| BSB/SB WCWS~ Third Shutout of the Weekend Sends Alabama Softball to NCAA Super Regionals

[RTB Twitter Bot]

THIS WEEK: ALABAMA (45-7) AT NCAA TUSCALOOSA REGIONAL​

• Tuscaloosa, Ala. - Rhoads Stadium
• Friday, May 21
  • Clemson vs. Troy – 2 p.m. CT
  • Alabama vs. Alabama State – 5 p.m. CT (SEC Network)
• Saturday, May 22
  • Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner – 11 a.m. CT
  • Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser – 1:30 p.m. CT
  • Game 4 Winner vs. Game 3 Loser – 4 p.m. CT
• Sunday, May 23
  • Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner – 1 p.m. CT
  • (If Necessary) Game 6 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser – 3:30 p.m. CT

SCOUTING ALABAMA​

• Alabama earned the No. 3 national seed for the NCAA Tournament and will host the Tuscaloosa Regional this weekend at Rhoads Stadium, welcoming Clemson, Troy and Alabama State
• The Crimson Tide has qualified for 22-straight NCAA Tournaments, one of only eight teams nationally and the only SEC team with an active streak of at least 22
• Alabama has won every regional round since 2005 and has won 40-straight games in regional play, stretching back to 2007
• Alabama won the 2021 SEC Softball Tournament last week in Tuscaloosa, the Tide's league-leading sixth tournament title
• Montana Fouts was named the SEC Tournament MVP after striking out a tournament-record 39 batters over her three appearances
• Bailey Hemphill became Alabama's all-time home run leader with 61, breaking Kelly Kretschman's career record that had stood since 2001
• Alabama rides a 13-game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament, including 12 against ranked teams, outscoring its opponents 83-30

LAST TIME OUT: SEC TOURNAMENT​

• Alabama won the 2021 SEC Softball Tournament last week at Rhoads Stadium for its league-leading sixth tournament title
• The Crimson Tide defeated Kentucky, 5-1, on Thursday night before earning a 6-5 comeback win over Tennessee on Friday to earn a spot in the championship game
• In the fifth championship game matchup between Alabama and Florida, the Tide shut out the Gators, 4-0
• Montana Fouts was named the Tournament MVP after throwing a tournament-record 39 strikeouts over her three appearances
• All-Tournament honoree Bailey Hemphill hit three home runs to become Alabama's all-time home run leader with 61, breaking Kelly Kretschman's career mark of 60 that had stood since 2001
• Alexis Mack and Taylor Clark rounded out the Tide's All-Tournament selections

ALABAMA ALL-TIME AT THE SEC TOURNAMENT​

• This year's title was Alabama's sixth, giving the Crimson Tide the most of any team
• Alabama is now 44-26 (.629) all-time at the SEC Tournament, tying LSU for the most SEC Tournament wins
• The Tide remains the only team to win the conference tournament on its home field, doing so in 2012 and 2021

ALABAMA IN NCAA REGIONAL PLAY​

• Alabama has made 22-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, a streak that started in head coach Patrick Murphy's first season at the helm in 1999
• The Tide has hosted a regional every year since 2005 and has won 15-straight, the longest active streak in Division-I softball
• Alabama is 59-9 (.868) in regional play, including a 52-3 (.945) mark at home
• The Tide has not lost a game in the regional round since the opening game in 2007, a streak of 40-straight
• Only seven other D1 softball teams besides Alabama own an active NCAA Tournament appearance streak of at least 22 years: Arizona (34), Oklahoma (27), Washington (27), Michigan (25), UCLA (22), Louisiana (22) and Notre Dame (22)

HEMPHILL BREAKS UA CAREER HOME RUN RECORD​

• After tying the Alabama career home run record with two homers Thursday against Kentucky, Bailey Hemphill launched herself into Crimson Tide history with a sixth-inning home run Friday against Tennessee to move into first place with 61 career home runs
• She passes previous record-holder Kelly Kretschman, who held the Alabama record at 60 since 2001
• The 61 home runs is tied for sixth in SEC history
• Hemphill previously tied the UA single-season record in 2019 with 26 home runs
• With her second home run in game one against Auburn on March 12, Hemphill became the third player in program history to surpass the 200 career RBI mark, joining Charlotte Morgan (2007-10) and Kaila Hunt (2011-14) in the prestigious club
• Now with 228 career RBIs, Hemphill passed Hunt's total of 215 and continues to close in on Morgan's school-record total of 264

