Alabama
Boston College
Alabama Softball Returns Home to Host Easton Crimson Classic
3/8/2018 11:45:00 AM | Softball
THIS WEEK: EASTON CRIMSON CLASSIC
Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Rhoads Stadium
|Friday, March 9
- vs. Boston College – 4 p.m. CT
- vs. Fordham – 6 p.m. CT
Saturday, March 10
- vs. Boston College – 1:30 p.m. CT
- vs. Fordham – 4 p.m. CT
Sunday, March 11
- vs. Samford – 1:30 p.m. CT
SCOUTING ALABAMA
- Alabama is 12-5 heading into week five after a 2-3 weekend at the Husky Classic, defeating BYU and Portland State while falling once to Northwestern and twice to top-ranked Washington
- Alabama is ranked No. 13 in both national polls this week. Alabama has played six games against ranked opponents so far this season.
- The Crimson Tide defense boasts a .982 fielding percentage, which ranks second in the SEC only trailing Florida at .983. The .982 clip would be the best fielding percentage in program history, surpassing last year's record percentage of .978.
- The offense is led by freshman Kaylee Tow, who is 15-for-41 (.366) at the plate. Nine of her 15 hits have gone for extra bases, including a team-leading four home runs. Sophomore Bailey Hemphill has reached base safely in nine-straight games, drawing a team-leading 11 walks while hitting 13-for-39 (.333) with a team-leading 16 RBIs.
- The Alabama pitching staff has split its 104.2 innings pitched relatively evenly, with senior Alexis Osorio and freshman Madison Preston making six starts and junior Courtney Gettins making five. Preston leads the bullpen with a 1.27 ERA over 33.0 innings, while Gettins leads the group with five wins, owning a 5-1 record and 2.12 ERA over 33.0 innings. Osorio has struck out 60 batters over 38.2 innings pitched, an average of 1.55 per inning and she tallied a pair of saves last week.
LAST TIME OUT: HUSKY CLASSIC
- Alabama went 2-3 at the Husky Classic last weekend in Seattle, defeating BYU and Portland State while falling to Northwestern and twice to top-ranked Washington.
- The Tide started its weekend with a comeback victory over BYU on Friday. Trailing 5-1 in the fifth inning, sophomore Bailey Hemphill tied the game with a grand slam. The game eventually went extra innings and, with the international tie-breaker in effect, the Cougars took a 6-5 lead in the top of the eighth. An error in the bottom-half of the inning allowed Alabama's runner to score and tie it at 6-6 and an RBI single from freshman Kaylee Tow eventually ended it. In Friday's nightcap against host Washington, the Huskies defeated the Tide in six innings, 8-0.
- On Saturday, Alabama posted a 3-0 victory over Portland State, leading 1-0 until back-to-back home runs from Tow and Hemphill in the fifth inning gave the Tide some cushion and senior Alexis Osorio entered in relief to close the door and earn the save. The rematch against Washington was much closer than Friday's contest, with the Huskies clinging to a 2-1 lead much of the game before tacking on two late runs to bring the score to its final tally of 4-1.
- Alabama dropped its weekend finale on Sunday, falling 4-0 to Northwestern. The Tide fell behind in the third inning after an RBI single and three-run home run and could not scratch a run across, ultimately stranding six runners on base.
MURPHY ONE WIN AWAY FROM 1,000 AT ALABAMA
Head Coach Patrick Murphy, currently in his 20th season at the helm of the Crimson Tide, is just one win away from his 1,000th as Alabama's head coach, boasting a 999-278 record. A handful of SEC coaches, including Murphy, have 1,000 career wins between multiple head coaching stops but no coach has earned 1,000 wins entirely at an SEC institution. Last season, Murphy earned his 1,000th career victory as a head coach, including his time at Alabama and Northwest Missouri State, to become the 23rd coach in Division-I softball history to reach 1,000 wins.
OSORIO APPROACHING 1,000 CAREER STRIKEOUTS
Senior Alexis Osorio is approaching a rare milestone at Alabama, as she is just 106 strikeouts away from the 1,000th of her career. She would be just the fourth player in program history to hit the 1,000 strikeout mark and the first since Kelsi Dunne (2008-11). Currently she sits at fifth all-time at Alabama, just 82 away from passing Jaclyn Traina (2011-14).
Alabama Career Strikeout Leaders
- Kelsi Dunne (2008-11): 1,219
- Stephanie VanBrakle (2003-06): 1,113
- Shelley Laird (1999-2002): 1,045
- Jaclyn Traina (2011-14): 976
- Alexis Osorio (2015-pres.): 894
HOT START FOR FRESHMAN Kaylee Tow
Alabama freshman Kaylee Tow is off to a hot start in her freshman campaign, leading the team with a .366 batting average, 15 hits and 12 runs scored. Nine of her 15 hits have been for extra bases, including a team-leading four home runs, pushing her slugging percentage to .829. She has also drawn 10 walks, boasting a .490 on-base percentage.
Her batting average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage all lead the team. The last player to finish the season leading the team in all three categories was Haylie McCleney in 2014, marking the 11th time it had happened in program history. The only freshmen to complete the sweep were Kelly Kretschman (1998) and Christy Kyle (1997).
HOME SWEET HOME
Alabama returns to Rhoads Stadium this weekend, the home of the Crimson Tide since 2000. It has proven a sizeable home field advantage for Alabama over the years, as the Tide is 510-83 (.860) all-time at Rhoads Stadium and has never lost more than nine games at home in a season. Alabama has hosted 15 NCAA Regional rounds at the park, including a streak of 13-straight Regional titles in Tuscaloosa, along with series wins in eight of the nine Super Regional rounds it has hosted.
TIDE ENTERS FINAL NON-CONFERENCE WEEKEND RANKED NO. 13
Alabama softball heads into its final non-conference weekend ranked No. 13 in both the USA Today/NFCA poll and ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.
Alabama fell two spots in both national polls after a 3-3 week. Alabama posted victories over UAB, BYU and Portland State but took a pair of losses to top-ranked Washington in Seattle as well as Northwestern. Overall, Alabama is 12-5 through four weeks of play.
Twelve SEC teams are either ranked in the top 25 or are receiving votes. Ranked SEC teams include Florida (2/2), Tennessee (4/4), Texas A&M (7/7), LSU (8/8), Auburn (10/10), Georgia (11/11), Alabama (13/13), South Carolina (18/17), Ole Miss (19/18), Kentucky (23/22) and Mississippi State (RV/23). Arkansas is receiving votes outside the top 25 in both polls.
UP NEXT
Alabama travels to Atlanta for a midweek matchup against Georgia Tech on Wednesday, March 14 at 5 p.m. CT. Following that game, the Tide opens SEC play on the road with a weekend series at Auburn March 16-18. Saturday's game will air live on ESPNU (7 p.m. CT) and Sunday will be on the SEC Network (5 p.m. CT).
