The Alabama offense went cold against Florida on Saturday afternoon at Rhoades Stadium, in its 6-1 loss to No. 4 Florida.
Florida (33-5, 8-2 SEC) opened the first inning loading the bases against Alabama (24-10, 5-5 SEC) starter Alexis Osorio. The Gators scored two runs in the inning and never looked back.
Osorio, for the second straight outing, was not sharp in her command. After walking 10 against Kentucky last Sunday, Osorio walked nine Gators on Saturday. She struck out five and allowed six earned runs on nine hits.
“Too many balls,” Alabama coach Patrick Murphy said. “Too many pitches thrown. She’s got to control the strike zone a little better.”
Florida starter Kelly Barnhill limited the Crimson Tide offense to just three hits on the day, with the first one not coming until the bottom of the fourth inning.
“Just tip your cap to her, she did what she needed to do,” senior Peyton Grantham said. “Hopefully Monday when we see her again, we make our adjustments this time.”
Alabama’s lone run came in the second inning, when Reagan Dykes scored on an error by Barnhill on a throw to first base.
Two of the hits came from the bat off Grantham, who returned from a two-week absence after she ruptured her plantar fascia against Auburn.
“I really just saw the ball well,” Grantham said. “I was out for two weeks and in a hard cast for one week. I just took it back to the basics.”
Grantham was the lone Alabama player with multiple hits. Bailey Hemphill had the only other Alabama hit, a double in the ninth inning.
“I think if Bailey gets that double in the first inning, it’s a different story,” Murphy said. “If somebody really hits her hard, it’s a wakeup call. If we do that earlier in the game, she feels a little more pressure.”
The Crimson Tide left 10 players on base for the game, including five over the final two innings.
“She’s (Barnhill) a tough pitcher, obviously,” Murphy said. “We let her off the hook a couple of times. We had at least three or four 3-2 ball fours we swung at, where we should have walked.”
Alabama and Florida return to action for game two of the three game series on Sunday at 2 p.m.
