No. 2 Crimson Tide Hosts Tennessee Chattanooga
4/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ?? The Alabama softball team will welcome Tennessee-Chattanooga to Tuscaloosa on Wednesday. The two teams will play a doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m. at the Alabama Softball Complex. The Tide is coming off a 5-0 week, including a three-game sweep over in-state rival Auburn in front record crowds. The Lady Mocs won 2-of-3 at Western Carolina and have won six of their last eight games.
Scouting Tennessee Chattanooga
The Lady Mocs enter Wednesday's outing with a 26-22 overall record on the season. They are 1-4 this season against ranked teams with a 1-0 victory over No. 24 N.C. State. Tia Blosser leads the team with a .325 avg. while Alyssa Edwards is hitting .296 with four home runs and a team-high 29 RBI. Ashley Frizzell has a 1.95 ERA and 10-9 record while Brooke Loudermilk is 15-9 with a 2.21 ERA and 201 strikeouts.
Series History
Alabama holds a 4-2 all-time record against Tennessee Chattanooga. The last meeting came in 2004 when the Tide won 9-0 in five innings. UA has won the last two meetings since splitting a doubleheader in 2001.
Last Meeting
Alabama tallied nine runs on nine hits in a five-inning 9-0 rout of Tennessee Chattanooga in 2004. The two squads met in the final game of the Frost Cutlery Classic and the Tide finished off a perfect tournament with a 6-0 record. A grand slam by Stephanie VanBrakle in the third started things off for Bama.
Record Crowds
The Crimson Tide recorded its two largset crowds in school history in last weekend's three-game series with Auburn. Friday night a record 1,958 fans came out to watch Bama win 10-0 (5) and 5-3. The second largest crowd of 1,829 on Saturday witnessed a 12-4 (5) victory by the Tide.
Last Time Out
Alabama swept a three-game series with in-state rival Auburn over Easter weekend. The Tide claimed victories of 10-0 (5), 5-3 and 12-4 (5) in the three contests. Bama hit seven home runs in the three games with four coming in Saturday's finale. Six different players hit one out with Kellie Eubanks driving two out of the park. Dani Woods went 5-for-7 with a home run, five RBI and three runs scored in the series. Chrissy Owens was 2-0 on the mound with a save. SEC Player of the Week Dani Woods (Cockeysville, Md.) became the third Tide player on Monday to garner SEC Player of the Week honors this season. She recorded nine RBI on the week and was 7-of-12 (.583) at the plate. She had a double and a home run to go with three runs scored, a walk, two sacrifice bunts and one sacrifice fly.
Crimson Tide in the Rankings
Alabama is ranked No. 2 in the country in the USA Today/NFCA Top-25 and No. 3 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top-25. The Tide have been ranked in the top 10 for 26 straight weeks and have been ranked in 70 consecutive polls.
RPI Has Bama No. 2
The first installment of the NFCA Simulated Ratings Percentage Index was released last Friday and had The Crimson Tide listed with the second best RPI in the nation. Arizona held the top spot with the top strength of schedule. Alabama and Michigan are the only two teams in the country ranked in the top-10 in winning percentage, RPI and strength of schedule. The Tide has the 10th best strength of schedule and fourth best winning percentage. Tennessee has the top win percentage but with a strength of schedule of 65th.
National Player of the Year Finalists
Lauren Parker and Chrissy Owens were named two of 25 finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year last week. Parker is hitting .464 with eight home runs and 38 RBI. She is second in the SEC in hitting and on-base pct. (.512). She is batting .458 in SEC play and leads the league in three categories in conference only games. Owens is 19-2 with a 0.95 ERA and 101 strikeouts. She has nine shutouts in 20 starts. The Crimson Tide is one of six teams with multiple selections to the list. The list will be narrowed to 10 finalists on May 9.
Home Sweet Home
Alabama had its 30-game home winning streak snapped with an extra-inning 2-1 loss to Georgia but have since won seven in a row at the Alabama Softball Complex. The Tide are now 29-1 at home this season to give them one of the nation's top home-field advantages. Now in the 11th year of the program, the Tide owns a career record of 219-38 at home, a winning percentage of .852. 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.
Rising Up
Junior Dani Woods hit .583 in the five games last week to raise her batting average 37 points. She climbed over the .300 mark for the season and is now batting .326 (31-of-95). She hit her fourth home run of the season and drove in nine runs to give her 30 RBI on the season. She has moved into the the top-10 all-time in both doubles and RBI.
