Softball Opens SEC Tournament Against Mississippi State
5/11/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 11, 2011
| Game 53 | No. 4 Alabama (45-7, 19-6 SEC) vs Mississippi State (24-31, 10-18 SEC) | |
| Date | Thursday, May 12 | 6:30 p.m. CDT |
| Location | Oxford, Miss. | Ole Miss Softball Complex (1,000) |
| Tickets | Admission Prices Vary |
| Television | ESPN2 (Beth Mowins, Michele Smith & Jessica Mendoza) |
| Radio | WVUA-FM 90.7 - Tuscaloosa (Chad Haynie) | Listen Live |
| Live Stats | |
| Streaming Video | ESPN3 |
| Game Notes | Alabama Notes  |
| All-Time Series | Alabama leads, 45-7, 3-1 on neutral fields |
| Tourney Central | |
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama softball team (45-7, 19-6 SEC) will head back to Oxford, Miss., to face Mississippi State (24-31, 10-18 SEC) in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference tournament. The two teams will face off on Thursday, May 12, at 6:30 p.m., at the Ole Miss Softball Complex. Beth Mowins, Michele Smith and Jessica Mendoza will call the action live on ESPN2.
LAST TIME OUT
The Alabama softball team claimed its second straight Southeastern Conference regular season title and third overall as it swept Mississippi to finish a game ahead of Florida in the standings. The Crimson Tide made quick work of the Rebels as it scored 36 runs on the weekend and allowed just two. Alabama hit at a .354 clip on the weekend, stole 14 bases and pitched at a 0.41 ERA. Heading into the weekend the Tide needed some help from Florida as the Gators needed to defeat the Tennessee Lady Vols twice for Alabama to have a chance at the title. The Gators and the Tide both swept its weekend series, culminating in a championship for Alabama. The Tide set the tone after not playing in 11 days as Kelsi Dunne tossed her ninth career no-hitter and third on the season in the series opener. For the weekend the senior allowed one run on six hits and struck out 15 in 12 innings pitched. Offensively junior Amanda Locke led the charge, batting .600 (6-for-10) with a home run and seven RBI. Junior Jennifer Fenton followed with a .455 (5-for-11) average, chipping in six RBI. Locke had a career-game on Saturday as she reached base all five times and went 4-for-4 from the plate while driving in four. Fenton drove in four in the Sunday win.
SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI STATE
The Bulldogs head to the SEC Tournament for the first time since 2008 as they finished the conference season as the No. 8 seed with a 10-18 conference ledger. MSU finished off the regular season by falling to Georgia in a three-game series in Athens. The Bulldogs won the first game 8-6, but dropped the second game, 4-3, and the rubber match, 10-2. As a team, MSU has been outscored 308-232, hit a .265 clip and hold a 4.89 ERA. Opponents have hit .299 off of Bulldog pitching and sport a 4.06 ERA. Individually, Kaili Smith leads the team with a .354 average and 57 hits. Ali Bainbridge follows with a .333 average and has scored a team-high 48 runs and added 20 stolen bases. Courtney Nesbit has added the pop with eight home runs and 42 RBI while adding a .317 average. In the circle, Kylie Vry is 8-12 with a 4.11 ERA while striking out 87 in 121 innings pitched. Stephanie Becker is 7-10 with a 4.33 ERA and has added 83 Ks in 116.1 innings pitched. Head coach Jay Miller is in his 29th season as a head coach and surpassed the 1,000 win mark this season as he enters the tournament with 1,004 to his credit.
SERIES HISTORY
Mississippi State: The two teams will be meeting for the 52nd time as Alabama holds a 45-7 all-time advantage, including a 22-game winning streak over Mississippi State. The two teams met in Tuscaloosa in 2011 for a three-game series with the Crimson Tide earning the series sweep. Alabama outscored MSU 24-7 in the series, hit .342, banged out seven home runs and pitched at a 1.75 ERA. Sophomore Kayla Braud batted .500 (4-for-8) in the series with two runs and a stolen base. Junior Jazlyn Lunceford hit a pinch-hit grand slam and junior Amanda Locke also went deep while hitting .444. Senior Kelsi Dunne earned two wins, sported a 1.50 ERA and struck out 18 in 14 innings pitched. Braud leads Alabama over the course of her career with a .529 batting average against MSU. She has added eight runs and nine hits. Locke is hitting .368, lifetime against the Bulldogs with two home runs and eight RBI while Lunceford is hitting .444 with a homer and nine RBI. Dunne is a perfect 8-0 with a 0.36 ERA while striking out 73 in 58 innings pitched.
SEC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Crimson Tide holds a 28-18 all-time record in the SEC Tournament and has won the conference tournament four times. Alabama is tied with Florida and LSU with 15 consecutive SEC Tournament appearances. The Tide has the second most SEC Tournament titles with four. LSU holds the mark with five championships. The Tide claimed its fourth title last season as it earned wins over Arkansas (9-0), Tennessee (4-3) and LSU (5-4). Kelsi Dunne earned MVP honors as she earned the win and pitched every inning in each game. She was 3-0 with a 1.84 ERA while striking out 30 in 19 innings pitched. Jennifer Fenton earned all-tournament honors after hitting .625 with a home run and three RBI. Whitney Larsen hit two home runs, including a walk-off in the semifinal against Tennessee and added five RBI en route to earning all-tourney honors. 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 2003 with 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. Last season the Tide fell to the Gators in the championship game, 8-5.
