Softball Set to Host Easton Crimson Classic
2/27/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 27, 2014
THIS WEEK
Alabama (13-3) welcomes Purdue, Houston and No. 9 Florida State to Tuscaloosa for the Easton Crimson Classic. The Crimson Tide will play five games over three days, starting on Friday, Feb. 28 against Purdue (4 p.m.) and Houston (6 p.m.). Alabama plays two on Saturday, facing the Seminoles (1:30 p.m.) and the Cougars (4 p.m.) before wrapping the weekend up against Florida State on Sunday, March 2 at 1:30 p.m.
THE TIDE ON THE AIR
Friday, Feb. 28 vs. Purdue/Houston - 95.3 FM (Local Only)
Saturday, March 1 vs. Florida State/Houston - 790 AM (Local Only)
Sunday, March 2 vs. Florida State - 95.3 FM (Local Only)
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Purdue (5-7-1, 0-0 Big Ten) - The Boilermakers are sitting under .500 on the young season, as they went 1-3 at last weekend's Wilson/DeMarini Classic in Auburn, Ala., defeating Mississippi Valley State but falling to Samford, Jacksonville State and Auburn. As a team, Purdue is hitting .307 led by junior Ashley Burkhardt who leads the team in nearly every offensive category owning a .450 batting average along with seven doubles, four home runs, 12 runs scored and 18 RBI. Sophomore Lilly Fecho has seen the most time in the circle but has struggled so far, owning a 4.46 ERA over 41.1 innings pitched.
Houston (9-2, 0-0 American) - The Cougars are hitting the road for the first time this season, as they have done well at home so far in 2014. Houston went 5-1 at the season-opening Houston Hilton Plaza Classic and went 4-1 at last weekend's Houston Hilton Plaza Invite. 2013 C-USA Player of the Year Haley Outon has been the main power source in the lineup, blasting five home runs with 18 RBI along with a solid .414 average. Her twin sister, Diedre Outon, leads the pitching staff with a 4-1 record and a stellar 0.44 ERA over 31.2 innings pitched.
No. 9 Florida State (14-1, 0-0 ACC) - The Seminoles are coming off a stellar 2013 campaign that saw them overcome a 6-1 deficit in the seventh inning of the final game of the Mobile Regional Round to advance to the Austin Super Regional round, where they eventually fell to seventh-ranked Texas. This season, Florida State fell to Nebraska in the season opener but has not lost a game since, most recently defeating No. 25 Auburn, 5-4, on Wednesday. Junior Maddie O'Brien leads the offense with a .463 average along with a team-leading five doubles, six home runs and 28 RBI. Fellow junior Lacey Waldrop leads the team in the circle with a 0.62 ERA over 56.0 innings pitched, striking out 65 while allowing just five earned runs.
SERIES HISTORY
Purdue - Alabama and Purdue have faced each other twice in program history, with the Tide winning both contests. Both meetings came on the same weekend, as the Boilermakers came to Tuscaloosa on opening weekend 2008 for the Bama Bash. Alabama shut out Purdue in both games, defeating them 8-0 on Feb. 8 and 11-0 on Feb. 9. Tide outfielder Dani Woods earned a combined five hits and eight RBI between the two games.
Houston - Alabama leads Houston 3-0 in the all-time series. Most recently, the two teams met last season for a midweek game at Houston, where the Tide earned a 6-3 victory. The game was tied 3-3 heading into the final inning, when Jaclyn Triana blasted her second home run of the day to put the Tide ahead 5-3, which proved final.
Florida State - Alabama is 4-2 all-time against Florida State. The last meeting between the two was during the 2011 Easton Challenge, where Alabama won a pair of games 8-0 and 9-2. Alabama has won the last three meetings between the teams, with the Seminoles' last win over the Tide coming on March 7, 1998.
LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA SHUTS OUT UAB, 5-0
Alabama rebounded from its Sunday loss with a quality shutout at UAB Tuesday, downing the Blazers 5-0. Alabama had another offensive showcase, earning 12 hits including a pair of doubles and a home run. Haylie McCleney and Kaila Hunt each went 3-4, with McCleney blasting her fifth home run of the season. Leslie Jury (6-1) threw another gem in the circle, going the distance for her sixth complete game of the season and her fifth shutout. UAB (3-8) fell behind early and couldn't dig out of it, as starter Leigh Streetman (3-4) only lasted 3.1 innings with three earned runs. Lannah Campbell pitched 3.2 strong relief innings, but the Blazer offense couldn't back her up, leaving nine runners on base.