DOUBLE DIGIT STRIKEOUTS​

• Montana Fouts has thrown 10+ strikeouts 17 times this season, setting a new Alabama single-season record
• Her 11 most recent double-digit totals have come against ranked teams
• She set an SEC Tournament record with 39 strikeouts across her three starts, including a single-game record 15 against Kentucky

Most Games with 10+ Strikeouts in a Season

• 17 - Montana Fouts (2021)
• 16 - Stephanie VanBrakle (2006)
• 16 - Kelsi Dunne (2010)
• 15 - Kelsi Dunne (2011)
• 15 - Alexis Osorio (2017)

SWEET HOME ALABAMA​

• Alabama sports a 654-119 (.846) all-time record at home, including a 618-103 (.857) mark under head coach Patrick Murphy and a 599-99 (.858) record at Rhoads Stadium, the Tide's home field since 2000
• Since Rhoads Stadium opened in 2000, Alabama has won at least 25 home games in 17 of its 20 years there

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Bama won 9-0 in 6 on a Hemphill walk-off HR. Kilfoyl started and went 5 1/3, no hits, 15 K's, 0 BB, 0 R. She looked really sharp even taking into account the opponent. It was the perfect outing to get her comfortable again and flush that previous appearance against the Vols. Bama will play Clemson (who beat Troy 8-0) tomorrow at 11 am.

 

[UA Press Release]

Kilfoyl and Goodman Combine for Fifth Postseason No-Hitter in Alabama Softball History Friday Against Alabama State - Alabama Athletics

Lexi Kilfoyl and Krystal Goodman combined to throw the fifth postseason no-hitter in Alabama softball history as the Crimson Tide shut out Alabama S...

rolltide.com

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Lexi Kilfoyl and Krystal Goodman combined to throw the fifth postseason no-hitter in Alabama softball history as the Crimson Tide shut out Alabama State, 9-0, in six innings Friday to open play at the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional.

The no-hitter is the 38th overall for Alabama (46-7) and fifth in NCAA Tournament play, the first postseason no-no since Jaclyn Traina on May 20, 2011 against Jackson State. It is the third no-hitter this season for the Tide, including the second for Kilfoyl (11-3) and second over Alabama State (19-28), as Montana Fouts and Sarah Cornell combined to throw a perfect game in the season opener against the Lady Hornets.

Kilfoyl threw 5.1 no-hit innings in the win, striking out a career-high 15 batters which is just two shy of the Alabama postseason record. Krystal Goodman entered to secure what ended up as the final two outs in the sixth inning, as a three-run bottom half capped the run-rule victory.

Alexis Mack paced the offense with a 3-for-4 day in the leadoff spot with three runs scored and an RBI. Bailey Hemphill was 2-for-3 behind her, including a game-ending two run home run. Jenna Johnson and Elissa Brown also had multi-hit games, with Johnson driving in two runs and Brown scoring twice.

Next up, Alabama will face Clemson Saturday at 11 a.m. CT. The winner will advance to Sunday for a chance to win the Tuscaloosa Regional while the loser will play in an elimination game Saturday at 4 p.m. CT.

FROM HEAD COACH PATRICK MURPHY​

"It was a hell of an effort by [Lexi] Kilfoyl. Our team defense did well. Obviously, they didn't get a lot of balls but they were into every pitch and I appreciated that. Bailey [Hemphill] did a nice job behind the plate. Offensively, up and down the lineup a lot of different people got a hit, scored a run or got an RBI. It was a fun night."