SEC CHAMPIONS
The Alabama softball team earned its third Southeastern Conference regular season title by sweeping Mississippi last weekend and finishing with a 19-6 ledger in league play. The regular season title is the third in program history for Alabama as it finished first last season with a 23-4 record and in 2006 with a 25-4 conference mark.
LOCKE NAMED SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Amanda Locke has been getting hot at the plate at the right time and it showed this past weekend as she helped lead the Tide to a sweep over Mississippi, clinching the SEC regular season title. Locke paced Alabama at the plate with a .600 (6-for-10) average, adding a home run and seven RBI. The junior slugged .900 on the weekend and sported a .692 on-base percentage. Locke collected a hit in each game. She started off the weekend with a three-run homer in the series opener and then put together a career-game on Saturday. She recorded a career-high in hits with four and also drove in four in the lopsided, 18-1 win.
ALABAMA ON NEUTRAL FIELDS
The Alabama softball team enters the SEC Tournament with a lot of success on neutral fields. The Crimson Tide enters the week with a 13-1 record, including a 7-1 mark against teams that participated in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. The only blemish on the record for Alabama is a 1-0 loss to then, No. 17 Louisiana-Lafayette. Alabama is hitting .337 with 26 home runs and 100 RBI and has outscored its opponents 107-10 in those contests. In the circle the Tide is pitching at a 0.40 ERA and holding opponents to a .139 batting average. Kayla Braud is batting .605 with 21 runs and 24 stolen bases. Jackie Traina follows with a .444 average, seven home runs and 21 RBI in 36 at-bats. She also adds a perfect 6-0 record with an unblemished 0.00 ERA.
ALABAMA AGAINST 2010 NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS
The Crimson Tide has already played 30 games against teams that participated in the 2010 NCAA tournament. The Crimson Tide sports a 23-7 record in those games in 2011 with its losses coming against then-No. 17 Louisiana-Lafayette (1-0, March 4), then-No. 11 Tennessee (4-1, March 22), a series sweep provided by LSU (April 8-10) and two games from then-No. 8 Florida (6-5 on Apr. 23, 3-2 on Apr. 24). They're a perfect 13-0 against the 2010 tourney teams inside the friendly confines of Rhoads Stadium. The Tide has outscored those opponents 173-60 and is hitting .256 with 37 home runs and 158 RBI. In the circle, Alabama is pitching at a 1.64 clip and holding those teams to a .172 batting average. Sophomore Kayla Braud leads the team with a .398 average and has scored 29 runs and swiped 23 bases. Freshman Jackie Traina is batting .288 with eight home runs and 26 RBI. Whitney Larsen provides a .274 average with 21 runs, seven home runs and 22 RBI. In the circle, senior Kelsi Dunne is 14-3 with a 1.33 ERA. She has struck out 175 in 121 innings.
ALABAMA AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
Alabama holds a 9-4 record against ranked opponents in 2011. The Tide has outscored its ranked opposition 66-33 while hitting .216 with 13 home runs and 56 RBI. In the circle, the Tide is pitching at a 2.28 clip and holding opponents to a .192 average. Alabama has now lost three of their last five against ranked teams, including a series loss to then-No. 8 Florida. Individually, junior Jennifer Fenton is hitting .308 with seven runs batted in. Sophomore Kayla Braud follows with a .286 with 12 runs, a home run and six RBI. In the circle, senior Kelsi Dunne is 7-2 with a 2.08 ERA and has struck out 83 in 60.2 innings.
SEC TEAM STANDINGS
Alabama continues to stay hot at the plate during their 2011 campaign. The Crimson Tide is amongst the leaders in the Southeastern Conference in numerous statistical categories. Offensively, the Tide leads the circuit in stolen bases (127). Alabama ranks second in runs scored (386) and home runs (84). The Tide comes in at third in slugging percentage (.553), runs batted in (351) and on-base percentage (.428). In the circle, the Tide leads the circuit in ERA (1.41), opposing batting average (.168), strikeouts (452), hits allowed (201) and runs allowed (88). (As of May 11)
SEC INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS
Numerous Alabama individuals currently pace the league in several categories. Kayla Braud leads the SEC in stolen bases (50). Braud ranks second in runs scored (62) and batting average (.437), third in hits (73) and on-base percentage (.525). Jackie Traina comes in at fourth in slugging percentage (.730) and ninth in home runs (13). In the circle, Kelsi Dunne is first in batters struck out (261) and opposing batting average (.134). Dunne is second in both ERA (1.18) and wins (23). (As of May 11)
NCAA STATISTICS
As a team Alabama ranks in the top 10 in the country in six categories. The Tide rank third in the nation in win-loss percentage (.865), home runs per game (1.62) and stolen bases per game (2.44). Alabama checks in ranked fourth in slugging percentage (.563), fifth in scoring (7.42/gm) and sixth in ERA (1.41). Individually Kayla Braud ranks second in the nation with 50 stolen bases and third in stolen bases per game (0.96). Braud also ranks fifth with 1.19 runs per game. Kelsi Dunne ranks third in hits allowed per seven innings (3.18) and 11th in ERA (1.18) and strikeouts per seven innings (10.2).
NEXT TIME OUT
If Alabama is able to beat Mississippi State it would move to the semifinal round of the SEC Tournament. Alabama would be slated to play the winner of the LSU/Georgia game on Friday, May 13 at 4:30 p.m. The contest will air on ESPNU.
