No. 2 Alabama Hosts Troy on Tuesday
4/23/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ?? The Alabama softball team will play the first of its final four regular season games at home this season when they take on Troy in a non-conference game at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Alabama Softball Complex. The Crimson Tide has won 13 straight, including a three-game sweep at Ole Miss over the weekend. The Trojans lost two of three over the weekend to No. 21 Louisiana Lafayette.
Scouting Troy
The Trojans have had a good year so far with a 36-14 overall record and 14-7 mark in the Sun Belt Conference. They are 14-8 in road contests this season. Courtney Davis leads the way offensively with a .336 avg., 12 doubles, eight home runs and 36 RBI in 50 games. Seven batters are hitting over .300 for Troy who has a team batting avg. of .298. Heidi Johnson is batting .321 with nine home runs and 42 RBI. The pitching staff has a 3.04 ERA but Angela Lopez is 17-4 on the year with a 1.85 ERA and 132 strikeouts. Troy has jumped out early against teams, outscoring their opponent 71-25 in the first inning this season.
Series History
Alabama has never lost to Troy in nine meetings. The Tide have won all nine games by a combined 34-4 but the first six games were all close. Troy did not score in the first four outings but lost by one run three straight times, including twice in extra innings. The last three games have been dominated by Alabama with 6-0, 5-1 and 9-0 (5) victories.
Welcome Back Ashley Courtney
Troy assistant coach Ashley Courtney (Vero Beach, Fla.) played for the Crimson Tide from 2002-05 as an outfielder and catcher. She was a first team Easton All-American as a senior and freshman. She was also a NFCA first team All-American in 2002 and a second team choice in 2005. The three-time All-SEC selection is tied for the school record with 16 career triples.
Last Year's Meeting
The Crimson Tide downed Troy 9-0 in five innings last season. Stephanie VanBrakle and Dominique Accetturo both knocked in four runs while Ashly Holcombe had a solo home run. Brittany Rogers was 2-for-3 with a run scored and Chrissy Owens allowed just two hits with five strikeouts for the shutout win.
Alabama Players vs. Troy
Several Crimson Tide players have had success in their careers against Troy. Dani Woods has scored three runs and driven in another with two walks in two games. Brittany Rogers was 2-for-3 with a run scored while Ashley Holcombe hit a solo home run last year in a 9-0 (5) win. Chrissy Owens has pitched in two games with one start. She has only allowed two hits in seven innings with 10 strikeouts against the Trojans.
Last Time Out
Alabama swept a three-game series at Ole Miss with 28 runs on 38 hits and 19 stolen bases in the three games. With seven stolen bases in the first game, the Tide broke the single season stolen base record. Mandy Burford had four in the game tying the single game record. All nine starters came through at the plate with big hits as the Tide earned their fourth SEC series sweep of the year.
Crimson Tide in the Rankings
Alabama is ranked No. 2 in the country in both the USA Today/NFCA Top-25 and ESPN.com/USA Softball Top-25. Since the first regular season poll came out the Crimson Tide has been ranked in the top five every week with this week marking the 10th straight for Bama. The Tide have been ranked in the top 10 for 27 straight weeks and have been ranked in 71 consecutive polls.
RPI Has Bama No. 2
Alabama was listed No. 2 in the second NFCA Simulated Ratings Percentage Index released last Friday. For the second straight week the Crimson Tide was listed with the second best RPI in the nation. Arizona held the top spot both times with the top strength of schedule. The Tide has the second best winning percentage of any team in the nation. Tennessee has the top win percentage but with a strength of schedule of 45th. The Crimson Tide's strength of schedule was 10th for the first RPI and is currently 28th.
One of Top Programs Since 2000
Since 2000 the Alabama softball team has won the second most games of any team in college softball with 419 victories. They are only four wins shy of the winningest program in the country, Arizona, at 420 wins. LSU is close behind with 410 overall victories.
Winning Streak
Alabama is currently on a 13-game winning streak and have an undefeated 11-0 record in April. During that span they have outscored their opponents 113-29. They scored eight or more runs in 10 of the 13 games and were in double digits six times. They have hit home runs in the last nine outings. The team is batting .371 (121-of-326) with 20 home runs, 20 doubles, three triples, 59 walks and 48 stolen bases. Earlier this season Bama won 25 straight games to start the season and went undefeated at 17-0 in February.
Stealing Records
This season nearly ever season and game school record for stolen bases has fallen or is close to being passed. On April 3 against Northwestern State, Alabama set a record with nine stolen bases in one game. It broke the previous mark of eight. In the first game at Ole Miss, the Tide swiped seven bases to set a new single season record with 139 and now have 151 for the year. Burford had four SB in the game to match the record held by Kelly Kretschman against Arkansas in 1999. Brittany Rogers is close to setting the single season individual record as she is only five SB behind Kretschman who stole 43 bases in 2000.
