Softball Set to Close Out Regular Season at Missouri
4/30/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 30, 2014
THIS WEEKEND
This weekend, Alabama (42-9, 17-4 SEC) concludes the regular season with its first-ever road trip to Columbia, Mo., to face the Missouri Tigers (40-13, 14-7 SEC). Game one is set for a 7 p.m. CT start on Thursday, May 1 and will be broadcast live on ESPN. Game two is at 6:30 p.m. CT on Friday, May 2 and Game three is at 1 p.m. CT on Saturday, May 3 and will be broadcast on ESPNU.
THE TIDE ON THE AIR
RADIO: 95.3 FM (Thursday: CTSN Network, Friday/Saturday: Local Only)
TV:
Thursday - ESPN (Pam Ward, Michele Smith)
Saturday - ESPNU (Pam Ward, Michele Smith)
*Both TV games can be watched online at www.watchespn.com or via the WatchESPN mobile app*
SCOUTING MISSOURI
Missouri (40-13, 14-7 SEC) - The Tigers are still looking for a share of an SEC Championship, trailing the Tide by three games heading into the final weekend. Missouri lost its opening two SEC series to Texas A&M and Kentucky but have won all five since, including a pair of wins last weekend in Gainesville against Florida. The two wins helped Missouri win a pair of SEC and national weekly honors. Junior Corrin Genovese was named the SEC Player of the Week, hitting 6-13 (.462) over the series including her first career grand slam. She is hitting .398 on the season with 43 hits, including five doubles and five home runs. Three complete-game victories in four games last week helped freshman pitcher Tori Finucane not only earn SEC Pitcher of the Week honors, but also NFCA and USA Softball National Player of the Week honors. This season, Finucane leads the team with a 20-5 record and 1.66 ERA over 168.2 innings, while fellow freshman Casey Stangel (14-7, 3.31 ERA) has proven a reliable No. 2 option in the circle as well.
SERIES HISTORY
The two teams have met 12 times in program history, with Alabama holding the slight 7-5 advantage in the all-time series. The first meeting was on the big stage, as the Tigers knocked the Tide out of the NCAA Tournament in the Los Angeles Regional round, 1-0, in 1999. Alabama got its postseason revenge nine years later, as Missouri was outscored 13-2 over two games in the 2008 Super Regional round in Tuscaloosa as the Tide advanced to its fifth Women's College World Series appearance. Alabama took two out of three games in their first meeting as SEC opponents last season, bouncing back from a 9-4 game two loss to run-rule the Tigers, 14-6, in six innings thanks in part to a 3-3 performance by Molly Fichtner that included a three-run homer.
LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA TAKES TWO FROM GEORGIA TO SECURE SEC TITLE
In its final home weekend of the regular season, Alabama won its sixth SEC series of the season and, more importantly, secured at least a share of the team's fifth SEC Championship. Alabama won Thursday's series opener, 4-2, for a national audience on ESPN as Jaclyn Triana shut down the Bulldog offense while the offense jumped ahead early to a four-run lead that proved enough for the win. Georgia's offense was revitalized in game two, as the Bulldogs jumped on the Tide for a 10-2 win in six innings, handing Alabama its first home run-rule loss since 2010. Alabama quickly regrouped and came back to win, 4-1, in the series finale as the win helped secure at least a share of Alabama's fifth SEC Championship.
ALABAMA CLINCHES ITS FIFTH SEC CHAMPIONSHIP
With a win over Georgia Saturday and losses by Tennessee and Missouri, Alabama has guaranteed at least a share of the 2014 SEC Championship. Alabama came into the weekend with a three-game lead over Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri. Kentucky lost to Tennessee on Friday and the Wildcats repaid the favor on Saturday, defeating the Lady Vols. Missouri defeated the Florida Gators on Friday but fell on Saturday, meaning that Alabama will have a three-game lead over the field heading into the final weekend of the regular season. The three-game lead means Alabama will at least share the conference title this season, as the SEC only uses tie-breaking procedures to seed the SEC Tournament, recognizing co-champions if two or more teams are tied in the standings at the end of the regular season. The SEC Championship is Alabama's fifth overall and the fourth in the last five years. Alabama's first SEC Championship came in the 2006 season and the Crimson Tide won three-consecutive titles from 2010-2012. Alabama made the Women's College World Series in three of those four seasons, including a national championship in 2012.
