Softball Host Tennessee in Crucial SEC Series
4/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 30, 2010
| Games 50-52 | No. 4 Alabama (40-9, 18-4 SEC) vs. No. 16/17 Tennessee (39-9, 15-5 SEC) | |
| Date | Saturday, May 1 3:00 p.m. CDT Saturday, May 1 6:30 p.m. CDT (ESPN) Sunday, May 2 3:00 p.m. CDT (ESPNU) |
| Location | Tuscaloosa, Ala. | Alabama Softball Complex (3,395) |
| Tickets | Limited General Admission Available |
| Television | ESPN and ESPNU (Cara Capuano and Michele Smith) |
| Radio | WVUA-FM 90.7 (Lake Koelling and Ashley Atwell) |
| Live Stats | | | |
| Internet | ESPN3.com (Sat. Game 2 Only) | Live Game Blog (Sat.) | Live Game Blog (Sun.) |
| Game Notes | Alabama Notes  | Tennessee Notes |
| All-Time Series | Alabama leads, 26-14 |
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The No. 4 ranked Alabama softball team (40-9, 18-4 SEC) will host a crucial Southeastern Conference series against Tennessee (39-9, 15-5 SEC) this weekend. The two teams will meet on Saturday for a doubleheader that will begin at 3:00 p.m. The nightcap is slated for a 6:30 p.m. start time and will be aired on ESPN. The Sunday contest will be televised on ESPNU and start at 3:00 p.m. Cara Capuano and Michele Smith will call the action from the Alabama Softball Complex.
LAST TIME OUT
The Alabama softball team continued its winning ways by defeating No. 9/7 ranked Georgia Tech 13-1 in five innings on Wednesday night. The Crimson Tide secured its 16th straight win by holding the Yellow Jackets to just a single run on two hits while Alabama scored multiple runs in each frame. Alabama had four players tally multi-hit games and three drove in two or more runs to lead to the offensive onslaught. Charlotte Morgan batted 2 for 2 with a two-run triple and scored three times while Amanda Locke belted a three-run homer and collected two hits. The freshman tandem of Kayla Braud and Keima Davis tallied two hits apiece. Kelsi Dunne struck out eight and held the vaunted Georgia Tech offense to just two hits and a single run.
WHO TO WATCH
Over the last two weeks sophomore Amanda Locke has heated up, raising her average 47 points, nearly eclipsing the .300 mark. Entering the weekend Locke is hitting .297 and was batting .250 coming into the contest against Mississippi Valley State on April 13. Over the two week span the Mesquite, Texas, native is batting .476 with four home runs and 11 RBI. Locke is slugging 1.190 and sports an on base percentage of .656 on the strength of being hit by eight pitches. Her four home runs is tied for the team lead over that span and her 10 runs scored ranks tied for second. Her 25 total bases, on base and slugging percentages also pace the squad. On the season the sophomore ranks second on the team with 13 homers and a .772 slugging percentage.
SCOUTING TENNESSEE
Tennessee enters the weekend with a 39-9 overall record and a 15-5 SEC mark. The Lady Vols did not play a midweek game this week but are coming off a weekend split against Florida. UT fell in the series opener 6-0 but rallied late against the Gators to earn a 4-3 win in the second contest. The final game was rained out. As a team Tennessee is hitting .338 and sports a 2.56 ERA while out-scoring its opponents 334-139. Leading the way at the plate for the Lady Vols is freshman Raven Chavanne and her .500 batting average. Chavanne leads the team with 79 hits, 53 runs and 30 stolen bases. Providing the punch for UT is Jessica Spigner and her team-best eight home runs and 49 RBI. Spigner adds a .375 batting average and a .650 slugging percentage. In the circle Ivy Renfroe leads the team with a 2.15 ERA and a 23-3 record. She has struck out 168 in 163 innings and has held opposing batters to a .212 average. Cat Hosfield is 15-5 with a 3.02 ERA and has struck out 106 in 134 1/3 innings.
SERIES HISTORY VS. TENNESSEE
The two programs have met 40 times with Alabama holding a 26-14 advantage. The two teams met last season in a doubleheader in Knoxville. The Crimson Tide earned a 5-2 and 12-0 victories over the Lady Vols in a rain shortened weekend series on the road. The last time the two teams met in Tuscaloosa for a three-game series was in 2008 when Alabama took two-of-three from Tennessee. UA opened the weekend set with two run-rule victories (8-0 and 13-2) but fell in the finale, 7-3. Amanda Locke collected three hits in the two games last season, including a home run while Charlotte Morgan allowed just one hit in her five inning win in the circle.
THE TITLE RACE
The Alabama softball team is in control of its own destiny as it looks to capture its second regular season SEC title in school history. The Crimson Tide currently leads the SEC with an 18-4 conference record. While Florida also only has four losses in conference play, the Gators have been rained out three times in conference play, while Alabama has played its full ledger of SEC games. If both teams were to win out its remaining conference games the Tide would finish 24-4 (.857) while the Gators would finish 21-4 (.840), giving Alabama the regular season title and No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.
BRAUD RECORD WATCH
Alabama freshman Kayla Braud has instantly jumped on the scene to lead the Crimson Tide vaunted offensive attack. Braud enters the weekend with a .497 average and is on pace to break the Alabama single season record. The record is .467 held by All-American Kelly Kretschman, who set the mark as a freshman in 1998. Alabama has only had three players record a single season batting average of .450 or more with a minimum of 135 at bats.