150 Stolen Bases and Counting
The Crimson Tide has blazed their way to a SEC-leading 151 stolen bases in 50 games this season, an average of 3.02 stolen bases per game. Brittany Rogers leads the team with 38 stolen bases. Jordan Praytor sits at 26 on the year while Mandy Burford has 25 stolen bases. Mallory Benak is 17-of-21 and Lauren Parker is 14-of-19. The Tide has stolen 130 more bases than their opponents and has three or more stolen bases in 27 games.
Owens Moves Up on Shutout Lists
Junior righty Chrissy Owens has blossomed into a No. 1 pitcher this year with a 22-2 record and 0.97 ERA. She has started 23 games with 11 shutouts and five combined shutouts for 16 total. She has only allowed 20 earned runs in 144 innings with 123 strikeouts. She tallied two shutouts at Ole Miss to move into second on the single season record list and third all-time.
Back on Track
Senior Mandy Burford and junior Jordan Praytor both had struggled slightly since the start of SEC play but came alive at Ole Miss last weekend. Burford went 6-for-9 in the series with three runs, four RBI and six stolen bases. She also had two walks and was hit by a pitch twice. Praytor went 6-for-11 with three runs, one home run and three RBI to go with two walks and four stolen bases. She was 4-for-5 with three runs and two RBI in the second game of the series.
M's Have Nine Home Runs
Sophomore third baseman Kelley Montalvo, freshman first baseman Charlotte Morgan and senior outfielder Mandy Burford all have nine home runs to lead the Tide this season. Montalvo and Morgan each hit No. 9 at Ole Miss last weekend. The two corner infielders have been clutch for the Tide since the start of SEC play with seven and eight home runs, respectively. Burford has been stuck on nine for a month with her last home run coming against Arkansas on March 21.
Bombs Away
All nine regular starters on the Alabama softball team have hit four or more home runs with seven of those tallying five or more. The regular starting lineup has combined for 60 home runs this season. Four of those nine players have hit eight or more long balls. Three players are tied for the lead with nine home runs, including Mandy Burford, Charlotte Morgan and Kelley Montalvo. Lauren Parker is next with eight while Kellie Eubanks and Dani Woods each have six home runs. Since SEC play has started Morgan has eight home runs in the last 29 games and Montalvo has hit seven.
Powerful Program
The 2007 Alabama softball team is already approaching the school record for home runs hit in a season. Over the weekend they hit five out of the park to inch closer to the record of 73 set by the 1998 squad. With seven games left to play in the regular season they are only six home runs shy of the record. This season in 50 games they are averaging 1.34 per contest and are on pace to set the record by the end of the regular season.
New Infield Has Bright Future
At the start of the 2007 season the Tide had new starters at all four infield positions. So far they have all been pleasant surprises with 32 combined home runs and only 22 errors in 50 games. Another bright side is all four are either freshman or sophomores. Kelley Montalvo is the only returning starter moving from second to third base. She has nine home runs and six errors in 156 chances. Sophomore shortstop Kellie Eubanks has six home runs and 10 errors in 155 chances. Sophomore transfer Lauren Parker has eight home runs and four errors in 147 chances. Freshman Charlotte Morgan has nine home runs and two errors in 287 chances.
Parker Finds Holes
Lauren Parker continues to impress by finding holes all over the field for base hits. In three games at Ole Miss she went 7-for-10 with a double, four runs and two RBI. She leads the team and the SEC with a .480 batting avg. to go with 60 hits, 43 runs, 11 doubles, two triples, eight home runs and 42 RBI. She has recorded a .792 slugging pct. in 45 games and a .528 on-base percentage. She leads the team with 14 multi-RBI contests and has 20 multi-hit games. She has a hit in 35 of her 45 games, scored a run in 33 outings and driven in a run in 23 games. She has also been effective on the basepaths with 14 stolen bases.
RBI Machine
Junior Dani Woods has been on fire during the Tide's 13-game winning streak. She has been producing runs left and right with 19 RBI during the span. She is batting .467 (14-of-30) over the last 13 games. She has raised her average 55 points during the span. She climbed over the .300 mark for the season and is now batting .324 (35-of-108). She has hit four home runs during the span while scoring six times. She has moved into the top-10 all-time in both doubles and RBI. For the season she has 23 runs scored, six doubles, one triple, six home runs and 37 RBI.
Going Out in Style
Seniors Michelle Menningmann (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) and Mallory Benak (Dothan, Ala.) have made the most of their playing time as seniors. Menningmann was 2-for-3 on Tuesday with a home run, double and two RBI. Coming into the season she had never hit a home run but has tallied four in 2007. She is batting .341 (14-of-41) with 21 runs, two doubles, one triple, four home runs and 12 RBI. Benak stole five bases and scored four runs in four games last week. She is batting .583 (7-of-12) with 25 runs, three doubles and 17 SB in 43 games.
