Softball Welcomes Instate Rival Samford
3/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 24, 2009
ALABAMA (26-4, 6-2 SEC)
TV: WVUA
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. 4/5 ranked Alabama softball team (26-4, 6-2 SEC) welcomes Samford (9-15, 3-6 SoCon) to Tuscaloosa for a midweek clash between the instate rivals. The game will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the UA Softball Complex. The Crimson Tide returns home after spending a week on the road for five Southeastern Conference games.
Last Time Out
After dropping its first two SEC road games of the season at LSU last Wednesday the Crimson Tide promptly rebounded with a sweep of its next three road games at Mississippi over the weekend. Alabama outscored the Rebels 31-4 with 28 of those runs coming in Saturday's doubleheader. The Tide would only need one more for Sunday's weekend closer as sophomore Kelsi Dunne improved to 12-0 on the year with a one-hit, complete game shutout.
Who to Watch
Junior slugger Charlotte Morgan enters the week riding a 16-game hit streak that dates back to the Feb. 21 meeting against Hawaii. In that same stretch of games Morgan sports a .408 batting average and a .653 slugging percentage. In the three-game series at Mississippi the All-American hit 4-for-9 with seven RBI. Morgan has recorded at least one RBI in her last nine games. During last week's five-game road stretch that featured two games in Baton Rouge, La. and three in Oxford, Miss., senior Brittany Rogers showcased her All-American talent as well. In 15 plate appearances Rogers recorded nine hits, scored nine runs and stole 10 bases. In her last five games Rogers has successfully hit, scored a run and stolen at least one base. On the week Rogers hit .600, had a .600 slugging percentage and a .667 on base percentage.
Scouting the Competition
Samford: The Bulldogs come to Tuscaloosa with 9-15 overall record and a 3-6 mark in Southern Conference play. Samford traveled to Chattanooga, Tenn. over the weekend for a three-game series with Chattanooga. After dropping the first two contests of the weekend on Saturday, Samford responded with a 6-0 shutout to close out the series on Sunday. As a team the Bulldogs are batting .258 with their opposition hitting at a .308 clip. Samford's pitchers combine for an ERA of 4.32 while opposing pitchers are at a 2.55 mark. The Bulldogs are led at the plate by Jessica Owens and Katie England. Owens is batting a team-high .435 and leads the team in hits with 30. Owens also paces the team with a .478 slugging percentage. England is tied for the team lead in home runs with four and leads the team with 21 RBI. England's .455 slugging percentage is second on the squad. In the circle Samford is led by Stephanie Royall and Amanda Barrs. Royall has started 13 games for the Bulldogs and has appeared in 17, tallying an ERA of 3.19 and a record of 4-6. In 72.1 innings pitched Royall has fanned 47 batters. Barrs has started in eight contests and made 12 appearances in which she has pitched a total of 54.2 innings and struck out 24 batters. Barrs is 2-6 with a 6.15 ERA. Samford returns eight letterwinners to a team that went 25-29 in 2008.
Series History
With only 61 miles standing between them, Alabama and Samford continue a shared history as they get set to take part in the non-conference showdown. The Crimson Tide holds a 15-2 record against the Bulldogs with the most recent contest taking place on April 23, 2008 in Tuscaloosa. Alabama defeated Samford 7-1. In that contest Brittany Rogers collected two hits and two stolen bases while Kelley Montalvo drove in two. Kelsi Dunne earned the complete game win behind five strikeouts.
Last Five Games
Alabama has posted a 3-2 record in its last five games, playing all five contests against Southeastern Conference Western Division opponents on the road. Alabama came out swinging the bats as the Crimson Tide out-scored its opponents 38-13 on the week thanks in large part to a 28-4 advantage in the doubleheader against Mississippi. UA batted .305 and pitched at a 2.12 clip. Individually senior Brittany Rogers put together a standout week. The Dacula, Ga. native batted .600 (9-for-15) over the five games, scored nine runs and was a perfect 10-for-10 in stolen base attempts. Rogers tallied a hit and a run in every contest of the week and sported three multi-hit games and four multi-run games. Junior Charlotte Morgan extended her hitting streak to a career-best 16 games. Morgan batted .375 on the week with a team-leading nine RBI. The Moreno Valley, Calif. native tallied an RBI in all five games and has driven in a run in nine straight games. In the circle Kelsi Dunne earned two wins and recorded a complete game shutout in the final game of the series against Mississippi behind a one-hitter.
SEC Rankings
The Alabama pitching staff ranks second in the conference with a 1.31 ERA and is anchored by sophomore Kelsi Dunne who checks in with a 0.56 ERA which also ranks second in the league. The Crimson Tide rank third in the conference in batting average with a .331 mark. Senior Brittany Rogers is tied for the lead in batting average at a .500 clip. Rogers is also tied for the league lead in stolen bases with 30. Senior Kelley Montalvo paces the league in walks with 31 and ranks third in runs (32) and fourth in doubles (9).
Home Cooking
Alabama has historically been dominate in front of the home fans and this season is no different. The Crimson Tide sports a 14-1 record at the UA Softball Complex and has out-scored its opponents 103-22 in games played in Tuscaloosa. Alabama is batting .351 and sports a 1.24 ERA. Opponents are batting .222 and post a 6.67 ERA. Freshman Jazlyn Lunceford is batting .611 (11-for-18) and senior Brittany Rogers follows at a .500 (15-for-30) clip. Four different members of the Tide have hit three home runs apiece while Whitney Larsen leads the team with 13 home RBI. In the circle sophomore Kelsi Dunne is a perfect 6-0 with 0.00 ERA. Dunne has added 54 strikeouts in 43 1/3 innings pitched.
Rogers Running Wild
Alabama senior Brittany Rogers has put together quite the streak when it comes to runs and stolen bases. Rogers has scored a run, tallied a hit and stolen a base in five straight games. In those five games the Dacula, Ga. native has recorded four multi-run and multi-stolen base games while adding multiple hits in three of the past five games. Rogers has stolen at least one bag in 10 of the last 12 games and has swiped a bag in 18 of her 25 games played. Rogers has scored a run in every game that she has stolen a base except for one.
Morgan Streaking
Alabama junior Charlotte Morgan has been locked in at the plate. Morgan is riding a career-best 16 game hitting streak. Over that span the Moreno Valley, Calif. native is batting .408 with three home runs and 18 RBI. Kelly Kretschman holds the school and SEC record with a 35 game hitting streak that she set in 1998. Teammates Brittany Rogers (19) and Ashley Holcombe (14) have also posted significant hitting streaks over the course of their respective careers.
Attendance Record
At the Easton Challenge 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, March 6 against No. 1 Washington. UA bettered that on Saturday by having 3012 spectators take in game two between the number ones. On the season Alabama is averaging a school record 2,245 fans at home.
Next Time Out
Alabama will once again hit the road for SEC play. The Crimson Tide will head to Gainesville, Fla. for a three-game weekend series against No. 1 ranked Florida. The two teams will open the highly anticipated series on Saturday, March 28 at 12:00 p.m. CT for the first of two games on the day. Alabama will wrap up the series on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
