No. 2 Softball Opens SEC Play Against Mississippi State
3/13/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 13, 2009
ALABAMA (20-2)
TV: None
Radio: 90.7 (Play by Play - Brent Magnuson)
Internet Radio: thecapstone.ua.edu
Live Stats: rolltide.com
Video Streaming: Tide TV (rolltide.com)
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The No. 2 ranked Alabama softball team (20-2) will host Mississippi State (14-6) for a three game series over the weekend to begin its Southeastern Conference schedule. The first game is slated to begin at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, March 14, followed by game two immediately after. The Crimson Tide and the Bulldogs will square off at 1:00 p.m. Sunday to close out the weekend's action.
Last Time Out
The Tide welcomed Mississippi Valley State to Tuscaloosa for a mid-week doubleheader on Thursday and came away victorious in both contests. Alabama downed the Deveilettes 8-5 in game one, led by Jennifer Fenton's three hit, three RBI performance and Catherine Dozier's 2-for-3, one RBI effort. In game two the Tide cruised to an 11-2, five inning victory led by Brittany Rogers and Jazlyn Lunceford who each went 3-for-3 at the plate with Lunceford knocking in two runs and Rogers adding one. Amanda Locke pitched both games and improved to 6-0 on the year.
Who to Watch
In the midweek sweep of Mississippi Valley State freshmen Jennifer Fenton and Jazlyn Lunceford produced atypical freshman numbers by combining to go 9-for-12 with six RBI and seven runs scored. Fenton has been hot at the plate dating back the March 8 contest against Baylor. Since then Fenton has gone 8-for-12 with eight RBI, seven runs scored and two home runs, successfully hitting, scoring and driving in at least one run in the last four games. In that same span Lunceford is 6-for-8 with three RBI. Since Alabama's Tuesday night game against instate rival UAB, always reliable senior Brittany Rogers is 6-for-7 with four runs scored and three stolen bases. Sophomore hurler Kelsi Dunne enters into SEC play as the Conference's Pitcher of the Week selection. The right-hander took down No. 1 Washington and No. 24 Baylor in last week's Easton SEC/Pac-10/Big 12 Challenge where she did not allow a run and struck out 23 while only walking two in 18 1/3 innings.
Scouting Mississippi State
The Bulldogs will open Southeastern Conference play in Tuscaloosa with a 14-6 record on the season after traveling to Honolulu, Hi. to participate in the Malihini Tournament where they won three and lost three over the four-day event. MSU picked up wins over Santa Clara, Hawaii and Mount St. Mary's while dropping contests to Florida Gulf Coast, Oregon State and Radford. As a team the Bulldogs are batting .309 and holding the opposition to a .250 clip. Their pitchers have combined for an ERA of 2.70 while opponents have accumulated a 4.48 mark. Mississippi State is led at the plate by Chelsea Bramlett and Ali Bainbridge. Bramlett is hitting .530, which leads the team, and also paces the team with 35 hits. Bramlett sports a .547 on-base percentage and has stolen 27 bases on 30 tries. Bainbridge is batting .355 and has knocked in a team-high 21 runs off 22 hits. Her three home runs are tied for most on the team while her .629 slugging percentage paces the team in that category. The Bulldogs are led in the circle by Lindsey Dunlap and Kelsey Nurnberg. In 15 appearances and five starts Dunlap has totaled six wins and two losses with a 1.93 ERA. Over 61.2 innings pitched she has struck out 56 and kept hitters in check by allowing only a .226 batting average. Nurnberg has made 11 starts for Mississippi State and sports an 8-2 record thus far. Over 48.2 innings pitched she has fanned 40 batters and tallied an ERA at a 2.88 mark. The Bulldogs return 11 letter winners to squad that went 41-22 in 2008.
Series History
Alabama is 35-7 all time against SEC Western Division foe Mississippi State. The Tide faced the Bulldogs four times last year, meeting three times in Starkville, Miss. and once more in Baton Rouge, La. in SEC Tournament play. Alabama won all four games with the last win coming by the way of a 1-0 shutout on May 8. Kelsi Dunne earned the complete game shutout behind nine strikeouts. Brittany Rogers drove in Dani Woods on a walk-off single in the seventh inning.
SEC Openers
Alabama has historically has success opening its conference slate. The Crimson Tide is 9-3 in SEC openers and sports a 9-1-2 record in SEC opening series. Alabama has won its opener and the series in the past three seasons with its last loss in both coming on the road in Knoxville, Tenn. against the No. 7 ranked Lady Vols.
