No. 3 Alabama Hosts No. 22 Georgia For Weekend Series
3/29/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ??The Crimson Tide softball team will continue its 12-game stretch at home this weekend when they resume conference play with a three-game series against No. 22 Georgia on Saturday and Sunday. All three games will be televised locally by WVUA. Alabama pounded out 27 runs in two games on Tuesday to sweep a doubleheader against Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs have lost five straight after getting swept last weekend at Florida and Wednesday by in-state rival Georgia Tech.
Scouting Georgia
The Bulldogs enter this weekend with a 28-14 record on the season and 4-4 mark in conference play. They started conference play 4-1 before Florida took all three games from them last weekend. Kellie Middleton leads the team in hitting with a .407 avg. (50-of-123), 33 runs and 26 RBI. She has also stolen 34 bases. Kasi Carroll is 18-4 on the mound with a 1.79 ERA and 132 strikeouts.
Series History
Alabama leads the all-time series with Georgia 18-9. After losing the first game last season, the Tide bounced back with two victories. The Tide had the most success from 1999-2002 when they won eight straight games.
Last Year's Series
Both teams were ranked in the top-10 last year when they squared off. Down 4-0 in the first game, the Bulldogs scored the final five runs, including two in the seventh for the win. The Tide bounced back to win 4-2 and 4-1 in the last two to take the series. Jordan Praytor had a big series going 4-for-10 with two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored. Kelley Montalvo was 6-of-9 with a double, a RBI and three runs scored. Chrissy Owens went 1-1 in the series with only one earned run allowed in eight innings for a 0.88 ERA.
Alabama Players vs. Georgia
Several Crimson Tide players have had success in their careers against Georgia. Jordan Praytor is batting .522 (12-of-23) in seven games with five runs scored and five RBI. Kelley Montalvo was 6-of-9 with three runs scored in last year's series. Chrissy Owens has a 1-1 record with one earned run allowed and seven strikeouts in 10 innings.
Last Time Out
Alabama bounced back from two straight losses in a big way, downing Louisiana Tech at home 12-4 and 15-0. Kelley Montalvo led off the first game with a home run and finished 3-for-3 with a walk, two runs scored and three RBI. Kellie Eubanks hit her first career grand slam in the second game and scored three runs. Charlotte Morgan was 4-for-4 with two walks, four runs scored, three RBI and a home run. Michelle Menningmann went 4-of-5 with five runs and two RBI, including a home run, triple and four runs scored in the second game. Mallory Benak was 4-for-6 on the day with four runs scored.
Crimson Tide Ranked No. 3
Alabama enters this week's games ranked No. 3 in the country after going 3-2 last week and losing back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Tide swept a doubleheader with Arkansas but lost two of three on the road at #8 LSU over the weekend.
Crimson Tide vs. Ranked Teams
Alabama has played 12 games against teams ranked in the Top-25 this season and own a 9-3 record. The Tide shut out No. 22 N.C. State twice in the Hampton Inn Crimson Classic. The following weekend Alabama downed No. 11 Louisiana-Lafayette two times with a 6-0 victory in the first game and a walkoff three-run home run in the eighth inning by Mandy Burford in the second. The Tide split with No. 22 Florida and followed by sweeping 24th-ranked South Carolina on the road. This past weekend the Tide lost 2-of-3 at No. 8 LSU.
Morgan a Menace at the Plate
Freshman Charlotte Morgan (Moreno Valley, Calif.) currently has a career-long nine-game hitting streak and has recorded a hit in 11 of the 13 conference games, including the last seven. In her last 15 games she is batting .439 (18-of-41) with 15 runs, 15 RBI, five home runs and five walks. After 13 SEC games she is batting .378 and leads the team with four home runs, 12 RBI and 11 runs scored. She has hit home runs against five of the Tide's last six opponents and has one in four of Bama's five SEC series. She has raised her season avg. to .388 (31-of-80) with six home runs and 23 RBI to go along with 20 runs, five doubles and 15 walks.
Benak Comes Through on Senior Night
Senior Mallory Benak (Dothan, Ala.) had a senior night to remember on Tuesday when she helped lead Alabama to a pair of wins over Louisiana Tech. She went 4-for-6 with a double and four runs scored in the doubleheader and narrowly missed a home run. She had identical games going 2-for-3 in each contest with two runs scored. She set career highs for hits and runs scored in the two games.
