No. 4 Tide Softball Travels to Mississippi State this Weekend
4/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
The fourth-ranked Crimson Tide softball team (42-8, 20-4 SEC) continues its journey towards its first SEC Championship this weekend when they travel to Starkville, Mississippi for a three-game set with division rival Mississippi State (30-26, 4-20).
It will be the end of a busy week for the Tide as they've already played a three-game mid-week series at Auburn against the 19th ranked Tigers. Alabama took two of three games from its in-state rival, winning Game 1 (9-1, five innings) and Game 3 (9-0, six innings) by way of the run-rule.
Alabama currently leads the overall SEC standings with a 20-4 record with two series to play this season. The Georgia Bulldogs are right on the Tide's heels with a 22-5 record with only a three-game series this weekend left between them and the end of their season. The Bulldogs host the Tennessee Lady Vols in a battle for the SEC East division lead.
Mississippi State on the other hand comes into the weekend on an 18-game slide, the longest losing streak in program history. They are currently winless in the month of April.
The Crimson Tide owns a 27-7 all-time mark over the Bulldogs and has posted a 10-4 record against them in Starkville. A large portion of the Tide's 27 wins in the series came during a stretch where Alabama won 14 in row in a streak that dated from 2000 to 2003. Mississippi State then won three of the next four meetings in 2003-04. Alabama got back on the winning track against the Bulldogs last season winning all four meetings, including a first round match-up in the SEC Tournament.
Jordan Praytor leads the Alabama offensive attack with a team best .433 average and seven home runs, which is tied for the top spot in a lineup that hits at a .403 clip. Praytor also comes into the weekend on a 25-game hit streak, the second longest in school history and the third longest in SEC history. Her streak also ranks as the second longest streak in the country this year and the 17th longest streak in NCAA history. During the streak, Praytor has hit at a clip of .487 (38-78) with six home runs, eight doubles, 22 RBI and 29 runs. She has a slugging percentage of .821 and an on-base percentage of .518.
The Tide pitching staff is led by senior Stephanie VanBrakle and sophomore Chrissy Owens. VanBrakle has a team best 24-4 record and 279 strikeouts in 178.2 innings of work. She is currently tied for the school's all-time strikeout record with 1,045. Former Alabama All-American Shelley Laird also has 1,045 strikeouts. Owens has a team best 0.74 ERA.
The series is scheduled to begin on Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader followed by a single game on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Fans can follow all the action at www.rolltide.com where live stats and audio will be available. In the Tuscaloosa area, fans can tune into WVUA 90.7 FM where Nic Hoch will call all the balls and strikes. For fans interested in making the 90-minute trip over to Starkville, admission is free.