Freshman Sensations
Alabama has enjoyed immediate success from its freshman class. Four rookies are batting over .300 and two have hit at over a .450 clip. Jazlyn Lunceford paces the team with a .500 (12-for-24) average while Jennifer Fenton follows with a .455 (26-for-53) mark. Fenton leads the team in runs with 22 and is a perfect 14-for-14 in stolen bases. Amanda Locke is hitting .318 with three home runs and 10 RBI while Cassandra Reilly-Boccia is hitting .313 with a home run and 14 RBI. Fenton and Lunceford have been on fire as of late combining to hit .700 (14-for-20) with 10 runs, 11 RBI and seven stolen bases in their last four games.
Dunne Named SEC Pitcher of the Week
Alabama sophomore softball pitcher Kelsi Dunne (Port Orange, Fla.) was named the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the week as announced by the conference office today. The honor is the third for the second year hurler. Dunne was 2-0 with two complete game shutouts on the week. The right-hander did not allow a run and struck out 23 while only walking two in 18 1/3 innings. Dunne also tallied her first save of the season to start the week against UAB. The 6-0 hurler took the ball in the highly anticipated contest against No. 1 Washington and did not disappoint as she went the distance, striking out eight and only allowing two hits en route to the 6-0 complete game shutout. Against No. 24 Baylor Dunne again went the distance, striking out 11 in her second straight complete game shutout of the Easton Challenge. Dunne struck out four and allowed one hit in 2 1/3 innings of relief to record her first save of the season in a win against UAB.
Easton Challenge All-Tournament Team
Three members of the Crimson Tide were named to the Easton Challenge All-Tournament Team. Kelsi Dunne earned the nod after going 2-0 with wins over No. 1 Washington and No. 24 Baylor. Brittany Rogers paced Alabama at the plate with a .429 batting average and five stolen bases. Whitney Larsen batted .364 with a team-leading two home runs and seven RBI.
Lowe's Senior CLASS Award
Alabama seniors Brittany Rogers and Ashley Holcombe were named Lowe's Senior CLASS Award candidates. The Alabama duo is among 30 candidates. UA is the only program with two candidates on the 30 name list. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages those leaders to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: Classroom, Character, Community, and Competition.
Home Cooking
Alabama has historically been dominate in front of the home fans and this season is no different. The Crimson Tide sports a 10-1 record at the UA Softball Complex and has out-scored its opponents 83-16 in games played in Tuscaloosa. Alabama is batting .360 and sports a 1.44 ERA. Opponents are batting .232 and post a 7.35 ERA. Freshman Jennifer Fenton has enjoyed the home surroundings as she leads the team at the plate with a .591 average and three home runs. Fellow freshman Jazlyn Lunceford follows with a .588. Sophomore Whitney Larsen leads the team at home with 10 RBI and adds two home runs and a .333 average. Sophomore Kelsi Dunne is a perfect 4-0 in the circle with a 0.00 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 29 1/3 innings pitched.
Last Five Games
In the last five games Alabama has posted a 5-0 record with two of the five games coming against ranked opponents. As a team the Crimson Tide is batting .372 and posts a 2.12 ERA. Opponents are hitting .258 and are pitching at a 7.00 clip. Individually All-American Brittany Rogers is hitting .692 with five stolen bases. In the circle Amanda Locke is 3-0 with 17 strikeouts in 17 innings pitched.
Attendance Record
Over the weekend Alabama shattered its previous attendance record. With the new editions to the UA Softball Complex the Crimson Tide broke the old record of 2461 set on April 10, 2008 against LSU by drawing 2661 spectators on Friday against No. 1 Washington. UA bettered that on Saturday by having 3012 spectators take in game two between the number ones.
SEC Rankings
The Alabama pitching staff ranks second in the conference with a 1.08 ERA. At the plate UA checks in the top three in on base percentage at third with a .43o mark. The Crimson Tide pace the conference with 60 stolen bases and 68 attempts. Behind the defense of Ashley Holcombe Alabama leads the SEC in pickoffs with seven. Alabama pitchers have only allowed 84 hits which ranks second on the circuit. Individually Kelley Montalvo ranks second in walks with 22 while Brittany Rogers ranks second in stolen bases with 16. Kelsi Dunne leads the conference in ERA with a 0.38 mark and her .148 opponents batting average ranks second.
Next Time Out
Alabama will open its SEC road slate as the Tide will head to LSU and Mississippi for spring break. Alabama will open the week against the Tigers on Wednesday, March 18 for a twin-bill. First pitch of the first game is slated for 5:00 p.m. UA will then play a three game set against the Rebels, beginning on Saturday, March 21 at 1:00 p.m.
