Alabama’s first game of the NCAA Tournament started a little rocky for starting pitcher Krystal Goodman as she allowed Alabama State to load the bases with three straight singles with one out in the first inning. However, she only allowed a single run in that inning. After that, Goodman settled down and let her teammates’ bats take over. The Crimson Tide plated three runs in their half of the first and two in the second. In the fourth it was Kaylee Tow’s turn to shine again as she hit a three run bomb to left center to make it 8-1. The defense was sharp as well. Goodman (W, 11-0) threw 96 pitches over 5.2 innings with only one run allowed. Courtney Gettins took over in the sixth and was sailing along until giving up a run in the seventh inning with two outs. The top of the order did the job of getting on base and creating havoc. The number one and two hitters, Elissa Brown and KB Sides, both had two hits, a walk and 3 runs scored each. Brown stole a pair of bases. Sides had a steal and 1 RBI. Tow was aggressive at the plate and it paid off with a pair of hits and three RBI. On the other end of the spectrum, the bottom of the order struggled mightily. Claire Jenkins left 3 runners on base while Skylar Wallace stranded 4. NEXT Up next is Arizona State who defeated Lipscomb 4-3. All but one of this game’s RBI came via home runs. AzSt hit three round-trippers while the Fightin’ Lips had two. The Sun Devils have five players with double-digit home runs and three with 50 or more RBI on the season. Number three hitter Kindra Hackbarth is hitting .413 with 16 dingers and 54 RBI. Leadoff hitter Morgan Howe is right with her at .400/11/58. On the other side of that fence, all three Sun Devil pitchers have ERAs over 4.10. Bama will likely start Montana Fouts. It’s unknown how Arizona State will counter since they don’t really have an ace. Alabama State and Lipscomb will face off in the Loser’s Bracket with the loser going home. TUSCALOOSA REGIONAL (All times CT) FRIDAY: Game 1: Arizona St. 4, Lipscomb 3 - F Game 2: No. 8 seed Alabama 8, Alabama St. 2 - F SATURDAY: Game 3: Arizona St. vs. Alabama | 1pm Game 4: Alabama St. vs. Lipscomb | 3:30pm - loser eliminated. Game 5: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner | 6pm SUNDAY: Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner | 1pm Game 7 (if necessary): Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser | 3:30pm AUSTIN REGIONAL The overall 9 seed Longhorns and at-large TAMU both fell on Friday and head to the loser’s bracket. The winner of this Regional will play the winner of the Tuscaloosa Regional next weekend. Game 1: Houston 3, Texas A&M 1 - F Game 2: Sam Houston St. 2, Texas 1 - F Sat. Game 3: Sam Houston St. vs. Houston | 1pm CT Sat. Game 4: Texas vs. Texas A&M | 3:30pm - loser eliminated. SEC USF 3, SC 2 Tenn 8, Longwood 0 Fla 3, Boston U 0 UK 7, Toledo 2 LSU 2, Monmouth 0 BYU 6, Ark 3 – Ark eliminated UGA 6, Drake 4 - walk-off in the 8th OM 12, Chatta 0 MSU 5, Seattle 3 Mizz 7, Fullerton 4 Aub 10, ColoSt 5<doc-sep>We pick up this game in the second inning after an eventful start to Alabama-Arizona State in the NCAA regional. The Sun Devils scored two each in the first and second with the Tide getting two back in the first. A reminder, Alabama has won 38 straight games in regional competition. Live score: Alabama 7, Arizona State 4 Seventh inning Top: Fouts got a strikeout to end it. Alabama wins, 7-4. Tide plays in championship at 1 p.m. CT Sunday. Sixth inning Top: Montana Fouts is really cruising now with two more strikeouts to open the inning and a pop fly ended it. ASU hasn’t had a hit since the third inning. Bottom: Elissa Brown had a one-out single to the left side. A diving catch in right field drew a cheer from the Alabama crown in appreciation of a nice play. ASU now down to the final three outs. Fifth inning Top: Montana Fouts really settled in after allowing some early runs. She struck out two more in the fifth to take the three run-lead into the bottom half. Bottom: Nothing for Alabama as the bats have cooled since the early outburst. Still a 7-4 lead for the hosts. Fourth inning Top: Kennedy led off with a double to keep the Sun Devils in business. A strikeout strands a runner at third in the second straight scoreless inning for ASU. Bottom: Bailey Hemphill walked but was stranded at first in the first scoreless inning of the day for Alabama. Third inning Top: Montana Fouts allowed a single but got two