No. 5/4 ALABAMA (6-0) at No. 18/18 LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE (4-2)
LAFAYETTE, LA.
LAMSON PARK
FOLLOWING THE TIDE
Video: Ragin' Cajun All-Access (Online Only)
Radio: 93.3 FM (praise933.com)
Live Stats: rolltide.com
Twitter: @AlabamaSB
SCOUTING ALABAMA (6-0)
THE OPPONENT
Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns
ALABAMA ALL-TIME VS. THE OPPONENT
5-4 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
ALABAMA VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
CAJUN CONNECTION
This weekend's series in Lafayette, La., is a homecoming for multiple members of the Crimson Tide family.
LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA DEFEATS SOUTH ALABAMA, 3-1
Alabama softball was out-hit in its home opener Wednesday against South Alabama but still managed to edge out a close 3-1 win in the low-scoring pitcher's duel.
Alabama trailed South Alabama in the hit column, 5-4, but two early runs and some late insurance proved enough to claim the two-run victory. The top three batters in Alabama's order accounted for three of the team's four hits while a fifth-inning solo home run by Marisa Runyon went down as an emphatic final hit of the night for the Tide.
Alexis Osorio was again perfect through 3.0 innings before the Jaguars led off the top of the fourth with a base hit, her first baserunner allowed so far this season. The junior from Riverside, Calif., ended the night with one run allowed on five hits and 15 strikeouts while USA starter Devin Brown took her first loss of the season with three runs on four hits and four strikeouts.
ALABAMA SOFTBALL CLIMBS TO TOP-FIVE NATIONAL RANKING
OSORIO AND HEMPHILL EARN WEEKLY SEC HONORS
After a successful opening weekend, Alabama softball earned a pair of weekly honors from the Southeastern Conference, announced Monday. Junior pitcher Alexis Osorio is the SEC Pitcher of the Week and freshman catcher Bailey Hemphill is the SEC Freshman of the Week.
LAFAYETTE, LA.
LAMSON PARK
- Friday, Feb. 17 - 5 p.m. CT
- Saturday, Feb. 18 - 1 p.m. CT
- Sunday, Feb. 19 – 1 p.m. CT
FOLLOWING THE TIDE
Video: Ragin' Cajun All-Access (Online Only)
Radio: 93.3 FM (praise933.com)
Live Stats: rolltide.com
Twitter: @AlabamaSB
SCOUTING ALABAMA (6-0)
- Alabama went 5-0 on the opening weekend of the 2017 season, sweeping its opponents at the Kickin' Chicken Classic in Conway, S.C., before defeating South Alabama 3-1 on Wednesday in Tuscaloosa.
- The Crimson Tide has outscored its opponents 46-6, including a 17-0 win over Towson that was the highest run total in a season-opening game in program history.
- Junior pitcher Alexis Osorio threw the fourth perfect game in program history on Friday against Coastal Carolina with a school-record 19 strikeouts. She started the season pitching 14.2 innings before allowing a baserunner.
- Alabama took home a pair of weekly conference honors, as junior pitcher Alexis Osorio was named the Pitcher of the Week and Bailey Hemphill was named the Freshman of the Week.
- The Tide moved into the top five in both national polls this week, climbing to No. 5 in the USA Today/NFCA poll and No. 4 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.
THE OPPONENT
Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns
- Conference: Sun Belt
- 2016 Record: 4-2
- Head Coach: Michael Lotief (15th Season)
- Starters Returning/Lost: 5/4
- Newcomers: 8
- Batting Avg. - Aleah Craighton - .378
- Hits - Haley Hayden - 70
- Home Runs - Craighton / Sanders - 18
- Wins - Alex Stewart - 29
- ERA - Alex Stewart - 1.94
- Strikeouts - Alex Stewart - 196
ALABAMA ALL-TIME VS. THE OPPONENT
5-4 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
- Current Streak: Alabama 1
- First Meeting: Feb. 27, 1997 - L, 0-3 - Lafayette, La.
- Last Meeting: March 1, 2015 - W, 3-2 - Tuscaloosa, Ala.
ALABAMA VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
- This weekend marks the first ranked matchup for the Crimson Tide this season. All-time, Alabama is 241-199 (.548) against top-25 opponents.
- Alabama has played at least 25 games against top-25 opponents four of the last five years.
- Within its first 10 games of the season, Alabama has matched up against at least one ranked foe every year but once since 2012. No. 18 Louisiana-Lafayette this weekend is the highest-ranked early opponent the Tide has faced since playing 15th-ranked Oklahoma State in the seventh game of the 2012 season, which Alabama won 3-1.
