Alabama Softball Crushed by Texas A&M, 17-6

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.—  Alabama softball had one of its best offensive performances of the season in SEC play on Sunday and still lost by double-digit runs.

It was a dreadful day in the circle for four different Crimson Tide pitchers as No. 12 Texas A&M crushed No. 13 Alabama, 17-6 in Game 2 at Rhoads Stadium.

Game 2 pitching is starting to become a glaring issue for the Crimson Tide. Through the first five SEC series, the Alabama pitching staff is averaging 8.8 runs per game in the second game of the series.

Freshman Jocelyn Briski only lasted 1.1 innings as Alabama's starter in the circle. There weren't any super hard hit balls off of Briski, but the combination of free passes and defensive miscues led to five earned runs and an early six-run deficit.

"Briski usually gives us a good start, and it wasn't a good start," Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy said after the game. "That's the key. You've got to keep us in the game for as long as you can for us to score some runs."

Even after falling behind with such a big deficit, Alabama had made it a game in the bottom of the inning after a three-run home run from Kendal Clark cut the Aggie lead to 7-5. The Crimson Tide brought the winning runner to the plate a few batters later with two on for the team's RBI leader in Abby Duchscherer. The sophomore had the clutch hit in Saturday's win, but could not deliver in Game 2.

Jaala Torrence was Alabama's seond reliever and pithced the first 1-2-3 inning of the game in the top of the fifth. But after the offense got the team back in the game, Torrence proceed to immediately give those runs right back to the Aggies. Texas A&M tacked on 10 runs over the final two innings for the massive victory. Trinity Cannon was 3-3 with four RBIs for the Aggies.

Three errors in the field were also costly for the Crimson Tide in the loss. Bailey Dowling was a bright spot offensively. She crushed a solo home run to lead off the second inning and also had a double in the fourth. If she can add more power back top her game, it greatly increases the threat of the Alabama offense.

The Crimson Tide (30-9, 7-7 SEC) and Aggies (31-10, 11-6 SEC) will meet for the rubber match of the series Monday at 6 p.m. on SEC Network. Texas A&M ace Emiley Kennedy took the loss in Game 1 and also threw two innings on Sunday afternoon. So Monday's series finale will be Alabama's third look at the Aggie pitcher.

"Short term memory, that's a baseball/softball mindset," Murphy said. "You've got to forgive and forget, and be ready tomorrow."