Knoxville Super Regional: Alabama vs. Tennessee enters weather delay

After Alabama got on the board with a first-inning grand slam, Mother Nature said Tennessee had to wait to take the plate in Sunday’s if-necessary game. Lightning was detected in the eight-mile radius of Sherri Parker Lee Stadium, forcing at least a 30-minute delay.

Per NCAA rules, a lightning strike means teams have to wait at least 30 minutes before resuming. Tennessee later announced the earliest restart time would be 7 p.m. ET as weather continues to move into the area, and officials would reassess around 6:30 p.m. ET.

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Alabama got the scoring started with two outs in the first inning when Riley Valentine snuck a grand slam over the left field fence, giving the Crimson Tide a 4-0 lead. Tennessee still hasn’t had a chance to hit as a result of the weather delay.

Alabama, Tennessee coming off 14-inning thriller

Saturday’s game was one of the craziest in recent memory as Alabama and Tennessee went 14 innings before someone scored to break the tie. It was the longest NCAA Tournament game between two SEC opponents in history.

Kristen White came up with the clutch hit with the bases loaded and nobody out, giving Alabama the 3-2 victory and forcing a decisive Game 3 on Sunday with a trip to Oklahoma City on the line.

The game got off to an exciting start. Alabama scored in the bottom of the first, but Tennessee answered back with an RBI single from Laura Mealer to make it 1-1. That score held until the fourth inning when Sophia Nugent hit a solo home run to put the Lady Vols on top, but Bailey Dowling answered with a solo shot of her own in the bottom half to knot it back up at 2-2.

For 10 innings, that was the score, despite multiple opportunities for both teams.

All told, Tennessee left 18 runners on base, including the bases loaded in the top of the 10th. Alabama left 10 runners on base in the game, but managed to capitalize in the 14th to finally end things and keep the season going for at least one more game.

Jocelyn Briski started the game for Alabama and threw four innings before Kayla Beaver came in and held Tennessee scoreless over her 10 innings of work, throwing 165 pitches during that time. On the Lady Vols side, Payton Gottshall went 3.2 innings to start, and Karlyn Pickens finished the final 9.1 innings – only allowing the RBI single to White in the 14th inning as her lone blemish on the scorecard.