New Leadoff Pays Off
For the first time this season, Brittany Rogers did not lead off the Tide lineup in Tuesday's opener. Kelley Montalvo drew the No. 1 spot in the lineup for the first time in her collegiate career. In her first at bat, she cleared the left field fence for her sixth home run of the year, the first home to lead off the game since Ashley Courtney did it in 2004. Montalvo was perfect in the game with three hits and a walk in four plate appearances. She drove in three runs and scored twice.
Menningmann Rounds Bases
Senior Michelle Menningmann (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) scored five runs on Tuesday with four coming in the second game. After going 2-for-2 with a walk, run and RBI in the opener she broke out with a big second game. She hit a home run in the first inning and a triple in the third, finishing the game 2-of-3 with a walk, RBI and career-high four runs scored. She had seven total bases in the game and was the first Alabama player this season to score four runs in a game.
Moore Playing Time
Sophomore pitcher Allison Moore (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) has seen increased playing time over the past two weeks. She has pitched in four games with one run allowed in nine innings. She started Tuesday against the Lady Techsters and did not allow a hit after the leadoff batter for a five-inning shutout with seven strikeouts. It was her first career shutout and also a career best for runs and hits allowed in a game.
Tough Out
Lauren Parker (Port Neches, Texas) showed that she is not just a good hitter against mediocre competition when she went 7-for-11 at No. 8 LSU in three games. On the week she had two or more hits in all five games and finished 11-of-17 for a .647 batting avg. She went 3-for-4 in a loss to LSU on Sunday to raise her avg. to .471 after starting the week with a .426 avg. She only had one pinch-hit at bat against La. Tech and recorded a RBI.
What a Difference a Year Makes
Last season Lauren Parker played in 30 games at Baylor and hit .266 with 10 RBI. This season she has been on a tear, leading the team in several categories and ranking among the SEC leaders. She leads the team with a .465 batting avg. to go with 40 hits, 30 runs, four doubles, two triples, eight home runs and 31 RBI. She has recorded an .837 slugging pct. in 31 starts and a .515 on-base percentage. She has also been effective on the basepaths and in the field with 10 stolen bases and a fielding percentage of .981. She is batting .425 (17-of-40) to lead the team in SEC play. She also has three home runs and nine RBI in 13 conference games.
Monty Rounds Out Tide Batting Order
Sophomore third baseman Kelley Montalvo has batted ninth in the Tide batting order in 23 games this season and is producing like a 3-4-5 hitter. She is batting .329 (27-of-82) with six home runs and 19 RBI. She has scored 23 runs and leads the team with six doubles. She has also walked 12 times and has a .417 on-base percentage. In her last eight games she is batting .450 (9-of-20) with four home runs, eight RBI and five runs scored.
Patience is a Virtue
The Crimson Tide team has drawn 108 walks on the season and has five players with double-digit walk totals. Kellie Eubanks leads the team with 16 walks while Mandy Burford and Charlotte Morgan each have 15 walks. ordan Praytor and Kelley Montalvo have 12 walks apiece.
Put the Bat on the Ball
In a total of 1,024 plate appearances this season, Alabama hitters have only struck out 122 times. Only one out of every eight plate appearances has resulted in a strikeout. There have four players who have started over 30 games and recorded less than 10 strikeouts. Lauren Parker has only struck out four times in 97 plate appearances while Charlotte Morgan has gone 96 plate appearances with only four strikeouts. Brittany Rogers has gone down eight times in 120 plate appearances and Kelley Montalvo has nine strikeouts in 95 plate appearances.
No Free Passes
Once the conference season started senior Blair Potter (Columbus, Ga.) buckled down and has only walked two batter in 26 1/3 innings. The lack of walks has helped her give up only seven earned runs on 18 hits to go 3-0. She also has 28 strikeouts in league games. She went a stretch of 20 2/3 innings without a walk before walking a batter at LSU. She recorded 22 strikeouts during that time. On the season she has only walked nine batters in 51 2/3 innings with 49 strikeouts.
