Softball Continues Road Trip at Kentucky
3/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 15, 2010
| Games 24-25 | No. 7/10 Alabama (17-6, 2-1 SEC) at Kentucky (15-8, 1-2 SEC) | |
| Date | Tuesday, March 16 1:30 p.m. EDT |
| Location | Lexington, Ky. | UK Softball Complex (500) |
| Tickets | General Admission Available | $5 On Site |
| Television | None |
| Radio | WVUA-FM (90.7) (Lake Koelling and Chad Haynie) | |
| Internet | | |
| Game Notes | Alabama Notes  | Kentucky Notes |
| All-Time Series | Alabama leads, 34-1 |
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama softball team will continue on the road during spring break and head to Lexington, Ky., to face off against the Kentucky Wildcats in a midweek Southeastern Conference doubleheader. The two programs will begin play on Tuesday, March 16 at 12:30 p.m. (CT) at the UK Softball Complex.
LAST TIME OUT
The Crimson Tide started SEC play on the road against No. 4 ranked Georgia and came away with a series victory, earning two wins in the three game set. Alabama dropped the series opener 3-0 but rallied two earn two straight wins by scores of 8-5 and 13-4. Freshman Kayla Braud batted .500 in the series, going 5-for-10 at the plate with four runs, two doubles and two stolen bases. Junior hurler Kelsi Dunne earned a save and notched a victory against the Bulldogs.
WHO TO WATCH
Alabama sophomore Cassie Reilly-Boccia only recorded four at-bats on the weekend and collected two hits in those chances but it is what she did in the majority of her plate appearances that impressed. The Yorktown Heights, N.Y., native sported an .818 on base percentage in the two spot on the strength of six walks. Reilly-Boccia scored three times and only struck out once. On the season she has a .620 on base percentage and has been issued 23 free passes to just nine strikeouts.
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
The Kentucky softball team enters the midweek twin-bill with a 15-8 overall record and a 1-2 conference mark. The Wildcats opened conference action on the road, dropping two-of-three against Auburn. UK opened the series with a 3-2 loss and then came back in the night cap to earn a 5-3 win. The Wildcats dropped the rubber game 1-0 in nine innings. On the season Kentucky is led at the plate by Natalie Smith and Molly Johnson. Smith paces the team with a .362 average on 25 hits while Johnson has provided the punch with seven home runs and 13 RBI on top of her .347 batting clip. In the circle Rachel Riley leads the team with a 0.65 ERA in 43 innings pitched, adding a 4-2 record and 32 punch outs. Chanda Bell has tossed the majority of the innings and enters the week with a 9-4 record and a 1.99 ERA in 88 innings pitched. Bell has fanned 133, but has given up 13 home runs.
SERIES HISTORY
In 35 meetings between Alabama and Kentucky the Tide holds a near perfect 34-1 all-time record. The Wildcats' only victory in the series was on March 21, 2004, at the UK Softball Complex in Lexington. The 7-5 win broke No. 6 Alabama's 17-game winning streak. The teams met three times last year as Alabama hosted Kentucky for a midweek doubleheader on Tuesday, April 14 and met in the semifinals in the SEC Tournament. The Tide earned a 2-1 victory in game one behind a no-hitter by Kelsi Dunne. In game two Alabama scored a run in five consecutive innings to down Kentucky 5-3. In the tournament the Tide earned a dramatic 2-1 win on the strength of an eighth inning, walk-off home run by Whitney Larsen.
TIDE IN THE SEC
On the season Alabama has a number of players that sit atop the statistics in the conference. Cassie Reilly-Boccia leads the league in all games played with a .620 on base percentage. Her 23 walks also leads the league. Newcomer Kayla Braud ranks fifth in batting average with a .463 mark while Reilly-Boccia ranks eighth with a .434 average. Braud also ranks fifth in stolen bases and is joined by Jennifer Fenton with 12 thefts. In the circle, junior Kelsi Dunne ranks third in strikeouts with 114 and paces the conference in punchouts looking with 41.
MURPHY NEARING WIN NO. 600 AT ALABAMA
Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy is nearing his 600th career win as head coach of the Crimson Tide softball team as he sits at 596 entering the Kentucky doubleheader. Murphy earned the 600th victory of his career in a 2-1 win over Kentucky on May 8, 2009, in the SEC Tournament semifinals last season. However that mark included the 28 victories Murphy earned as interim head coach of the Northwest Missouri State Bobcats in 1995. Murphy will be the first softball coach in the SEC to reach 600 wins at an SEC school since the conference began participation in the sport in 1997. The Alabama skipper is the winningest active coach in the SEC. Including this season no current coach in the SEC has more wins over the last 10 seasons than Murphy.
FENTON HEATS UP
After hitting .063 in the first nine games of the season, sophomore Jennifer Fenton's bat has come alive. Fenton now has the second highest batting average on the team through the last 14 games, hitting an impressive .368, including two doubles and three home runs. Her three home runs over the last 10 games is tied for the team lead. Stealing a page from MLB manager Tony LaRusa, Alabama skipper Patrick Murphy has began using Fenton in the nine hole, essentially giving the Tide two leadoff hitters back-to-back throughout the game with Fenton and Kayla Braud batting first. Braud and Fenton lead the team in batting average over the past 14 games and have ignited several scoring rallies over the past three weeks.
NEXT TIME OUT
Alabama will continue its spring break with another midweek contest. This time the Tide will return home to host Florida International on Thursday, March 18 in a single contest. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Alabama will then host its first home SEC series of the season when it welcomes South Carolina to the Softball Complex. The first of the three games set is slated for Saturday, March 20.
