– The North Alabama Lions showcased why they were the No. 1 seed and fourth ranked team in the nation as they used a five-run inning to take down the Lee softball team , 8-0 in Thursday's opening game of the Gulf South Conference Tournament.
Regan Tittle delivered the decisive blow of the big third inning as she launched a grand slam to left to give the Lions a 6-0 lead. North Alabama would tack on single runs in the fourth and ended the game with a run in the fifth.
The Lady Flames threatened right out of the gate in the top of the first loading the bases with one out but Laken Distefano worked out of the jam with a crucial strikeout and a fly out.
Distefano (16-2) settled in from there and allowed just four hits and two walks while striking out six over five innings of work.
Senior Leigh Beatenbough (14-11) was tagged with the loss as she went three innings and gave up seven runs, six earned on five hits.
She walked one and struck out a batter. Erika Greek came on in relief and allowed one run in 1 2/3 innings of work.
Kayla Gooch, Lily Hatcher, Taylor Moran and Kayla Louie accounted for Lee's offense with four singles.
Alex Brown got the Lions on the board with a sacrifice fly in the first and added her second RBI on a fielder's choice in the third to jump start the rally.
"We felt like we were prepared for postseason but it seemed like we played with some fear tonight and let that affect us," said head coach Emily Russell. "Tomorrow we want to emphasize playing inning by inning and pitch by pitch and breaking things down into smaller goals that will hopefully allow us to have success at the end the game."
The loss drops the Lady Flames to 27-28 on the year. The win improves the Lions to 43-5. Last year Lee went 5-0 against North Alabama but the Lions have returned the favor winning the first four meetings this season.
The Lady Flames will look to keep their season alive tomorrow as they battle Montevallo in an elimination game at 1:30 p.m