Courtney Selected Eighth Overall in NPF Draft
2/8/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Tide Softball Hosts Northwestern State
Tuesday, February 08, 2005 |
|
Alabama senior standout catcher Ashley Courtney has been drafted eighth overall by the New England Riptide of the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) league.
"I'm extremely excited about the prospect of playing professional softball," said Courtney. "Anytime you get a change to further your career in what you love doing is a great thing. It's really an honor to have the opportunity to play with so many gifted athletes and be mentioned in the same breath as a lot of them."
Courtney, who was the second pick in the second round, joins former Tide players Kelley Askew, Ginger Jones and Jackie McClain as the only players to be drafted into the professional ranks. Askew and Jones were drafted in the 2001 WPSL Senior draft and McClain was drafted in the 2003 NPF Senior draft. Jones signed as a free agent last season with the Texas Thunder.
Alabama Hosts Northwestern State in Doubleheader
The 12th ranked Crimson Tide softball team (5-0) will look to remain perfect on the season Wednesday as the team hosts the Northwestern State Demons (4-1) in a 5:00 doubleheader.
The two schools have never met in softball and the match-up was actually a late addition to the 2005 schedule. The connection between the two schools is Northwestern St. head coach Mike Perniciaro who was the long time hitting coach for the Auburn Tigers. During his time on the Plains, Alabama and Auburn met a total of 24 times with Alabama recording a 16-8 mark against the Tigers.
The Tide comes into the doubleheader fresh off its fifth straight Bama Bash! championship and currently has a team ERA of 0.40 after allowing only two earned runs in 35.0 innings pitched while striking out 41 batters and allowing only four walks.
Junior third baseman Staci Ramsey leads the Tide offensively with a .389 average and a team high seven runs scored. Ashley Courtney has the lone home run of the season for Alabama while senior second baseman Leah White is the team leader in RBI with five.
Fans can follow all the action on WVUA 90.7 FM where Chad Anderson will call all the action. Live stats and audio are also available on the internet at www.rolltide.com. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling 205.348.BAMA or they can be purchased online at www.rolltide.com.