BACK-TO-BACK THREES
Kaila Hunt has recorded back-to-back three hit performances, going 3-4 against McNeese on Sunday, Feb. 23 and at UAB on Tuesday, Feb. 25. Hunt has earned three hits in 11 games over her career, but never in back-to-back games before this week. The last time any Alabama player had consecutive three-hit performances was Molly Fichtner on April 7, 2013 against Missouri and April 9 against Mississippi Valley State. Hunt has earned a hit in each of her last three games and has reached base safely in 10-consecutive games.
DOMINATE THE STATE
Alabama's 5-0 victory over UAB on Tuesday maintained the Tide's perfect all-time record against UAB at 15-0. Alabama is now a combined 125-16 all-time against in-state teams. Fourteen of those 16 losses have come against Auburn, though the Tide holds a heavy advantage in the all-time series at 42-14. The only other in-state team Alabama has ever lost to is Samford, falling twice in a doubleheader on March 18, 1997. That was the last time the Bulldogs beat the Tide, as Alabama has won all 19 contests since then. Alabama holds perfect records against Jacksonville State (17-0), Troy (16-0), South Alabama (8-0), Birmingham Southern (6-0), Alabama State (1-0) and Alabama A&M (1-0).
ALABAMA SOFTBALL RANKED NO. 11/10 IN LATEST POLLS
Despite a loss in last weekend's Easton Bama Bash finale, the Alabama Crimson Tide softball team remains one of the top teams in the country as they are ranked 11th in this week's USA Today/NFCA poll and 10th in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll. In the USA Today/NFCA poll, Alabama fell from No. 9 last week to No. 11 this week. Florida and Tennessee remain in the top two spots, while Arizona State jumps up to No. 3. Oregon, Michigan, Washington, Kentucky, Florida State and Arizona round out the rest of the top 10. In the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, Alabama dropped three spots from No. 7 to No. 10. Florida, Tennessee and Arizona State are the top three teams in both polls, with Alabama bumping 11th-ranked Florida State from a unanimous top-10 ranking.
PATRICK MURPHY EARNS 800TH WIN AT ALABAMA
With Saturday's win over Virginia Tech, Head Coach Patrick Murphy eclipsed the 800-win plateau as the University of Alabama's head coach. He is the 15th active Division-I head coach with at least 800 wins at their current school, while Murphy and Arizona's Mike Candrea are the only coaches among those 15 averaging over 50 wins per season. Over his Alabama career, Murphy owns a 801-216 (.788) record, while he is 829-236 (.778) all-time as a head coach, including 15-plus years at Alabama and one at Northwestern Missouri State.
BIRTHDAY BEST
A pair of gameday birthdays so far this season have proven very sucessful for the respective birthday girl. On Feb. 14, Danae Hays celebrated her 21st birthday by hitting a three-run homer in a 13-5 victory over Grand Canyon at the Hillenbrand Invitational. That home run was already her fourth of the season, surpassing her 2013 season total of two and nearing her freshman total of five. On Saturday, Feb. 22, Ryan Iamurri celebrated her senior day at Rhoads Stadium and her 22nd birthday by going a combined 2-6 in two starts against Virginia Tech and UCF. Against the Hokies, Iamurri drove in a pair of runs and scored two herself. In a scoreless tie against UCF, Iamurri ended up as the game-winning run as she sat at third with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh and came home off an outfield error to secure the 1-0 Alabama victory.
HOKIE HIGHS
Saturday's 13-5 win against Virginia Tech set multiple season highs and school records. Alabama's 14 hits is a season-high and is the most since Alabama hit 15 against Western Kentucky in the 2013 NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional round. The 11 walks drawn is also a season-high and is tied for sixth all-time in school history. Haylie McCleney accounted for four of those 11 walks, which is tied for a single-game school record. As a team, Alabama stole eight bases which is tied for third all-time. Kallie Case stole four of those bases, which also ties a single-game school record.
NEXT TIME OUT: AT SAMFORD, VS. SOUTH CAROLINA
On Tuesday, March 4, Alabama will take another midweek trip to Birmingham, Ala., this time facing the Samford Bulldogs (13-4) at 6 p.m. CT. The following weekend, the Tide begins SEC play with a three-game home series against the South Carolina Gamecocks (13-2), beginning on Friday, March 6 at 6:30 p.m. CT.
