Softball team falls to Georgia; earns No. 2 seed for SEC Tournament

ATHENS, Ga. | Georgia hurler Christie Hamilton kept the Alabama offense in check as the Bulldogs stole a game from the top-ranked Crimson Tide 4-2 on Sunday afternoon in front of a UGA Softball Complex record 1,663 fans.

Hamilton tossed a complete game to improve to 12-3 on the season. She scattered two runs on seven hits with a walk and five strikeouts.

Charlotte Morgan fell to 14-2 on the season, giving up two costly home runs. Her final line read three innings, four hits, three runs (one earned) and one strikeout. Kelsi Dunne allowed one run on two hits over three innings with three strikeouts.

Alabama dropped just its third SEC game of the season to finish with a 25-3 league record and a 49-5 overall mark. The Bulldogs improved to 42-21 overall and even their record at 14-14 in conference action.

The Tide fell behind for the first time this weekend in the bottom of the third inning when Megan Wiggins connected for a two-run home run off Morgan with two outs.

But just like she has done many times in 2008, Morgan had an answer in the top of the fourth with a screaming line-drive home run down the left-field line that tied the game at 2.

The Bulldogs weren’t done yet either as Melissa Wood connected for a leadoff home run against Morgan in the fourth inning. The home run would end Morgan’s day in the circle with Dunne coming on to pitch and Morgan moving to first base.

Georgia extended its lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning on Wiggins’ RBI single through the right side of the infield. Two consecutive hit batters by Dunne setup the Bulldog rally.

Alabama mounted a rally in the top of the sixth inning with a single from Morgan and a double from Eubanks but Hamilton induced two ground ball outs to get out of the inning.

The Crimson Tide opens the SEC Tournament at LSU’s Tiger Park on Thursday, as the SEC Western Division Champions and the No. 2 seed. Alabama’s opening-round opponent will be seventh-seeded Mississippi State at 1:30 p.m.

Alabama will play Mississippi State in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament at Tiger Park in Baton Rouge, La., on Thursday at 5 p.m.

The Crimson Tide garnered the No. 2 seed in the tournament with their SEC Western Division Championship and 25-3 league record. The Bulldogs are the No. 7 seed after finishing with a 13-14 record in conference play. Alabama swept MSU in Starkville earlier this season and have a 3-1 record against the Bulldogs in the SEC Tournament.

Florida is the top-seed and will play eight-seed Ole Miss Rebels at 1:30 p.m. No. 4 Tennessee and No. 5 Georgia get the tournament started at 11 a.m., while No. 3 LSU and No. 6 Auburn play the final game of the opening day at 7:30 p.m.