CAJUN CONNECTION
This weekend's series in Lafayette, La., is a homecoming for multiple members of the Crimson Tide family.
- Head Coach Patrick Murphy got his first collegiate softball job at Louisiana-Lafayette, formerly Southwestern Louisiana, as an assistant under hall-of-fame head coach Yvette Girouard while earning his master's degree in communication. Murphy spent five seasons (1990-94) with the Ragin' Cajuns, appearing in the 1993 Women's College World Series and compiling an overall record of 239-46 over that time.
- Associate Head Coach Alyson Habetz, a native of nearby Crowley, La., arrived at Southwestern Louisiana on a basketball scholarship but she channeled her love for the sport of baseball through a chance encounter with the Ragin' Cajun softball team. Her transition to the softball diamond proved succesful, as she earned All-America and Academic All-America honors and appeared in the 1993 Women's College World Series.
- Freshman Bailey Hemphill hails from Lafayette, La., where she attended St. Thomas More Catholic. There, she was a two-time First Team High School All-American and was named Louisiana's 'Miss Softball' her senior year. She set the school's home run record in just two seasons and led the team to state titles in 2013 and 2014.
LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA DEFEATS SOUTH ALABAMA, 3-1
Alabama softball was out-hit in its home opener Wednesday against South Alabama but still managed to edge out a close 3-1 win in the low-scoring pitcher's duel.
Alabama trailed South Alabama in the hit column, 5-4, but two early runs and some late insurance proved enough to claim the two-run victory. The top three batters in Alabama's order accounted for three of the team's four hits while a fifth-inning solo home run by Marisa Runyon went down as an emphatic final hit of the night for the Tide.
Alexis Osorio was again perfect through 3.0 innings before the Jaguars led off the top of the fourth with a base hit, her first baserunner allowed so far this season. The junior from Riverside, Calif., ended the night with one run allowed on five hits and 15 strikeouts while USA starter Devin Brown took her first loss of the season with three runs on four hits and four strikeouts.
ALABAMA SOFTBALL CLIMBS TO TOP-FIVE NATIONAL RANKING
- Alabama softball moved into the top five in both national polls this week, coming in at No. 5 in the USA Today/NFCA poll and No. 4 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, released Tuesday.
- Alabama jumped ahead two spots in the NFCA poll and three spots in the USA Softball poll for its first top-five appearance of the season. Preseason No. 1 Oklahoma fell to No. 4/6 after a pair of losses on opening weekend as Florida claimed this week's top spot in both polls. Auburn and Florida State are at No. 2 and 3, respectively, in both lists while UCLA sneaks in at No. 5 in the USA Softball poll.
- Alabama is one of nine SEC schools ranked in this week's top 25, the most of any conference. Ranked SEC teams include Florida (1/1), Auburn (2/2), Alabama (5/4), LSU (7/8), Georgia (12/12), Tennessee (15/14), Missouri (17/13), Texas A&M (19/17) and Kentucky (22/23). South Carolina and Ole Miss are both receiving votes outside the top 25.
OSORIO AND HEMPHILL EARN WEEKLY SEC HONORS
After a successful opening weekend, Alabama softball earned a pair of weekly honors from the Southeastern Conference, announced Monday. Junior pitcher Alexis Osorio is the SEC Pitcher of the Week and freshman catcher Bailey Hemphill is the SEC Freshman of the Week.
- The weekly award is the second of Osorio's career, previously winning on Feb. 29, 2016, and the first for Hemphill who made her Crimson Tide debut last weekend. Hemphill joins Charlotte Morgan (2007) and Haylie McCleney (2013) as the only players in program history to win Freshman of the Week in the first week of the season. Overall, Alabama has won SEC Pitcher of the Week 35 times and Freshman of the Week 18 times, the latter award only being introduced in 2007.
- Osorio was perfect over 11.2 innings pitched this weekend, striking out 25 batters while not allowing a single baserunner. She threw the fourth perfect game in program history in her season debut on Friday against Coastal Carolina, striking out a school-record 19 batters in the game. She earned the win in relief the next day against Towson, throwing 4.2 more perfect innings with six strikeouts. Ultimately, 25 of the 35 outs recorded by Osorio came via strikeout.
- Hemphill made quite an impression in her first weekend with the Tide, hitting .500 (7-14) over five starts with nine RBIs a team-leading three home runs, posting a 1.214 slugging percentage. She hit a home run in her first career at-bat, a three-run shot against Towson on Friday, and added another three-run homer the very next game against Coastal Carolina. She capped the weekend with another long ball on Sunday against the Chanticleers, part of a 3-3 day at the plate. She earned at least one hit in all five games played this weekend and scored at least one run in four of the five.