Bombs Away
All nine players on the Alabama softball team who have started over 35 games have hit three or more home runs. The regular starting lineup has combined for 52 home runs this season. Five of those nine players have hit six or more long balls. Mandy Burford leads the team with nine home runs while Lauren Parker and Charlotte Morgan are close behind with eight. The left side of the infield has 13 home runs with Kelley Montalvo hitting seven out and Kellie Eubanks crushing six home runs. Since SEC play has started Morgan and Montalvo have been on fire. Morgan has seven home runs in the last 23 games and Montalvo has hit five.
30 RBI Club
Only 13 SEC players have recorded 30 or more RBI this season but the Tide has four of those. Lauren Parker leads the team and is sixth in the conference with 38 on the season. Mandy Burford is seventh with 34 and Charlotte Morgan is tied for 10th with 31. Dani Woods recently joined the club with nine RBI last week to give her 30 on the year. Jordan Praytor is just one RBI shy of becoming the fifth player with 30 RBI.
Hitting .300 or Better
Seven of the nine everyday starters are batting over .300 for Alabama. As a team they are hitting .334 which is 122 points better than their opponents' average of .212. In all nine of the 16 players who have batted this season are hitting over .300. Lauren Parker leads the way with a .464 avg. while Mallory Benak is 5-of-10 (.500). Brittany Rogers is just under the .400 mark with a .399 avg. and Charlotte Morgan is batting .385. The other players batting over .300 are Jordan Praytor (.344), Kelley Montalvo (.330), Dani Woods (.326), Michelle Menningmann (.323) and Mandy Burford (.320).
40 Wins Eight Straight Years
The Crimson Tide have now won 40 or more games in each of the past eight years. Head Coach Patrick Murphy has guided Bama to winning seasons in all nine of his seasons at the helm and after winning 39 games his first year he has posted eight straight 40-win seasons. He has four seasons with 50+ victories and two with over 60 wins. This season the Tide is 40-4 overall.
Approaching 20 Wins
In the previous 10 years of the program, there have been 11 20-win seasons for Tide pitchers. Junior hurler Chrissy Owens holds one of those 11 with her 21 victories last season as a sophomore. She is one win shy of recording the 12th 20-win season as she sits at 19-2 after posting three wins in the five games last week. The last two seasons Alabama has had a pair of players who won 20 games. They are trying to accomplish the feat again this season as Blair Potter is a perfect 10-0.
On Fire
Sophomore second baseman Lauren Parker (Port Neches, Texas) has been on fire in the last three weeks. In the last 14 games she is batting .523 (23-of-44) with two home runs, 12 RBI, 14 runs scored and five doubles. She has started 13 of those 14 games and recorded two or more hits eight times. She had two-run home runs in the first inning of both contests against Arkansas, a three-hit game at LSU and a 4-for-4 day with three runs and three RBI Sunday versus Georgia.
Rounding the Bases
Lauren Parker has made scoring runs a regular occuring theme this season. She currently has a streak of seven straight games with a run scored. In 41 games this season she has tallied 39 runs scored to rank second on the squad. She has scored a run in 31 of her 41 contests. Earlier this season she scored a run in 13 straight games. She has seven games with two or more runs scored and set a career high with three on 4/1 against Georgia.
What a Difference a Year Makes
Last season Lauren Parker played in 30 games at Baylor and hit .266 with 10 RBI but 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 .464 batting avg. to go with 52 hits, 39 runs, nine doubles, two triples, eight home runs and 38 RBI. She has recorded a .795 slugging pct. in 41 games and a .512 on-base percentage. She has a hit in 31 of her 41 games, scored a run in 31 outings and driven in a run in 21 games.
Morgan a Menace at the Plate
Freshman Charlotte Morgan (Moreno Valley, Calif.) has recorded a hit in 16 of the 18 games for the Tide. In her last 21 games she is batting .426 (26-of-61) with 18 runs, 23 RBI, seven home runs and seven walks. After 19 SEC games she is batting .357 and leads the team with six home runs and 20 RBI to go along with 15 runs scored. She has hit home runs in six of Bama's seven SEC series. She has raised her season avg. to .385 (40-of-104) with eight home runs and 31 RBI to go along with 26 runs, six doubles and 19 walks.
SEC Leaders
The Crimson Tide leads the SEC in 12 team categories. Ashley Holcombe leads the SEC with four pickoffs while Brittany Rogers is tied for the league lead with 43 runs scored. In SEC games, Alabama leads the conference in 11 different team categories. Lauren Parker leads the conference in three different categories in league games, including runs (16), hits (27) and total bases (41). Charlotte Morgan leads the conference with six home runs, 20 RBI and a .696 slugging pct.
Stealing a Record
On April 3 against Northwestern State, Alabama set a school record with nine stolen bases in one game. It broke the previous record of eight set three times before. Five players combined for the nine steals. Brittany Rogers swiped three to lead the team. Jordan Praytor and Mallory Benak each tallied two while Charlotte Morgan and Mandy Burford also stole a base.
