May 8, 2013
LEXINGTON, Ky. – No. 8 seed Alabama utilized a two-out, two-run walk-off triple off the bat of Danielle Richard to down No. 9 Texas A&M, 10-9, in the opening game of the 2013 Southeastern Conference Tournament being played in Lexington, Ky., for the first time in the history of the Kentucky softball program.
The Crimson Tide advances to take on No. 1 seed Florida at 11 a.m. ET on Thursday in the opening game of the second day of competition.
The Aggies opened the game by scoring a pair of runs in the top half of the first frame. Alabama responded with a four-spot in the bottom of the inning. The score remained 4-2 in favor of the designated home team until the Aggies plated a run in the top half of the fifth.
Alabama began the power play with a grand slam from Leona Lafaele in the bottom of the fifth to stretch the Tide lead to 8-3. Texas A&M responded with a grand slam of its own from Amber Garza to cut the Tide lead to 8-7.
The Aggies then posted two runs in the top of the seventh to claim its second lead of the game. Texas A&M got a two-run bomb from Cassie Tysarczyk to lift Texas A&M to one-run edge.
With two-outs and a pair of runners aboard, Richard connected on a 3-2 count and tripled along the left field line to score both runners for the walk-off victory.
Visit UKathletics.com/secsoftball for the most up-to-date information on the 2013 SEC Softball Tournament hosted at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington, Ky.
