⚾ 🥎 🥎 Alabama drops Sunday's series rubber match to South Carolina

[UA Press Release]

Alabama Softball Hits the Road for Three-Game Series at South Carolina - University of Alabama Athletics

THIS WEEK: #4/4 ALABAMA (37-2, 7-2 SEC) AT #17/RV SOUTH CAROLINA (26-10, 3-8 SEC)
Columbia, S.C. – Carolina Softball Stadium

• Friday, April 5 – 5 p.m. CT
• Saturday, April 6 – 5 p.m. CT ESPN
• Sunday, April 7 – 12 p.m. CT

SCOUTING ALABAMA

• Alabama is 37-2 entering this weekend's games, owning a 7-2 record in conference play. The Crimson Tide currently sits atop the SEC standings
• Last time out, Alabama posted its highest run total of the season in a 17-1 win over UAB Wednesday in Tuscaloosa. The win marked the 11th run-rule win of the season and its 11th game scoring 10 or more runs
• For the second consecutive week, Alabama is No. 4 in both the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball top-25 rankings
• Seven of the Tide's regular starters are hitting above .300, led by sophomore Kaylee Tow at .379. Junior Bailey Hemphill is right behind Tow, batting .357 with 18 home runs and an NCAA-best 59 RBIs while sophomore Maddie Morgan is third on the team with a .349 batting average

ALL-TIME VS. SOUTH CAROLINA

• Overall: Alabama leads 41-18
• In Columbia: 19-9 | In Tuscaloosa: 22-5 | At Neutral Sites: 0-4
• Current Streak: Alabama +1
• Last Meeting: March 26, 2017 - Tuscaloosa, Ala. - W, 5-2
• Last Meeting in Columbia: May 1, 2016 - W, 5-1 (5 Inn.) Rain Shortened

LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA DOMINANT IN 17-1 WIN OVER UAB

• Alabama posted its highest run total of the season in the win over UAB, its highest total since scoring 17 on Feb. 10, 2017 against Towson
• The Crimson Tide scored in every inning it came to bat, posting five runs in the first, second and third innings and two in the fourth
• Junior Bailey Hemphill was 3-for-3 batting cleanup, scoring four runs and driving in five off a pair of home runs
• Junior Claire Jenkins also sent one over the fence, part of a 2-for-2 day with three RBIs
• The pitching combination of junior Krystal Goodman and sophomore Madison Preston was also efficient, allowing just one run on a combined four hits and no walks on 60 pitches

ALABAMA AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS

• The Tide leads the SEC and ranks seventh nationally with 88 stolen bases, averaging 2.26 per game
• Alabama paces the conference and is sixth in the country with 62 home runs over 39 games, averaging 1.59 per contest
• The Tide's 290 runs scored ranks in the top five, with its 7.44 runs-per-game average ranks in the top 10
• Junior Bailey Hemphill is the national leader with 59 RBIs and is in the top three with 18 home runs
• Sophomore Kaylee Tow leads the NCAA with 46 walks, helping build a .567 on base percentage that also ranks among the nation's best
• Freshman Montana Fouts leads the SEC and is seventh nationally with a 1.05 ERA, and her 6.53 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks 13th

ALABAMA IN SEC PLAY (TOP 5)

• Home Runs - 21 - 1st
• Walks - 64 - 1st
• Stolen Bases - 17 - 1st
• On Base Percentage - .456 - 1st
• Slugging Percentage - .623 - 1st
• Home Runs Allowed - 4 - 1st
• Batting Average - .310 - 2nd
• Walks Allowed - 19 - T2nd
• Runs Scored - 75 - 3rd
• Runs Batted In - 66 - 3rd
• Earned Run Average - 3.08 - 3rd
• Earned Runs Allowed - 28 - 3rd
• Runs Allowed - 38 - 4th
• Hits - 74 - 5th

HEMPHILL CLOSING IN ON SINGLE-SEASON TOP 10

• Through 39 games, junior Bailey Hemphill is already closing in on multiple single-season top-10 marks at UA
• Her 18 home runs is tied for 5th all-time at UA, the most since Marisa Runyon finished with 19 in 2016
• The single-season record for home runs is 25, set by Kelly Kretschman in 1998. The only other player to surpass 20 home runs in a season was Kaila Hunt with 21 in 2012
• Hemphill's NCAA-leading 59 RBIs is just one shy of the single-season top 10 at UA. The single-season record is 80, set by Marisa Runyon in 2015

GRAND SLAMS

• After not hitting any grand slams through the first 24 games of the season, Alabama has hit five over its last 15 games
• The five over that span already surpasses the entire season totals from 2016, 2017 and 2018
• The UA single-season record for grand slams is seven, set in 2015. The Tide hit six in 2008, 2010 and 2011

2019 Alabama Grand Slams

1. Reagan Dykes vs. Missouri - March 10
2. Bailey Hemphill vs. Niagara - March 14
3. Kaylee Tow vs. Niagara - March 15
4. Bailey Hemphill at Texas A&M - March 23
5. Claire Jenkins vs. Georgia Tech - March 27