100 Stolen Bases and Counting
The Crimson Tide have blazed their way to a SEC-leading 123 stolen bases in 44 games this season, an average of 2.8 stolen bases per game. They have only been caught stealing 25 times on the year for a success rate of 83.1-percent. They have 13 more stolen bases than any other SEC school. Brittany Rogers leads the team with 33 stolen bases and has only been caught stealing five times. Jordan Praytor sits at 22 on the year while Mandy Burford has 18 stolen bases. Lauren Parker is 13-of-16 and Mallory Benak is 11-of-15. The Tide has stolen 104 more bases than their opponents.
Walk This Way
Mandy Burford and Kellie Eubanks have been patient at the plate this season and have helped the Tide rank first in the SEC in walks. Burford leads the team with 24 walks and while Eubanks is right behind with 23 walks. Both players have drawn three walks on two occasions this year and have five games with two or more walks. Despite her .228 batting average, Eubanks still has above a .400 on-base percentage due to the walks and four hit-by-pitch. Meahwhile Burford has a .466 OBP with five hit-by-pitch.
Patience is a Virtue
The Crimson Tide team drew 31 walks in five games last week to give them 155 walks on the season. They have drawn 54 walks in the last nine games and now lead the SEC in total walks. They also lead the conference with 59 walks in league play. Players have drawn three walks in a game seven times this season. As a team they have walked five or more times in eight of the last nine contests and 16 times this season. Mandy Burford leads the team with 24 walks while Kellie Eubanks has 23. Charlotte Morgan is next with 19 walks. Jordan Praytor has 18 walks and Kelley Montalvo has earmed 14 free passes and Ashley Holcombe has walked 13 times.
Who's on First
Alabama has received production throughout the lineup with seven of the nine everyday starters posting at least a .400 on-base pct.. Lauren Parker has the highest OBP at .512 with 52 hits, eight walks and five HBP. Charlotte Morgan has found her way on with 40 hits, 19 walks and one HBP for a .476 OBP. Mandy Burford has 33 hits, 24 walks and five HBP for a .466 OBP and Jordan Praytor has posted 43 hits to go along with 18 walks and three hit-by-pitch for a .438 OBP.
Big Innings
One of the big reasons that Alabama is 40-4 this season is the fact that they have scored three or more runs in an inning 42 times. They have had an inning with at least three runs in 27 of the 44 contests. They have two games this season with a 10-run inning with both coming in the second frame. They accomplished the feat against Winthrop and most recently Georgia. The 10 runs tied for the second highest run total in a single inning in school history. Alabama has also recorded nine, eight and seven-run innings this season. They have scored six runs five times, five runs seven times, four runs 10 times and three runs 15 times. They have outscored their opponents 71-10 in the second inning and 33-4 in the fifth.
Manufacturing Runs
Alabama is scoring 7.95 runs per game to lead the SEC. So far this season they have outscored their opponents by a combined 318-69, an average margin of victory of 6.23 runs per game. The 318 runs scored is 52 more than LSU who is second in the conference. Alabama has scored three or more runs in all but four games this season. They won 1-0 against both South Carolina and Florida Atlantic and lost 3-0 at LSU and 2-1 to Georgia. The Tide has scored 10 or more runs 13 times and five or more runs in 33 of the 44 games. The Tide has run-ruled its opponent 17 times.
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 17 shutouts in 44 games and have allowed one run or less in 26 contests. Opponents have only scored two runs seven times and three runs six times. Only five 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.
Two-Out RBI
With two outs you can't count the Tide batters out. They have produced 85 runs this season with two outs. Bama tallied 10 two-out RBI in the three-game series against Auburn. Lauren Parker leads the team with 15 two-out RBI while Jordan Praytor has driven in 10 runs. Parker is batting .405 (15-of-37) with two outs. Brittany Rogers is hitting .424 (14-of-34) with two outs and has seven RBI. Ashley Holcombe and Dani Woods both came through big last week with two outs and now have nine two-out RBI. Mandy Burford has 34 RBI on the year, eight of which have come with two outs.
Put the Bat on the Ball
In a total of 1,315 plate appearances this season, Alabama hitters have only struck out 154 times. Only one out of every 8.5 plate appearances has resulted in a strikeout. There are two players who have started over 40 games and have fewer than 10 strikeouts. Lauren Parker has only struck out eight times in 125 plate appearances while Charlotte Morgan has gone 124 plate appearances with only six strikeouts. Brittany Rogers has gone down only 12 times in 149 plate appearances and Kelley Montalvo has 11 strikeouts in 118 plate appearances.
