The
Alabama Crimson Tide used two runs each in the first and fourth innings and a
six-run third to take the SEC Tournament Championship at home in Tuscaloosa,
downing the Gators 10-1 in five innings Saturday. The Florida trio of sophomore
Cheyenne Coyle (West Hills, Calif.) and freshmen Sami Fagan (Dunnellon,
Fla.) and Lauren Haeger (Peoria, Ariz.) was named to the 2012 SEC
All-Tournament Team.
A
record crowd of 10,044 watched this weekend’s SEC Tournament at Rhoads Stadium
on the Alabama campus, including 2,672 fans Saturday, as the Gators took part
in all three sessions to advance to their fifth ever tournament championship
game, the first since 2009, after defeating both LSU and Tennessee Thursday and
Friday, respectively.
Florida
(46-11) now awaits seeding for the 2012 NCAA Tournament, as ESPNU will air the
tournament Selection Show live at 10 p.m. (ET) Sunday. The Gators will be
looking to host a NCAA Regional for the 10th consecutive season and 13th
overall after picking up the No. 4 national seed in 2011.
Alabama
hurler Amanda Locke (4-1) earned just her fourth win of the season, limiting
the Gators to just three hits and one run, while walking three and fanning four
through the five-inning victory. Florida’s Haeger worked the first 3.0 for the
Orange and Blue, allowing Bama’s first eight runs on six hits with four walks
and a strikeout, before sophomore Hannah Rogers (Lake Wales, Fla.) came
on in relief in the bottom of the fourth. The Crimson Tide mustered up two runs
and two more hits off Rogers, who had one strikeout and two walks in the frame.
Haeger moved to 14-5 on the year with the decision.
After
Alabama jumped on the board first with a two-run triple in the initial stanza from
UA shortstop Kaila Hunt, the Gators cut the lead in half in the top of the
second thanks to a Kasey Fagan (Dunnellon, Fla.) single through the left
side that plated Jess Damico (Gray Summit, Mo.), running for Haeger, for
a 2-1 ballgame.
In
front of a rowdy hometown crowd, Alabama then strung together a six-run third
stanza, thanks in part to a Jaz Lunceford three-run shot, followed by a
Courtney Conley walk and then a Kendall Dawson two-run blast for five runs
after Hunt roped a RBI single earlier in the frame.
Hunt
and Cassie Reilly-Boccia both connected for RBI base hits in the fourth for
Bama’s final two scores of the afternoon. Hunt finished the day 3-for-3, with
two runs and four RBI for the Crimson Tide, which out-hit Florida 8-3. Coyle
and S. Fagan additionally picked up base hits for the Gators, as S. Fagan
extended her team-best hit streak to 10 games.
Florida
has won five of its last nine games against Alabama after taking two of three
in Gainesville last season, then two on elimination Sunday at the 2011 Women’s
College World Series to advance to its second-ever championship series. Alabama
then took two of three in the regular-season finale May 4-6 in addition to
Sunday’s tourney championship victory, the first run-rule victory in a SEC
tourney championship game.