TRAINA ONE AWAY FROM 100TH CAREER WIN
Saturday's win over Georgia was the 99th of senior Jaclyn Traina's career, putting her just one win shy of becoming only the third player in Alabama history with 100 career wins. Shelley Laird (115, 1999-02) and Kelsi Dunne (113, 2008-11) are the only two in Alabama history with 100 wins. Only seven pitchers in SEC history have 100 career wins, with Dunne as the most recent addition to the group.
SEC PITCHERS WITH 100 CAREER WINS
Monica Abbott - Tennessee - 189 - 2004-07
Stacey Nelson - Florida - 136 - 2006-09
Britni Sneed - LSU - 120 - 1999-02
Shelly Laird - Alabama - 115 - 1999-02
Kelsi Dunne - Alabama - 113 - 2008-11
Michelle Green - Georgia - 104 - 2002-05
Megan Matthews - South Carolina - 101 - 1999-02
SOFTBALL JUMPS TO FIFTH AND SIXTH IN WEEK 12 POLLS
Alabama secured its fifth SEC Championship last weekend with two wins over Georgia, which helped propel the Crimson Tide to No. 5 in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and No. 6 in the latest USA Today/NFCA poll. Alabama jumped two spots in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, moving to No. 5 this week from No. 7 last week. Oregon and UCLA remain in the top two spots, while Arizona State and Florida State sit at third and fourth, respectively, as both Michigan and Florida dropped out of the top five with a pair of losses last weekend. Alabama moved up one spot in the USA Today/NFCA poll, from No. 7 last week to No. 6 this week. Oregon is the unanimous No. 1 pick for the third-straight week with UCLA in the No. 2 spot. Florida dropped two spots to No. 5 after losing the weekend series over Missouri and Michigan dropped down to No. 7 after upset losses to Purdue and Illinois. Arizona State and Florida State took advantage of the vacancy, sliding into the No. 3 and 4 spots, respectively. Nine SEC teams are now ranked in the Top 25, the most of any conference: Alabama (5/6), Florida (7/5), Tennessee (9/8), Kentucky (11/10), Missouri (15/13), Georgia (18/16), Auburn (20/20), LSU (23/25), Texas A&M (25/24). Mississippi State is receiving votes in both polls. Alabama remains at No. 2 in the NCAA RPI, trailing the Florida Gators. UCLA moved to No. 3 after Georgia dropped one spot to No. 4.
NEXT TIME OUT: MAY 7-10 AT SEC TOURNAMENT
Next week, Alabama begins postseason play at the 2014 SEC Tournament, hosted by South Carolina. Four days of games begin on Wednesday, May 7 and culminate in the SEC Tournament Championship on Saturday, May 10 at 7 p.m. CT.
Wednesday May 7
Game One - No. 7 Seed vs. No. 10 Seed - 4 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
Game Two - No. 8 Seed vs. No. 9 Seed - 6:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
Thursday, May 8
Game Three - No. 2 Seed vs. Game One Winner - 11 a.m. ET (ESPNU)
Game Four - No. 3 Seed vs. No. 6 Seed - 1:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
Game Five - No. 1 Seed vs. Game Two Winner - 4 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
Game Six - No. 4 Seed vs. No. 5 Seed - 6:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
Friday, May 9
Game Seven - Game Three Winner vs. Game Four Winner - 3 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
Game Eight - Game Five Winner vs. Game Six Winner - 5:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
Saturday, May 10
SEC Championship - Game Seven Winner vs. Game Eight Winner - 8 p.m. ET (ESPN 2)