Multi-Hit Games
The Crimson Tide players have tallied 89 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 18 multi-hit games while Lauren Parker is right behind her with 17. Rogers has 13 contests with two hits and five with three hits. Parker has 14 games with two hits, two with three hits and one with four hits. Charlotte Morgan has 10 on the year.
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 12 multi-RBI games while Jordan Praytor, Charlotte Morgan and Dani Woods all have eight multi-RBI games.
Power Hour
In the first 44 games of the 2007 season, Alabama has hit 57 home runs to give them six more than they had in 65 games last season. So far 12 of the Tide's 16 batters have recorded a home run and 10 players have hit two or more. Mandy Burford leads the team with nine home runs. Newcomers Lauren Parker and Charlotte Morgan have each hit eight on the season. Parker did not hit a home run as a freshman at Baylor in 2006 while Morgan has hit a home run in six of the seven SEC series. Kelley Montalvo has seven with five in the last 14 games. Brittany Rogers hit her first career out-of-the-park home run against Auburn batting right-handed. She hit two inside-the-park home runs earlier this season, with one coming from the right side and the other from the left.
Adding Strength
Seven Tide players have hit their first collegiate home run this season to give Bama 12 different players with long balls. The seven players who have recorded their first career home run include Kellie Eubanks, Lauren Parker, Brittany Rogers, Charlotte Morgan, Michelle Menningmann, Katie Johnson and Jessica Smith.
Strength of Schedule
Alabama has the No. 10 strength of schedule in the country entering this week. They have won more games against ranked teams than any other SEC school. The Tide's 11-4 record against ranked squads gives them five more victories than any other SEC school. Florida is next with a 6-10 record and has the No. 3 strength of schedule. Fellow top-10 teams No. 1 Tennessee and No. 6 LSU have only played five and seven games, respectively, against ranked programs. The Lady Vols are 4-1 and the Tigers are 5-2. Arizona has the toughest schedule so far. LSU is ranked 36th and Tennessee is ranked 65th.
Crimson Tide vs. Ranked Teams
Alabama has played 15 games against teams ranked in the Top-25 this season and own an 11-4 record. The Tide shutout 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. The Tide lost 2-of-3 at No. 8 LSU but bounced back by winning two of the three games at home against Georgia. Alabama's next scheduled game against a team ranked in this week's polls is at Tennessee May 5-6.
Undefeated
Senior starting pitcher Blair Potter has a distinction not many collegiate players have. She is undefeated in her Division I career with a 15-0 record at Alabama. Since transferring from Wallace-Dothan Community College, Potter has gone through the ranks without a loss. She has a career 1.77 ERA after posting a 1.45 ERA this season. In 2007 she has recorded one shutout in her 14 starts and is 10-0. She has allowed only 16 earned runs in 77 innings with 53 hits allowed, 12 walks and 69 strikeouts. Right-handed batters are hitting just .161 against the Tide's first ever left-handed hurler.
No Free Passes
Once the conference season started senior Blair Potter (Columbus, Ga.) buckled down and has only walked five batters in her last 49 2/3 innings. The lack of walks has helped her give up only 13 earned runs on 36 hits to go 6-0 over that span with two saves. She has 42 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 12 batters in 77 innings with 69 strikeouts.
Monty Rounds Out Tide Batting Order
Sophomore third baseman Kelley Montalvo (Miami, Fla.) has batted ninth in the Tide batting order in 29 games this season and is producing like a 3-4-5 hitter. She is batting .330 (34-of-103) with seven home runs and 23 RBI. She has scored 29 runs and has seven doubles. She has also walked 14 times and has a .412 on-base percentage. In her last 16 games she is batting .390 (16-of-41) with five home runs, 12 RBI and 11 runs scored. The sophomore has already eclipsed her career highs for runs, doubles, home runs and RBI.
Powerful Pitching
Chrissy Owens (Miami, Fla.) started the season 16-0 before dropping two starts to #8 LSU and #22 Georgia. She has since gone 3-0 to improve to 19-2. On the year she has a 0.95 ERA with 17 earned runs allowed in 125 2/3 innings. She has 101 strikeouts compared to 32 walks. She has pitched nine complete game shutouts and combined for four others. She has allowed one run or less in 16 of her 20 starts. Her best inning is the second where she has not allowed a run in 20 innings and has 22 K's.
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 to score 21 runs for fourth on the career list and is five hits shy of 12th all-time. She is also nine RBI away from 100 in her career and 13th all-time Dani Woods needs two doubles for eighth on the career list, one home run away from 11th and 16 RBI shy of ninth. Mandy Burford needs two runs for 10th all-time and one home run from 11th. She is also one stolen basey away from sixth on the career list. Brittany Rogers needs six runs scored for ninth all-time. Chrissy Owens needs three wins for fourth all-time and is one save shy of the school record. She is one shutout away from third all-time.
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.
