Softball Set to Host Troy Tuesday
4/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 19, 2010
| Game 45 | No. 5 Alabama (35-9, 15-4 SEC) vs. Troy (21-21, 9-8 Sun Belt) | |
| Date | Tuesday, April 20 6:00 p.m. CDT |
| Location | Tuscaloosa, Ala. | Alabama Softball Complex (3,395) |
| Tickets | Limited General Admission Available |
| Television | WVUA-TV (Brent Magnuson) |
| Radio | WVUA-FM 90.7 (Lake Koelling and Chad Haynie) | |
| Live Stats | |
| Streaming Video | TideTV |
| Game Notes | Alabama Notes  | Troy Notes |
| All-Time Series | Alabama leads, 12-0 |
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -The No. 5 ranked Alabama softball team (35-9, 15-4 SEC) will entertain in-state foe Troy (21-21, 9-8 Sun Belt) on Tuesday at the Alabama Softball Complex. First pitch between the Tide and the Trojans is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CDT.
LAST TIME OUT
The Crimson Tide tied their season best 11-game winning streak over the weekend, earning a sweep over division rival Mississippi. Junior Whitney Larsen went 2-2 at the plate with an RBI. In the fifth inning, senior Charlotte Morgan recorded the 242nd RBI of her career, breaking the all-time SEC record for RBI in a career formerly held by Tonya Callahan of Tennessee. In a combined 11 innings on the weekend, junior Kelsi Dunne only allowed three hits and one run while striking out 17.
WHO TO WATCH
Over the last two weeks Alabama sophomore Jennifer Fenton has heated up and batted .467 (7 for 15) and scored five runs. Over this eight-game period Fenton has added a home run and six RBI while swiping two bases. Fellow sophomore Jazlyn Lunceford leads the team over the last eight games with a .471 (8 for 17) average while scoring seven runs and adding a home run and seven RBI. Senior Charlotte Morgan is hitting .444 (8 for 18) with four home runs and 14 RBI. In the circle Kelsi Dunne is 6-0 with a 0.94 ERA and has added 53 strikeouts in 29 2/3 innings.
SCOUTING TROY
The Trojans enter Tuscaloosa with a .500 record of 21-21 and a 9-8 mark in Sun Belt play. Troy dropped a three game series to North Texas over the weekend, two games to one. The Trojans are led by outfielder Hayden Gann with a .302 batting average and a team best 23 RBI. The sophomore from Hoover, Ala., is slugging .526 on the season. Ashlyn Williams leads the Trojan effort out of the circle. The junior from Hattiesburg, Miss., sports a 2.20 ERA and has 328 strikeouts in 216.0 innings pitched.
SERIES HISTORY VS. TROY
Alabama and Troy have met 12 times on the softball diamond, including a meeting on April 1 last season in Tuscaloosa. Alabama outfielder Cassie Reilly-Boccia went 2-for-3 in that contest with two doubles and two RBI. Charlotte Morgan 3-for-4 at the plate and collected the win for the Tide in the circle. Alabama is 12-0 all-time against Troy.
TIDE SITS ATOP INITIAL NCAA RPI RANKING
Some may have questioned head coach Patrick Murphy's tough scheduling leading into a year with seven new starters, but the skipper's decision to schedule the nation's toughest schedule seems to be paying off as Alabama comes in at No. 1 in the first RPI ranking of the year. Alabama has seven wins against teams that are currently ranking in the top 15 of the RPI and claims victories over the number two and three ranked teams (Michigan and Florida) in the RPI and are scheduled to play the fifth ranked team, Georgia Tech, later this month in Tuscaloosa. 19 of Alabama's 31 wins this season come against teams ranked in the top 50 of the RPI. Ten of Alabama's last 14 remaining regular season games are against teams ranked in the top 50 of the RPI.
BRAUD NAMED TOP 25 FINALISTS FOR USA PLAYER OF THE YEAR
The Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America announced last Wednesday that Alabama freshman Kayla Braud (Eugene, Ore.) was named a Top 25 Finalists for the 2010 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, which will be announced at the opening of the NCAA 2010 Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City. This award, which is considered the most prestigious honor in Division I women's collegiate softball, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate softball players across the country. Braud enters the week leading the team with a .487 average, 57 hits, 45 runs and ranks second on the squad with 22 stolen bases in 25 attempts.
MORGAN NAMED LOWE'S SENIOR CLASS FINALIST
Alabama All-American Charlotte Morgan was named one of 10 NCAA student-athletes who excel both on and off the field and were tabbed as finalists for the 2010 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in the softball division. 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 - community, classroom, character and competition. The 10 finalists will be placed on the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award softball ballot for a nationwide vote beginning Monday and concluding May 17. Alabama has now had a finalist in three straight seasons as Ashley Holcombe and Brittany Rogers garnered the recognition last season and Jordan Praytor was a finalist in 2008. Rogers was also a finalist in her senior campaign.
MURPHY MOST FOLLOWED SOFTBALL COACH IN THE NATION
In today's high speed world of social networking college coaches try to keep up with technology and the latest fad. With this in mind Alabama skipper Patrick Murphy jumped right into the Twitter craze joining the instant information giant with a profile last June. Since the coach joined the site at last year's Women's College World Series his "tweeting" has gained popularity on a national level. This past week Murphy surpassed Florida's Tim Walton to become the nation's most followed softball coach on Twitter and his followership continues to grow each day, currently standing near the 1,050 mark. Murphy's twitter page can be found at www.twitter.com/UACoachMurphy.
NEXT TIME OUT
The Alabama softball team will head to Fayetteville, Ark., this weekend to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in a three game series. Saturday's doubleheader will get underway at 1:00 p.m. CDT, as Sunday's series finale will begin at 12:30 p.m.
