No. 3 Softball Faces Kentucky in SEC Semifinals
5/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 7, 2009
ALABAMA (46-8, 21-6 SEC)
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Internet Radio: thecapstone.ua.edu
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The No. 3 ranked Alabama softball team (46-8, 21-6 SEC) will face Kentucky (32-20, 13-14 SEC) in the semifinal round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Friday, May 8 at 5:00 p.m. ET at the University of Tennessee's Sherri Parker Lee Softball Stadium. The second-seeded Crimson Tide defeated Arkansas Thursday 8-0 in five innings to move its winning streak to 13 games while the No. 6 seed Wildcats upset the No. 3 seed Georgia Bulldogs 2-0 top open the tournament.
Last Time Out
Alabama opened the SEC Tournament in convincing fashion as it downed Arkansas 8-0 in five innings on Thursday. Alabama scored at least one run in each frame to run past the No. 7 seed Razorbacks. The eight run victory is the largest margin of victory for Alabama in SEC tournament history. The Crimson Tide got three RBI and a win in the circle from SEC Player of the Year Charlotte Morgan. Ashley Holcombe went deep and drove in two runs while Lauren Parker was 3-for-3 with a RBI and run scored.
Scouting the Competition
Kentucky: In only their third ever appearance in the SEC Tournament, and their first since 2001, the sixth-seeded Wildcats upset the No. 3 seed Georgia Bulldogs 2-0 in the tournament's opening game on Thursday. Freshman Rachel Riley pitched a complete game shutout, giving up five hits and striking out two to earn the program's first victory in the SEC Tournament. Wildcat shortstop Molly Johnson provided the game's only offensive production with a two-run homerun in the top of the fifth inning to secure the win. Kentucky is batting .264 as a team and holding the opposition to a .244 mark. The Wildcat's pitchers combine for a 3.79 ERA while the opposing hurlers hold a 4.25 ERA. Johnson and Meagan Aull lead Kentucky at the plate. Johnson has collected a team-high 71 hits in 169 at-bats for a .420 batting average that paces the squad. The junior shortstop has also driven in 33 runs and hit nine home runs. Aull brings in a .310 batting average with 52 hits and 24 RBI. To go along with her .360 on-base percentage, Aull has 25 stolen bases in 29 attempts. In the circle Kentucky is led by Chanda Bell and Amber Matousek. Bell has made 32 appearances and 23 starts for the Wildcats in 2009 and sports an 18-8 overall record and a 3.21 ERA. In 129 innings pitched Bell has given up 73 runs and struck out 206 batters. Matousek has made 22 appearances and 21 starts for an 8-7 mark. In 113 innings Matousek has given up 86 runs and struck out 61 batters for 5.23 ERA. Kentucky returns 10 letterwinners to a team that went 17-37 in 2008.
Series History
In 34 meetings between Alabama and Kentucky the Tide holds a near perfect 33-1 all-time record. The Wildcats' last victory in the series was on March 21, 2004 at the UK Softball Complex in Lexington, Ky. The 7-5 win broke No. 6 Alabama's 17-game winning streak. The teams met twice this year as Alabama hosted Kentucky for a midweek doubleheader on Tuesday, April 14. The Tide earned a 2-1 victory in game one behind a no-hitter by sophomore Kelsi Dunne. In game two Alabama scored a run in five consecutive innings to down Kentucky 5-3.
SEC Tournament History
The Crimson Tide holds a 24-17 all-time record in the SEC Tournament and has won the conference tournament three times. In the second ever playing of the SEC Tournament in 1998, Alabama earned its first win. The Tide defeated Tennessee, LSU twice and Mississippi State to capture the title. Alabama won its second SEC Tournament title in 2003with wins over Auburn, LSU, Tennessee and LSU again in the final. The Tide's last tournament title was in 2005 where they collected wins over Mississippi State, Auburn, Tennessee and Georgia. In the 2008 SEC Tournament, Whitney Larsen, Charlotte Morgan and Kelsi Dunne were named to the SEC All-Tournament Team for the Crimson Tide.
Tide Ride 13 Game Winning Streak
Alabama has been peaking at the right time by winning 13 straight heading into the postseason. Over the last 13 games Alabama has out-scored its opponents 93-10 and has hit at a .311 clip while sporting a 0.52 ERA. Individually Charlotte Morgan has batted .552 (16-for-29) with two home runs and 13 RBI. Senior Ashley Holcombe has followed with a .500 (17-for-34) average with a team-leading four home runs and 23 RBI. In the circle Kelsi Dunne is 7-0 with a 0.34 ERA. Dunne has fanned 54 in 40 2/3 innings and tossed two no-hitters. Morgan has been almost as impressive by going 6-0 with a 0.73 ERA. The southpaw struck out 32 and only walked two in 38 1/3 innings with her first no-hitter.
Murphy Closes in on 600
Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy is rapidly approaching 600 career victories. The 12th year head coach sits at 599 heading into the SEC Tournament semifinals. With one more win this season Murphy will have become just the second coach among the current SEC coaches to accomplish the feat in just 12 seasons at the helm. The only other coach to do so in 12 seasons is Lu Harris-Champer of Georgia, who tallied the majority of her wins at Nicholls State and Southern Miss. Murphy spent one season as the interim head coach at Northwest Missouri State where he guided the Bearcats to 28 wins. Since those 28 wins the Iowa native has guided Alabama to 567 wins in just over 10 years. Including this season no current coach in the SEC has more wins over the last 10 seasons than Murphy. Over the last 10 seasons Murphy has compiled 528 wins. Ralph Weekly at Tennessee has compiled 508 wins and Harris-Champer has 504 wins.
Morgan Becomes First with Three 50 RBI Seasons
Alabama junior Charlotte Morgan has become the first Crimson Tide player to drive in 50 or more runs in three seasons. Morgan sports 51 RBI this season and drove in an SEC record 79 last year. As a freshman the Moreno Valley, Calif. native drove in 52. Kelly Kretschman had two seasons of 50 or more RBI. The former Team USA member drove in 64 in 1998 and 58 in 2000. No other Alabama player has had two or more seasons on 50 or more RBI. Morgan became the first player to do so when she drove in three in the opening round of the SEC Tournament against Arkansas.
Holcombe Extends Hit Streak to 12 Games
Alabama senior catcher Ashley Holcombe has put together a 12 game hitting streak. Over the 12 game streak that started on April 14 against Kentucky, Holcombe is batting .531 (17-for-32) with four home runs and 23 RBI. The senior has put together four multi-hit games over the streak and seven multi-RBI games. The Fayetteville, Ga. native has five games with three or more RBI. The longest streak of her career is 14 games.
Next Time Out
If Alabama is able to beat Kentucky in the semifinal round the Crimson Tide will head to the finals for the second consecutive season. The SEC final is scheduled for Saturday, May 9 at 1:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Sports.