Powerful Pitching
Chrissy Owens (Miami, Fla.) started the season 16-0 before receiving her first loss on Sunday at No. 8 LSU. Before the loss she had been nearly unhittable in the previous six games, allowing just one run in 23 2/3 innings. On the year she has a 0.75 ERA with 11 earned runs allowed in 102.1 innings. She has 86 strikeouts compared to 25 walks. She has pitched eight complete game shutouts and combined for three others. She has allowed one run or less in 15 of her 17 starts. Her best inning is the second where she has not allowed a run in 17 innings and has 21 K's.
Power Hour
In the first 36 games of the 2007 season, Alabama has hit 47 home runs with 12 of the Tide's 16 batters recording a home run and 10 players hitting two or more. The Tide has hit 19 home runs in the last 11 games. Mandy Burford leads the team with nine home runs. Lauren Parker has eight on the season after not hitting a single home run as a freshman. Charlotte Morgan has hit a home run against five of the last six opponents and in four of the five SEC series. She has six on the year while Kelley Montalvo also has six with four in the last eight games. Brittany Rogers hit two inside-the-park home runs, with one coming from the right side and the other from the left. Seven players have hit their first collegiate home run this season including Eubanks, Parker, Rogers, Morgan, Michelle Menningmann, Katie Johnson and most recently Jessica Smith against Seton Hall.
Offensive Firepower
Alabama is batting .333 as a team this season. Six players are hitting .300 or better. Lauren Parker leads the team and the SEC in both batting avg. (.465) and on-base percentage (.515). Brittany Rogers is batting at a clip of .397 (46-of-116) to lead the team in hits. Charlotte Morgan is hitting .388 (31-of-80) and has a .480 OBP while Jordan Praytor is batting .382 (39-of-102). The Tide has outscored its opponents 257-49 on the season, a margin of 5.8 runs per game.
Three Runs or Less Equals Success
The Crimson Tide pitching staff has made a living this season by keeping the opposing team off the scoreboard. They have tallied 15 shutouts in 36 games and have allowed one run or less in 24 contests. Opponents have only scored two runs four times and three runs five times. Only three times has Alabama allowed more than three runs, two of which resulted in losses with an 8-4 setback at Florida and a 5-4 loss in eight innings at LSU.
Manufacturing Runs
Alabama is scoring 7.1 runs per game to lead the SEC. The 257 runs scored is 22 more than LSU, who has also played one more game. Alabama has scored three or more runs in all but two games this season. They won 1-0 at South Carolina and lost 3-0 at LSU. The Tide has made it common practice to light up the scoreboard, scoring 10 or more runs nine times and five or more runs in 27 of the 36 games. The Tide have run-ruled its opponent 14 times.
Big Innings
One of the big reasons that Alabama is 33-3 this season has been their ability to put together innings of three or more runs. They have had an inning with at least three runs in 22 of the 36 contests. They recorded their biggest inning against Winthrop with a 10-run second inning. It tied for the second highest run total in a single inning in school history. Alabama has also recorded nine and seven-run innings this season. They have scored six runs five times, five runs five times, four runs eight times and three runs 13 times. They have outscored their opponents 45-6 in the second inning and 40-4 in the first inning.
Who's on First
Alabama has received production throughout the lineup with each player in the 1-9 slots contributing game-in and game-out. Six different players have recorded at least a .400 on base percentage for the season. Lauren Parker has the highest OBP at .515 with 40 hits, six walks and five HBP. Charlotte Morgan has found her way on with 31 hits, 15 walks and one HBP for a .480 OBP. Jordan Praytor has posted 39 hits to go along with 12 walks and three hit-by-pitch for a .462 OBP. Mandy Burford has 30 hits, 15 walks and four HBP for a .450 OBP.
Fast Out of the Gate
The Tide has scored in the first inning in 16 of their last 28 games. They have outscored their opponents 40-4 in the opening frame this season. Only three opponents have scored against Alabama in the first inning, UTSA, Mississippi State and Florida. The Tide has not allowed a run in the first inning in 31 of the last 33 games and are 26-2 on the season when scoring first.
Home Sweet Home
Through the first month of the season, the Crimson Tide is 22-0 at the friendly confines of the Alabama Softball Complex. Now in the 11th year of the program, the Tide owns a career record of 212-37, a winning percentage of .851. Season ticket sales are at an all-time high with over 1,100 sold for the first time in program history. Last season Alabama went an incredible 30-4 at home with an undefeated 5-0 during the NCAA Tournament.
