6 tonight in its final home non-conference game of the season.
Southern Miss (15-29) is coming off a Conference USA series loss to Alabama-Birmingham last weekend.
Southern (11-15) lost to Prairie View A&M 3-2 and 8-7 on Friday.
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