Alabama Softball Travels to LSU This Weekend
3/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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The 10th ranked Crimson Tide softball hits the road as the team travels to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to take on SEC West rival and 19th ranked LSU.
The Tide (33-7, 6-3 SEC) and the Tigers (17-8, 1-5) have a lot of history between them, having served as the top two teams in the conference over the past several years. Alabama and LSU are the only programs in the league to make multiple appearances in the Women's College World Series since the SEC adopted softball in 1997 as both schools have made two appearances.
The SEC Regular season championship has come down to the Alabama-LSU rivalry four times in the nine-year history of the conference, however the title has always eluded the Crimson Tide. Six SEC Tournament championships have been won between the two teams and no other team in the SEC West has won a division championship outside of Alabama and LSU.
The two teams seem to enjoy each other's company so much that they've even squared off in seven of the nine SEC Tournaments with the Tide claiming five of the nine post season meetings.
Alabama trails the all-time series 15-24 and has met with little success in Baton Rouge with a 3-11 record. The Tide has never won a series on the road against LSU, coming the closest in 1997 when the two teams split a four-game set.
And while the series may seem a bit one-sided, 18 games have been decided by two runs or less while there have been 11 one-run games.
Alabama comes into the series fresh of a series victory over in-state rival and 25th ranked Auburn, taking two of three games from the Tigers. The Tide currently sits at the top of the SEC West division with a 6-3 conference record.
LSU comes in on a four-game skid and has lost five of its last six games including a three-game sweep at the hands of the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens.
Senior Ashley Courtney currently leads the Tide offensively as she's the team leader in average (.378), runs (30), hits (45), RBI (23) and stolen bases (17).
Stephanie VanBrakle leads the Alabama pitching staff with a 14-4 record and 150 strikeouts in 115.2 innings pitched. Freshman Chrissy Owens is the staff leader with a 1.07 ERA while limiting the opposition to a .168 average. She has not allowed an earned run in 11 appearances, a span of 28.0 innings.
The Tide and the Tigers are scheduled for a single game on Friday beginning at 6:00 p.m. followed by a doubleheader on Saturday with the first pitch scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Live stats and audio will be available at www.rolltide.com.
