Softball Set to Host NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional
5/15/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 15, 2014
THIS WEEKEND
This weekend, Alabama (45-11) enters the 2014 NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 overall seed, hosting South Alabama, USC Upstate and SIU Edwardsville for the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional round. Every game of the regional will be streamed live at WatchESPN.com or with the WatchESPN app.
Friday, May 16
Game One - 3:30 - USC Upstate (visitor) vs. South Alabama (home)
Game Two - 6:00 - SIU-E (visitor) vs. Alabama (home)
Saturday, May 17
Game Three - 1:00 - Game One Winner vs. Game Two Winner
Game Four - 3:30 - Game One Loser vs. Game Two Loser
Game Five - 6:00 - Game Four Winner vs. Game Three Loser
Sunday, May 18
Game Six - 1:00 - Game Three Winner vs. Game Five Winner
Game Seven (if necessary) - 3:30 - Game Six Winner vs. Game Six Loser
THE TIDE ON THE AIR
RADIO: 95.3 FM (Friday/Saturday: Local Only, Sunday: Network)
TV: WatchESPN.com, WatchESPN app
ALABAMA SLATED AS NO.2 OVERALL SEED IN NCAA TOURNAMENT
Alabama softball will enter the 2014 NCAA Softball Tournament as the No. 2 overall seed, hosting South Alabama, USC Upstate and SIU Edwardsville in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Alabama is the highest-ranked SEC team, trailing only Oregon (49-7-1) in the overall seedings. For the second-straight season, the SEC qualified 11 teams to the tournament, including six national seeds: Alabama (2), Georgia (4), Florida (5), Tennessee (10), Kentucky (14) and Missouri (15). This marks the Tide's 16th-straight appearance in the postseason and the 10th-straight time hosting a NCAA Regional.
ALABAMA IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
- Alabama has made 16-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, making the Tide one of just 10 teams with an active appearance streak of at least 16 years:
Arizona - 28
Oklahoma, Washington - 21
Michigan - 19
Stanford - 17
Alabama, Cal State Fullerton, UCLA, Louisiana-Lafayette, Notre Dame - 16
- This is Alabama's 10th-straight season hosting a NCAA Regional round and 12th overall.
- Alabama is the only team to advance to the Super Regional round every year since the round's inception in 2005
- The Crimson Tide have made eight Women's College World Series Apperances: 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012.
- Alabama's 2012 National Championship was the first for any SEC school.
- Alabama is 67-34 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE - RPI BREAKDOWN
Alabama will head into the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 3 in the RPI, trailing only Florida and Georgia. The Tide own a 24-11 record against teams in the Top 50 and a 12-8 record against those in the Top 25. Twenty one of the 35 games played against Top 50 opponents came in conference play, while the Tide did not go easy out-of-conference either, playing 14 games against Top 50 opponents. Alabama is 14-7 against SEC opponents in the Top 50 and 10-4 against Non-SEC teams in the Top 50. Rhoads Stadium has been kind to the Tide as well, helping Alabama to a 17-3 home record against Top 50 teams.
SOFTBALL ENTERS NCAA TOURNAMENT RANKED FIFTH IN BOTH POLLS
The final softball polls before the NCAA Tournament have been released and Alabama is ranked fifth in both the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and the USA Today/NFCA poll. Alabama is ranked No. 5 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll for the third-straight week, holding as the highest-ranked SEC team. The top five remains unchanged, with Oregon and UCLA as the top two teams while Florida State jumped into the No. 3 spot ahead of Arizona State, who fell to No. 4 this week. Alabama moved up one spot for the third-straight week in the USA Today/NFCA poll, from No. 6 last week to No. 5 this week. The top five is the same in both polls, with the Ducks earning 29 of a possible 32 first-place votes as the remaining three went to the second-ranked Bruins. Eight SEC teams are now ranked in the Top 25, the most of any conference: Alabama (5/5), Florida (6/6), Georgia (7/7), Tennessee (8/9), Kentucky (14/15), Missouri (15/16), Auburn (22/21) and LSU (23/23). Texas A&M is receiving votes in both polls while Mississippi State earned one vote in the USA Today/NFCA poll.
LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA DEFEATS AUBURN, FALLS TO GEORGIA IN SEC TOURNAMENT
Alabama entered the 2014 SEC Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed, which pitted the Tide against its in-state rival and ninth-seeded Auburn Tigers, who upset eight-seeded host team South Carolina the night before. Auburn jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the second inning, but a four-run rally by the Tide pushed Alabama ahead 5-4 and the lead continued to expand from there as Alabama eventually won, 8-4. The win allowed Alabama to advance to the semifinals, where a matchup against the Georgia Bulldogs awaited the Tide. The teams traded runs back and forth all game, as it was still anybody's game in the final inning as a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth tied the game up at 3-3. Georgia's Alex Hugo sent a two-run homer over the left-field fence in the top of the seventh to give the Bulldogs a 5-3 lead, but Alabama fought back to load the bases in the bottom-half of the inning. An infield popup left the potential tying run stranded in scoring position as Georgia held on to upset Alabama, 5-3. The Bulldogs would eventually win the SEC Tournament Championship, defeating Kentucky 5-2 the following night.
ALABAMA EARNS ITS FIFTH SEC CHAMPIONSHIP
Alabama needed just one win at Missouri in the final regular season series to clinch sole possession of its fifth SEC Championship, and a 3-1 win in game two secured just that. 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 EARNS 100TH CAREER WIN
Thursday's win over Auburn in the SEC Tournament was the 100th of senior Jaclyn Traina's career, making her just the third player in Alabama history with 100 career wins, trailing Shelley Laird (115, 1999-02) and Kelsi Dunne (113, 2008-11) in the record books. She is also just the ninth pitcher in SEC history with 100 wins:
SEC PITCHERS WITH 100 CAREER WINS
Monica Abbott - Tennessee - 189 - 2004-07
Stacey Nelson - Florida - 136 - 2006-09
Britni Sneed - LSU - 120 - 1999-02
Hannah Rogers - Florida - 120 - 2011-pres.
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
Jaclyn Traina - Alabama - 100 - 2011-pres.
TRAINA AND MCCLENEY NAMED TOP-10 PLAYER OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
The Amateur Softball Association (ASA) and USA Softball have announced its Top 10 Finalists for the 2014 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, as Jaclyn Traina and Haylie McCleney have both made the cut. Alabama, Oregon and Florida State each have two players among the top 10, while UCLA, Arizona State, Michigan and Tennessee are also represented. Traina and McCleney both made the Top-25 list last season, while Traina was a Top-10 finalist in 2012. The top three finalists will be announced on May 21 with the winner revealed the next week in Oklahoma City on May 27.
ASA/USA SOFTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR TOP 10 FINALISTS
Ally Carda - UCLA - Pitcher/Utility
Courtney Ceo - Oregon - Infield
Dallas Escobedo - Arizona State - Pitcher
Cheridan Hawkins - Oregon - Pitcher
Haylie McCleney - Alabama - Outfield
Maddie O'Brien - Florida State - Infield
Sierra Romero - Michigan - Infield
Madison Shipman - Tennessee - Infield
Jaclyn Traina - Alabama - Pitcher
Lacey Waldrop - Florida State - Pitcher
NEXT TIME OUT: NCAA SUPER REGIONAL
The winner of the Tuscaloosa Regional will advance to play the winner of the Columbia Regional between 15th-seeded Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas and Bradley. A best-of-three series will begin next weekend. The winner of that Super Regional will earn one of eight spots in the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla.