COMEBACK KIDS
The Alabama softball team has made a theme of coming back in ballgames in 2010. The Crimson Tide has posted 11 wins this season when its opponents get on the board first. When trailing after the fourth inning Alabama has earned five wins and have come back three times trailing after five. The Tide has won twice trailing after the sixth inning. The biggest comeback of the season came against No. 4 Michigan on Feb. 27. Trailing 6-2 entering the final inning the Tide exploded for eight runs on the strength of three home runs, including a Whitney Larsen grand slam to earn a 10-6 win.
TIDE SMASHES HOME RUN RECORD
The Alabama softball team has been hitting home runs at an alarming rate this season. Already the Crimson Tide has smashed the program's single season home run record before hitting May on the calendar. Alabama enters the weekend with 83 home runs, which betters the mark of 79 set in 2007. The Tide is now in the hunt for the Southeastern Conference record which sits at 86 and was set by Florida last season. Alabama is led in the long ball category by senior Charlotte Morgan and her 15 home runs. Sophomore Amanda Locke follows with a career-high 13 homers while junior Whitney Larsen has belted 10.
WINS IN APRIL
The month of April has been very generous to the Crimson Tide over the last four seasons and this year was no different. As the weather has heated up so has Alabama as it sported a perfect 16-0 record this April. The last four seasons, including the 16-0 mark in 2010, the Tide has gone 64-3 in April since the 2007 campaign. Alabama went 16-2 last year with a 10-game winning streak in the month and went 16-1 with a 16-game win streak in 2008. In the 2007 the Tide posted a perfect 16-0 record in April.
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.
OVER THE 16 GAME WINNING STREAK
The Alabama softball team is currently on a 16-game winning streak as it enters the weekend against Tennessee. The win streak spanned over all of April and now is on the line in May. Over the 16 games the Crimson Tide is batting .354 and sports a 1.73 ERA while opponents are hitting at a .169 clip and have been pounded for a 9.63 ERA. Alabama has out-scored its opponents 140-33 and have smashed 30 home runs. Freshman Kayla Braud leads the charge over the streak with a .480 (24 for 50) average, scoring a team-best 22 runs and swiping 18 bases. Senior Charlotte Morgan has drilled seven home runs, driven in 26 runs while adding a .410 (16 for 39) average. Amanda Locke has also added seven home runs, 18 RBI and sports a .412 average. In the circle Kelsi Dunne is a perfect 9-0 with a 1.07 ERA. The junior has struck out 76 in 45 2/3 innings and allowed just 18 hits for a .118 batting average against.
MILESTONE WINS
The Alabama softball program enters the weekend with 697 wins, three away from win number 700. The program is also just two wins away from victory number 300 in SEC games as it enters the series with 298. Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy is also nearing a milestone as the coach sits at 648 wins, just two shy of win number 650.
MORGAN BREAKS SEC RBI RECORD
Alabama senior Charlotte Morgan moved into sole possession of the SEC career RBI record. The All-American earned the record-breaking 242nd RBI by taking a pitch in the knee with the bases loaded against Mississippi on April 18. The Moreno Valley, Calif., native enters the week with 251 career RBI. Morgan broke the record held previously by Tonya Callahan of Tennessee. Morgan is also in the hunt for the SEC home run record as she currently sits in third with 56 homers, trailing Francesca Enea (58) of Florida and former Alabama great Kelly Kretschman (60).
BRAUD NAMED TOP 25 FINALISTS FOR USA PLAYER OF THE YEAR
The Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America announced 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 weekend leading the team with a .485 average, 63 hits, 52 runs and ranks second on the squad with 25 stolen bases in 26 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.
WHERE ALABAMA STACKS UP NATIONALLY
The Alabama softball team ranks fifth in the country in home runs per game with 1.71 and scoring (7.21). The Tide also checks in at No. 6 in slugging percentage with a .586 mark while ranking ninth in stolen bases per game (2.27). Freshman Kayla Braud ranks sixth in the nation with her .490 batting average and seventh in runs per game (1.19) while Cassie Reilly-Boccia checks in at No. 5 in walks per game (1.00). Senior Charlotte Morgan ranks fourth in RBI per game with 1.23, 16th in walks (0.88) and 15th in home runs (15). Junior pitcher Kelsi Dunne ranks fifth in the country with an 11.6 Ks per seven innings and her 233 strikeouts rank 25th in the country. (As of April 25)
ALABAMA IN THE SEC
In conference play the Alabama bats have come alive as it ranks atop the league in 10 offensive categories including: batting average (.331), slugging percentage (.623), on base percentage (.463), runs (179), hits (186), RBI (158), home runs (41), walks (124), total bases (350) and stolen bases (46). In the circle Alabama paces the conference in strikeouts (170), batter struck out looking (58) and opposing batting average (.204).
Individually, Kayla Braud ranks second in the league in batting average (.507) and leads the league in runs (31). Senior Charlotte Morgan paces the conference with 32 RBI and eight home runs and also leads in slugging percentage (.961), walks (26) and on base percentage (.598). Cassie Reilly-Boccia is tied with her teammate in walks with 26. In the circle Kelsi Dunne leads the league with 107 strikeouts, 34 looking, and also leads the conference with a .152 opponent batting average.
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 wrap up its regular season on the road with a weekend SEC series against Mississippi State. The Tide will open the weekend with a doubleheader against the Bulldogs on Saturday, May 8 with the first game slated to start at 1:00 p.m. The two teams will wrap up the series on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
