Softball Set to Host Mississippi Valley State on Tuesday
3/10/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 10, 2014
THIS WEEK
This week, No. 11 Alabama (20-4, 3-0 SEC) faces off against defending SWAC champions Mississippi Valley State (2-17) on Tuesday, March 11 at Rhoads Stadium. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT.
THE TIDE ON THE AIR
RADIO
Friday, March 7 - 95.3 FM (Local Only)
TUESDAY PROMOTIONS
Chik-Fil-A Night - Free sandwiches while supplies last
SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE
Mississippi Valley State (2-17, 0-0 SWAC) -The Devilettes have been a SWAC powerhouse over the last ten years, winning eight of the last 10 tournament titles including last season with a convincing 11-3 win over Alabama State. So far this season, they only own two wins over a tough preseason slate, having beat Northern Kentucky and Miles College. The pitching staff has been hit hard, owning a 12.50 team ERA with 137 earned runs allowed over 98.2 innings with opponents hitting .379 against them. Junior outfielder Omeshia Moffett is the team's leader on offense, starting all 19 games with a .292 average, 14 hits and three RBI. Freshman infielder Deja Talton owns the team's lone home run and has driven in a team-leading six RBI.
SERIES HISTORY
Alabama owns a perfect 9-0 all-time record against Mississippi Valley State, including three matchups in the NCAA Regional Tuscaloosa Regional round in 2005, 2006 and 2010. The Tide has won by an average margin of just over six runs in those nine meetings, with four ending in a run-rule victory. Last season's contest in Tuscaloosa was a tight affair, with Alabama winning by its slimmest-ever margin over the Devilettes, 8-5. The game was tied at 3-3 heading into the bottom of the fifth, when doubles by Molly Fichtner, Jadyn Spencer and Ryan Iamurri gave Alabama four runs to pull ahead 7-3. Leading 8-3 in the final inning, a two-run homer drew the Devilettes within three but Leslie Jury regrouped on the mound and forced a popup and groundout to end the game.
LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA SWEEPS SOUTH CAROLINA TO OPEN SEC PLAY
Alabama started its SEC season on a strong note, sweeping South Carolina last weekend in Tuscaloosa. The bats came alive for a convincing 14-4 six-inning win on Friday, with Kaila Hunt driving in a career-high five RBI including a walk-off three run homer in the sixth inning. The offense stayed hot in game two, using a six-run third inning to help propel the Tide to a 10-5 victory, which secured the series. Sydney Littlejohn pitched a stellar relief outing, earning the win thanks to 3.2 hitless shutout innings, with just one walked batter as the only baserunner. Alabama was cruising towards another win in game three on Sunday, but a resilient Gamecock squad threatened late, loading the bases with nobody out in the seventh innining, which brough the potential go-ahead run to the plate. Littlejohn showed great poise, entering in the tough save situation as two runs crossed the plate but the potential tying run was stranded 60 feet away, as she earned the save to secure the weekend sweep.
MCCLENEY MEETS THE NCAA MARK
With 252 career at-bats, Alabama sophomore Haylie McCleney now meets the minimum qualifications to be included in the NCAA Record Book for career averages. With a career average of .484, she would rank third in NCAA history, only trailing Stacy Cowen (.530, 1991-92, Manhattan) and Kelly Knight (.489, 1993-95, Deleware State) in the all-time rankings. At her current pace, she is set to finish her career with around 360 hits, which would rank eighth in NCAA history. Her season average of .537 this year would rank eighth in the all-time NCAA single season rankings.
FICHTNER CATCHING FIRE
Senior catcher Molly Fichtner has emerged as one of the strongest offensive weapons in the Tide lineup, hitting .409 this season with six doubles and 19 RBI. An offseason hand injury relegated her to irregular pinch-hitting duty over the first two weeks of the season, though she showed signs of promise in her very first at-bat, blasting a home run against Northwestern State at the Troy Subway Invitational. Over the last three weeks, she has made 13 starts and has earned in a hit in all but two of those games. In those starts, she has 17 RBI on 17 hits, including six doubles, as well as eight walks and just one strikeout. She has been solid behind the plate as well with 37 putouts and just one error on a catcher's interference call.
NEXT TIME OUT: AT OLE MISS
This weekend, Alabama continues its SEC slate with a road trip to Oxford, Miss., to take on the Ole Miss Rebels in a three-game series. Game one is set for a 6 p.m. CT start on Friday, March 14, with game two on Saturday at 2 p.m. and game three on Sunday at 1 p.m.
