Whether it's football, basketball, baseball or — in this case — softball, any time the Alabama Crimson Tide and Tennessee Volunteers square off, they compete as rivals in the SEC.
For softball, both teams are nationally ranked in the top 15, and this past weekend they played in Knoxville. The Volunteers went into the matchup with a 20-game win streak, not having lost since Feb. 18 in a 5-4 defeat against Fullerton.
Heading into the seventh inning, the Volunteers were down by two after allowing a run in the sixth.
The inning started with a pinch hitter, followed by a fly-out to center field, then a ground-out to third base. Finally, Vols' Mackenzie Donihoo was up to bat with two outs, no one on base and a 2-1 count.
This would've been a perfect spot to take another pitch, but Donihoo made contact and roped it down near the left-field line. The ball had quite a bit of speed, and it was dropping into foul territory quickly.
Not on Jenna Johnson's watch.
Jenna Johnson's Diving Catch Against Tennessee
THAT'S how you end a game??@JennaJohnson88
?SEC Network | https://t.co/hsypfmVOIF#Team27 #RollTide pic.twitter.com/WiG5ZWuuEM
— Alabama Softball (@AlabamaSB) March 25, 2023
The speedy left fielder made a diving catch to end the game, as Alabama beat the No. 3 Volunteers, 4-2.
This was only the Volunteers' second loss of the season. The No. 3 team in the country has racked up many wins, including over Northwestern, Clemson and LSU. They would go on to win the rubber match of their three-game series against the Crimson Tide. All of these teams, except for the Crimson Tide, were ranked in the top 10 at the time of Tennessee's defeat.
Tennessee followed up their Saturday loss with a 7-5 win over Alabama. As for the Crimson Tide, they have 10 losses on their resume?; they will finish off the season with series against Missouri, South Carolina, Mississippi State, Auburn, LSU and Ole Miss, and single games against Liberty, Marshall and Samford.
Still, the Vols last won a conference championship in 2007 and a conference tournament in 2011, and they last went to the College World Series in 2015. As long as Johnson and Alabama's defense is in the way, things will stay the same for Tennessee.
