The Gophers softball team lost 1-0 to No. 6 Alabama on Friday night in Tuscaloosa when the Crimson Tide scratched for a run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Junior righthander Amber Fiser gave up only four hits and struck out five in taking the loss.
Alabama (12-0) got a leadoff single in the seventh, moved the runner to second on a sacrifice bunt and, with two outs, got the runner home on a single to center. Minnesota only had two hits.
The Gophers (5-4) will play Alabama again at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Before facing the Crimson Tide on Friday, the Gophers beat Louisiana-Monroe 5-0 on senior Sydney Smith's three-hitter. She struck out five. Catcher Emma Burns hit two solo homers and left fielder Natalie DenHartog hit a two-run shot. Both of those players are freshman. MaKenna Partain had a triple in the second inning to drive in the first two runs.
Gophers diver wins
Diver Sarah Bacon of the Gophers won the 3-meter event on the third day of the Big Ten Women's Swimming and Diving Championships in Bloomington, Ind. Bacon's 430.60 total was a meet and program record.
Three other Gophers earned bronze medals. Tevyn Waddell was third in the 100 butterfly (52:00), Chantal Nack in the 200 freestyle (1:43.70) and Lindsey Kozelsky in the 100 breaststroke (58.96).
The Gophers were in fourth place with 657 points going into Day 4. Indiana was in first place with 938.5 points, followed by Michigan with 827.5 and Ohio State with 779.