ALABAMA RANKED NO. 4 IN BOTH POLLS FOR SECOND-STRAIGHT WEEK

• A 3-1 week, including a series win against Mississippi State, helped Alabama softball maintain its spot in the national top-5, coming in at No. 4 in both the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball polls for the second-consecutive week
• Alabama is the highest-ranked SEC team in both polls, joined in the top 10 by Tennessee (5/7), LSU (7/5) and Florida (8/9)
• In total, 10 SEC programs are represented in at least one top 25 poll with Missouri receiving votes in both

 

[BAMAneck]

Coach Murphy is doing a great job and I like seeing him coaching small ball as much as possible. That more than anything has been this programs biggest Achilles heel the past few years .

Hope we figure it out this year , seem as though we have a lot of contributors throughout the lineup but they all need to be able to put down a bunt to advance a runner when NEEDED ...

 

[UA Press Release]

Alabama Slugs its Way to 9-1 Win Friday Over South Carolina - University of Alabama Athletics

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Alabama softball opened its weekend series against South Carolina with a convincing 9-1 win Friday night.

Alabama (38-2, 8-2 SEC) scored a pair of runs in the first inning before the Crimson Tide and South Carolina (26-11, 3-9 SEC) cruised through four scoreless innings. Alabama doubled its lead with two runs in the top of the sixth and broke the game open in the seventh, scoring five to take a nine-run lead. The Gamecocks erased the shutout with a solo home run in the bottom half of the inning but that was the lone run of the day for the home team.

Four Tide batters had multi-hit games, including a pair of home runs from junior Claire Jenkins which accounted for three of the team's seven RBIs. In the circle, junior Sarah Cornell (15-0) threw a complete-game victory, allowing just one run on six hits.

Junior Elissa Brown and sophomore KB Sides led off the game with back-to-back hits, moving into scoring position to set up sophomore Kaylee Tow for a two-run single back up the middle. Alabama stranded runners in scoring position in the second and third innings, unable to add to its 2-0 lead, but kept South Carolina at bay as only two Gamecock runners reached scoring position and none crossed home plate through the first five innings.

With one out in the top of the sixth, junior Claire Jenkins blasted her 11th home run of the season over the left field fence, a solo shot to make it a 3-0 game. A fielding error and a single then put runners at the corners, bringing back the top of the order. A groundout went for out number two, but a pickoff attempt at third got away after an errant throw, allowing junior pinch-runner Taylor Clark to score as the Tide now lead 4-0.

Tow led off the top of the seventh with her second hit of the day before scooting to second on a wild pitch. Another Gamecock fielding error in the next at-bat allowed her to score from second, increasing the lead to 5-0. An RBI double from senior Reagan Dykes made it 6-0 before Jenkins' second home run of the day swelled the lead to 8-0. A sac fly RBI froes added the fifth run of the inning before a groundout sent the teams to the bottom half with Alabama now ahead 9-0.

South Carolina erased the shutout with a leadoff solo home run in the bottom of the seventh and would get two more on base, but it was too little, too late as Alabama held on to win, 9-1.

Game two of the weekend series is set for a 5 p.m. CT start Saturday, April 6 live on ESPN.

 

[UA Press Release]

Softball Drops Saturday Contest to South Carolina, 5-1, Evening the Weekend Series - University of Alabama Athletics

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Alabama softball dropped game two of the weekend series to South Carolina Saturday night, 5-1, to even the weekend series.

Alabama (38-3, 8-3 SEC) tallied one run in the game against South Carolina (27-11, 4-9 SEC), a sixth-inning solo home run from junior Bailey Hemphill that erased the shutout. The home run was Hemphill's 19th of the season, moving her to third on the UA single-season record books. Junior Courtney Gettins (5-2) took loss in the complete-game effort.

South Carolina took the first lead of the game in the bottom of the first, starting the inning with a double and a sac bunt before an RBI single brought the runner home from third two batters later. Alabama loaded the bases with two out in the top of the third but a shallow popup got the Gamecocks out of the jam and preserved the 1-0 lead.

The Gamecocks led off the bottom of the fourth with back-to-back doubles, moving ahead 2-0, and doubled its lead again in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run home run to make it 4-0. With two in scoring position and two out, Lauren Stewart beat out an infield single to tack on another run before a groundout ended the inning with the Tide now trailing 5-0.

Hemphill erased the shutout with a solo home run to start the sixth inning. South Carolina couldn't add to its 5-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth but the Tide couldn't muster a comeback in the final half-inning, falling to even the weekend series.

The series rubber match is set for a 12 p.m. CT first pitch on Sunday, April 7.

 

[BAMAneck]

We are the pop out masters when we haft to put the ball in play .

 

[TerryP]

Seven free bases, along with the five hits, gave Bama 11 on base to score...left there.

 

[RTB X Bot]