VanBrakle Named SEC Pitcher of the Week; Tide Hosts Troy
4/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Following her second straight weekend where she didn’t allow a run, Stephanie VanBrakle was named the SEC Pitcher of the Week as announced by the league office this afternoon.
VanBrakle posted her second straight 0.00 ERA in a conference series as she shutout the Ole Miss Rebels allowing no runs in 10.0 innings of work while striking out 23 batters. She finished the week with a 2-0 record, a 0.00 ERA and a .114 opponent batting average. In her second outing of the week, VanBrakle recorded her 1,000th career strikeout, becoming just the second pitcher in program history to reach the 1,000-strikeout plateau.
The honor marks the fourth time this season she has been named the conference’s pitcher of the week and the ninth time this season the team has received a weekly award from the league office.
It marks the 41st time in school softball history that Alabama has received the honor, which marks the most times in SEC history.
The third-ranked Crimson Tide (36-4) entertains the Troy Trojans Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. CT.
Alabama, who leads the all-time series against the Trojans 8-0 including a 5-1 victory last season, is coming in off a series sweep at Ole Miss where the Tide once again held the opposition scoreless. It was the second straight conference series in which Alabama shutout its opponent.
The Bama offense is led by a couple .400+ hitters in sophomore Jordan Praytor (.427) and freshman Brittany Rogers (.417). Sophomore Dani Woods provides the power numbers in the lineup with a team best seven home runs and 34 RBI, also a team high.
VanBrakle leads the Tide pitching staff with a 21-2 record and 235 strikeouts in 141.0 innings pitched. Chrissy Owens has a staff best 0.56 ERA in 87.2 innings of work.
Bama will get back into league play this weekend hosting a big three-game series against 11th ranked LSU on Easter weekend beginning with a 5:00 p.m. doubleheader on Friday.