Undefeated
Senior starting pitcher Blair Potter has a distinction not many collegiate players have. She is undefeated in her Division I career with a 18-0 record at Alabama. Since transferring from Wallace-Dothan Community College, Potter has gone through the ranks without a loss. She has a career 1.68 ERA after posting a 1.36 ERA this season. In 2007 she has recorded one shutout in her 17 starts and is 13-0. She has allowed only 18 earned runs in 92.1 innings with 65 hits allowed, 17 walks and 82 strikeouts. Right-handed batters are hitting just .172 against the Tide's first ever left-handed hurler.
Big Innings
One of the big reasons that Alabama is 46-4 this season is the fact that they have scored three or more runs in an inning 50 times. They have had an inning with at least three runs in 33 of the 50 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 six times, five runs nine times, four runs 12 times and three runs 18 times. They have outscored their opponents 81-10 in the second inning and 76-13 in the third.
Multi-Hit Games
The Crimson Tide players have tallied 107 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 22 multi-hit games while Lauren Parker is right behind her with 20. Rogers has 17 contests with two hits and five with three hits. Parker has 16 games with two hits, three with three hits and one with four hits. Charlotte Morgan has 13 on the year, Jordan Praytor 11 and Kelley Montalvo 10.
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 14 multi-RBI games while Dani Woods has 11 games with two or more RBI. Jordan Praytor and Charlotte Morgan each have tallied 10 multi-RBI contests.
Hitting .300 or Better
Seven of the nine everyday starters are batting over .300 for Alabama. As a team they are hitting .341 which is 129 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 .480 avg. while Mallory Benak is 7-of-12 (.583). Brittany Rogers is also batting over .400 with a .407 avg. and Charlotte Morgan is batting .385. The other players batting over .300 are Jordan Praytor (.357), Michelle Menningmann (.341) Dani Woods (.324), Kelley Montalvo (.333) and Mandy Burford (.336).
Power Hour
In the first 50 games of the 2007 season, Alabama has hit 67 home runs to give them 16 more than they had in 65 games last season. So far 13 of the Tide's 16 batters have recorded a home run and 10 players have hit three or more. Mandy Burford, Charlotte Morgan and Kelley Montalvo have all hit nine while Lauren parker has eight on the year. Parker did not hit a home run as a freshman at Baylor in 2006 while Morgan has hit a home run in seven of the eight SEC series. Brittany Rogers has hit inside and outside the park home runs from both the right and left side of the plate. Eight different players have hit their first career home run including, Alex Blewitt, Kellie Eubanks, Lauren Parker, Brittany Rogers, Charlotte Morgan, Michelle Menningmann, Katie Johnson and Jessica Smith.
Patience is a Virtue
The Crimson Tide team has drawn 59 walks during their 13-game win streak to give them 162 walks on the season. They also lead the conference with 69 walks in league play. Players have drawn three walks in a game eight times this season. As a team they have walked five or more times in nine of the last 14 contests and 17 times this season. Mandy Burford leads the team with 27 walks while Kellie Eubanks has 24. Charlotte Morgan is next with 21 walks. Jordan Praytor has 20 walks while Kelley Montalvo and Ashley Holcombe have each earned 15 free passes this season.
40 Wins Eight Straight Years
The Crimson Tide has 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.
Victory Milestones
Chrissy Owens (Miami, Fla.) earned her 50th career win against Tennessee Chattanooga, becoming just the fifth Tide player to win 50 games. The win also was her 20th of the season and she is now 22-2. It was the 12th 20-win season in the program's 11-year history. Owens has accomplished the feat in back-to-back seasons after recording 21 victories last season as a sophomore. The last two seasons Alabama has had a pair of players who won 20 games. They are trying to accomplish the feat for the third straight year as Blair Potter is a perfect 13-0.
Unbelievable
Brittany Rogers (Dacula, Ga.) accomplished the unthinkable against Tennessee Chattanooga on 4/11. Her slap home run from the left side of the plate gave her inside and outside the park home runs from both the left and right side of the plate. Her four home runs this season have all come in different ways. Her two outside the park home runs came against back-to-back opponents with a right-handed shot against Auburn and left-handed vs. UTC. Earlier this season she hit inside the park home runs on back-to-back days in the Hampton Inn BAMA BASH! She hit one from the left side against Radford and the right against Toledo.
Two-Out RBI
With two outs you can't count the Tide batters out. They have produced 107 runs this season with two outs. They drove in 13 runs with two outs in three games at Ole Miss. Lauren Parker leads the team with 18 two-out RBI while Jordan Praytor has driven in 15 runs. Parker is batting .439 (18-of-41) with two outs. Brittany Rogers is hitting .417 (15-of-36) with two outs and has eight RBI. Dani Woods hit a three-run home run with two outs to give her 12 two-out RBI. Mandy Burford is next on the list with 10 RBI coming with two outs. Three other players have eight RBI with two outs.
Home Sweet Home
Alabama has won nine straight at the Alabama Softball Complex. The Tide are now 31-1 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 221-38 at home, a winning percentage of .853.
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.