HIGHLIGHTS​

• Alabama improves to 60-9 in regional play, including a 53-3 mark at home
• The Tide has now won 41-straight games in the regional round, stretching back to 2007
• Alabama improves its current win streak to 14 games, 12 of which have come over ranked foes
• The no-hitter is the fifth in Alabama postseason history, the first since Jaclyn Traina against Jackson State on May 20, 2011
• Kilfoyl's 15 strikeouts is a new career high and is two shy of the UA postseason record of 17 set by Stephanie VanBrakle on June 4, 2005 vs. DePaul
• The run-rule is the 12th this season for the Tide
• Bailey Hemphill improved her reached base streak to 16 games
• Alexis Mack improved her hitting streak to 10 games and Elissa Brown to nine
• Savannah Woodard improved her team-leading two-out RBI total to 17

SCORING SUMMARY​

• B1 | Kaylee Tow bounced an RBI double off the wall in left to drive in Bailey Hemphill (1-0, 1 Out)
• B3 | Jenna Johnson sent the ninth pitch of her at-bat over the wall in left field for a two-run home run (3-0, 2 Out)
• B3 | Savannah Woodard bounced a triple off the wall in right field to drive in KB Sides (4-0, 2 Out)
• B4 | Elissa Brown tagged up and scored from third on a deep popup from Bailey Hemphill for a sac fly (5-0, 1 Out)
• B4 | A wild pitch brought home Alexis Mack from third (6-0, 2 Out)
• B6 | Brown scored on an RBI bunt single from Mack (7-0, 0 Out)
• B6 | Hemphill capped the run-rule with a two-run home run (9-0, 0 Out)

UP NEXT – NCAA REGIONALS​

• Saturday, May 22 vs. Clemson – 11 a.m. CT

 

[bamanc50]

Let’s go Bama. Time to keep rolling. Thankful Beth Mowins is not doing this game. If she didn’t have Oklahoma, UCLA, and the PAC 12 to talk about she would be completely lost.

 

[bama alum]

No Beth Mowins today!

 

[TerryP]

Let’s go Bama. Time to keep rolling. Thankful Beth Mowins is not doing this game. If she didn’t have Oklahoma, UCLA, and the PAC 12 to talk about she would be completely lost.

No Beth Mowins today!

While you may not like her style, I suspect you guys don't understand the level of respect she has for Murph and the program.

 

[TerryP]

7K's through their order is a fairly strong start, eh?

 

[bama alum]

Perfect bunts and now Hemphill has the bases loaded with no outs

 

[bama alum]

7K's through their order is a fairly strong start, eh?

Fouts is just a machine!

It's not that I don't like Mowins'...style. I can't stand her voice. It's almost as bad as when Kramer hears Mary Hart.

 

[bamanc50]

While you may not like her style, I suspect you guys don't understand the level of respect she has for Murph and the program.

I just remember her off the wall comment that Keilani Ricketts the pitcher for Oklahoma was having trouble gripping the ball after Bama won the NC in 2012 and if not for the rain the outcome would probably have been different.

 

[TerryP]

 

[TerryP]

Fouts is just a machine!

13 strikeouts through five innings.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

I'd really like to see a permanent left field seating area (maybe 3 rows) above the outfield fence. Wouldn't have to be many seats, but it would be really cool if done right, IMO.

 

[TerryP]

13 strikeouts through five innings.

Or is it 12?

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Or is it 12?

12

 

[TerryP]

I'd really like to see a permanent left field seating area (maybe 3 rows) above the outfield fence. Wouldn't have to be many seats, but it would be really cool if done right, IMO.

In the same vein as right field at The Joe?

 

[TerryP]

Notre Dame about to run rule UK in Lexington. Another W tomorrow for ND and we're going to see them in Tuscaloosa.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

In the same vein as right field at The Joe?

Similar, but I think it would have to be more bleacher type (think top of Green Monster seating). Not a ton of room to work with in that area, but they had some temporary bleachers there a few years ago. I'd say I'd love it to be a Right Field Ragers type student section, but I kinda want to sit there myself... haha

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Notre Dame about to run rule UK in Lexington. Another W tomorrow for ND and we're going to see them in Tuscaloosa.

Was just about to post that. ND is laying the wood to them.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Hemphill is so damn good.