straight strikeouts and a ground out to escape without damage. She’s thrown 78 pitches in three innings -- 48 of which were strikes. Bottom: Kaylee Tow led off with a double and ASU intentionally walked Bailey Hemphill with no outs. Skylar Wallace’s single brings in Tow, tied 4-4. With the bases loaded, Caroline Hardy was the pinch hitter and the move paid off. Her double off the wall cleared the bases, 7-4 Alabama. Pop foul ends the inning but the Tide score four in the third to take its first lead. Second inning Bottom: After falling behind 4-2, Reagan Dykes hit a solo homer to left. In the top of the inning, she blocked the plate well enough to get the tag down on a bang-bang play to end the threat. 4-3 Arizona State.<doc-sep>Four months after being picked to finish just No. 8 in the SEC, Alabama has again been classified as a No. 8 seed. This time though, it’s for the NCAA tournament. The 52-7 Crimson Tide is the No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament and will host a regional in Tuscaloosa beginning Friday, it was announced Sunday evening. The other teams at the Tuscaloosa Regional will be Arizona State (33-18), Lipscomb (41-13-1) and Alabama State (24-23). The winner of the Tuscaloosa Regional will face the winner of the Austin Regional being hosted by No. 9 Texas. Alabama, the SEC regular season champions, came close to being seeded much higher. Florida, the team that beat the Tide 2-1 in the SEC tournament title game Saturday night, is a No. 5 seed. Still, it’s yet another NCAA tournament appearance and yet another top-16 seed for Patrick Murphy and Alabama. The Tide has made the tournament every year since 1999 and has been a top-16 seed each of the last 15 years. Matt Zenitz is an Alabama and Auburn reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mzenitz.<doc-sep>
Welcome back to Rhoads Stadium for another NCAA softball regional. No. 8 seeded Alabama (52-7) faces Alabama State at 5:30 p.m. CT for the right to play Arizona State on Saturday. The Sun Devils won the first game Friday, 4-3 over Lipscomb. Refresh the page for the latest from the Crimson Tide and Hornets. Final score: Alabama 8, Alabama State 2 Seventh inning Top: A bases-loaded single by Marina Clark makes it 8-2 Tide. Snyder struck out to end it. Alabama plays Arizona State at 1 p.m. CT Saturday while Alabama State meets Lipscomb after that. Sixth inning Top: Hornets go down in order as Courtney Gettins comes in to pitch the final out of the inning. Bottom: Kaylee Tow leads off with a single to center and two walks load the bases with one out. Two pop outs leave the bases loaded and the run rule slips away again. Fifth inning Top: The top half ended with a play at the plate where ASU’s Casey Durham was thrown out trying to score on a ground out. It’s still 8-1 Tide. Bottom: We move on to the sixth since the run-rule run was stranded on second after a pop fly from KB Sides. Fourth inning Top: Castro led off with a single for ASU’s fifth hit but the Hornets strand a runner at third. Still 5-1, Tide. Bottom: Kaylee Tow cleared the left-center wall by a foot or two for a line drive, 3-run homer to make it 8-1 Tide. Two fly balls end the inning one run short of the run-rule status that would apply after the fifth. Third inning Top: Alabama State went down in order with nothing getting past the pitcher in the third. Bottom: Claire Jenkins was hit by a pitch but that was it for Alabama after Skylar Wallace grounded into a fielder’s choice. Second inning Top: Alabama survived a two-out single to escape further damage. The visitors have four hits in two innings. Bottom: KB Sides’ double to left center scores Elissa Brown (who walked and stole second) to make it 4-1 Tide. Sides then scored from second on a swinging bunt from Hemphill and nobody covered home. It’s 5-1 Tide. First inning Top: Three one-out singles for Kaylee Davis, Alexis Sydnor and Kristin Gunter has the bases loaded for Alabama State. And a sac fly to right by Charlene Castro made it 1-0 Alabama State. Montana Fouts is warming up in the pen. A ground out ends the top half. Bottom: Merris Schroder’s bases-loaded bloop single scores Elissa Brown to tie it Alabama 1, Alabama State 1. Raegan Dykes then singled to make it 2-1 Tide. Maddie Morgan’s ground out to second scored Bailey Hemphill and it’s 3-1 Tide. That’s it for the first. First pitch is set for just after 5:30 p.m. Krystal Goodman (10-0, 1.10 ERA) gets the start for the Tide.