Two-Out RBI
With two outs you can't count the Tide batters out. They have produced 72 runs this season with two outs. Lauren Parker leads the team with 14 two-out RBI while Jordan Praytor has driven in 10 runs. Parker is batting .429 (12-of-28) with two outs. Brittany Rogers is hitting .444 (12-of-27) with two outs and has seven RBI. Ashley Holcombe has also added seven RBI with two outs. Mandy Burford leads the team with 33 RBI, seven of which have come with two outs.
100 Stolen Bases and Counting
The Crimson Tide have blazed their way to a SEC-leading 100 stolen bases in 36 games this season, an average of 2.78 stolen bases per game. They have only been caught stealing 17 times on the year for a success rate of 85.5-percent. They have 11 more stolen bases than any other SEC school. Brittany Rogers leads the team with 26 stolen bases and has only been caught stealing twice. Jordan Praytor sits at 17 on the year while Mandy Burford has 16 stolen bases. Lauren Parker is 10-of-12 and Mallory Benak has nine stolen bases. The Tide has stolen 84 more bases than their opponents.
D-Fence
With a defense the caliber of this year's Crimson Tide unit, Alabama's pitchers have been able to relax and put the ball in play knowing the defense will come through and make the play. UA ranks second in the SEC with a .979 fielding pct. and have only committed 21 errors in 969 total chances. They have 19 games with no errors and have only committed multiple errors in three games this season with two against Texas-San Antonio in the third game of the year, two against Arkansas and three against Louisiana Tech. Ten players have a 1.000 fielding pct.
Score, Score, Score
Sophomore center fielder Brittany Rogers terrorizes opponents when she reaches base, which is early and often. She leads the team with 46 hits and 26 stolen bases but also has scored 36 runs. She has scored a run in 15 of the last 23 games. On the season she has scored in 24 of the Tide's 36 games, has 10 games with two runs scored and matched a career high with three runs scored against Mississippi State in the SEC opener.
Undefeated
Senior starting pitcher Blair Potter has a distinction not many collegiate players have. She is undefeated in her Division I career with a 12-0 record at Alabama. Since transferring from Wallace-Dothan Community College, Potter has gone through the ranks without a loss. She has a career 1.79 ERA after posting a 1.35 ERA this season. In 2007 she has recorded one shutout in her nine starts and has won seven games. She has allowed only 10 earned runs in 51 2/3 innings with 35 hits allowed, nine walks and 49 strikeouts. Right-handed batters are hitting just .153 against the Tide's first ever left-handed hurler.
Multi-Hit Games
The Crimson Tide players have tallied 74 multiple-hit games this season. So far 13 different players have posted a game with two or more hits. Brittany Rogers leads the way with 15 multi-hit games, including 12 contests with two hits and three with three hits. Lauren Parker has tallied two or more hits in her last five games to give her 14 multi-hit games and Jordan Praytor has nine on the year. Praytor is the only player this season with four hits in a game.
Multi-RBI Games
Part of the reason why the Crimson Tide are averaging over seven runs per game is the number of times they have had a player with two or more RBI in a game. Lauren Parker leads the way with 10 multi-RBI games while Jordan Praytor has seven multi-RBI games and Mandy Burford has six contests with two or more RBI.
Career Highs
Michelle Menningmann scored a career-high four runs on Tuesday while Kellie Eubanks set career highs with four RBI and three runs scored. Mallory Benak also tallied career highs with two runs, two hits and two RBI. Allison Moore only allowed one hit for her first career shutout.
Milestone Watch
Several Alabama players are close to setting personal milestones or moving up in the Crimson Tide record book. Jordan Praytor continues to etch her place in the record books. She needs 9 hits to move into 12th on the career list. Dani Woods needs 9 RBI to move in to 11th all-time. Mandy Burford needs four runs for 100 in her career while Brittany Rogers is also four runs shy of the century mark and 7 SB shy of second on the career list.
Crimson Tide on WVUA
WVUA will be carrying the Crimson Tide on 90.7 FM for home and away games throughout the 2007 season. This will be the 7th season WVUA has covered Alabama Softball. Award-winning sportscaster Nic Hoch will call the action along with others from the WVUA sports team. All games can also be heard on the internet at http://broadcastmonsters.com/Alabama/alabama.asx.
