Alabama to Begin Postseason Play at 2014 SEC Softball Tournament
5/7/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 7, 2014
THIS WEEK
This weekend, Alabama (44-10, 19-5 SEC) begins postseason play at the 2014 SEC Tournament, hosted by South Carolina. The Crimson Tide will enter as the No. 1 overall seed, opening play on Thursday, May 8.
- Thursday, May 8 vs. Auburn/South Carolina - 5:30 p.m. CT - ESPNU
- Friday, May 9 vs. Florida/Georgia - 4:30 p.m. CT - ESPNU
- Saturday May 10 - SEC Championship - 7 p.m. CT - ESPN 2
THE TIDE ON THE AIR
RADIO:
95.3 FM (Thursday/Saturday: CTSN Network, Friday: Local Only)
TV:
Thursday/Friday - ESPNU (Beth Mowins, Jessica Mendoza)
Saturday - ESPN 2 (Beth Mowins, Jessica Mendoza, Michele Smith)
*Both TV games can be watched online at www.watchespn.com or via the WatchESPN mobile app*
SCOUTING ALABAMA
Alabama (44-10, 19-5 SEC) - The Crimson Tide won its fifth SEC Championship in 2014, winning seven of its eight conference series. Alabama swept South Carolina, Ole Miss, LSU and Arkansas and took two out of three games against Florida, Georgia and Missouri. Alabama's lone series loss of the season came at Mississippi State, as the Tide won the opening game but fell in games two and three. Senior pitcher Jaclyn Traina was named the SEC Pitcher of the Year, taking just one loss in conference play, owning a 19-3 record overall with a 1.95 ERA. Haylie McCleney, a First Team All-SEC honoree and Top-10 Finalist for the USA Softball Player of the Year, ranks in the top-10 nationally in batting average (8th, .458) and on-base percentage (4th, .581).
LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA TAKES TWO AT MISSOURI TO CLOSE REGULAR SEASON
With both teams fighting for an SEC Championship, Alabama bounced back from a game-one loss at Missouri to win back-to-back games, clinching the Tide's fifth outright SEC Championship. Game one saw a matchup between aces Jaclyn Traina and Tori Finucane, but the offense would prove to be the story in a back-and-forth slugfest that saw the lead change three times with Missouri ultimately coming out on top, 8-6. In game two, Alabama turned to freshman Sydney Littlejohn who was making her first career SEC start in the circle. She pitched with the poise of a veteran, throwing a complete-game 3-1 victory to even the series and secure outright possession of the 2014 SEC Championship. In the series rubber match, Leslie Jury and Littlejohn combined to throw a five-hit shutout as the Tide defeated the Tigers, 2-0.
ALABAMA EARNS ITS FIFTH SEC CHAMPIONSHIP
Alabama needed just one win at Missouri 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, and won the SEC Tournament as the No. 1 seed in 2010 and 2012.
Sydney Littlejohn NAMED SEC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
A complete-game victory on Friday for Sydney Littlejohn helped earn Alabama sole possession of the 2014 SEC Championship and it also helped her earn SEC Freshman of the Week honors, announced by the conference office Monday. Littlejohn made her first-ever SEC start in one of the biggest games of the season for Alabama. Facing an offense that flexed its muscle the previous night, Littlejohn showed the poise of a veteran ace in the circle, throwing a complete-game victory while scattering just four hits with one earned run and six strikeouts. Missouri's lone run of the game and the RBI single that sent her home represented the only two Tiger baserunners that would pass first base in the entire outing. The next day, Littlejohn entered in the sixth inning in a save situation, leading 2-0 with the potential go-ahead run for Missouri at the plate. She went on to throw 1.2 shutout innings with just one hit allowed, intentionally loading the bases with two outs in both the sixth and seventh innings, striking out the final batter of the game to earn her third save of the season.
ALABAMA IN THE SEC TOURNAMENT
- Alabama has competed in every SEC Tournament since the program's inception in 1997.
- This year is the fifth time Alabama has earned the No. 1 overall seed (2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014)
- Alabama has won five SEC Tournament titles (1998, 2003, 2005, 2010, 2012)
- The Tide's all-time record in the SEC Tournament is 33-20.
vs. Arkansas: 4-1
- 1999, L 4-2 • 2001, W 2-0 • 2002, W 2-1 • 2008, W 8-0 • 2009, W 9-0 (5)
vs. Auburn: 4-1
- 2001, L 5-3 • 2002, W 5-4 • 2003, W 4-0 • 2004, W 7-1 • 2005, W 9-5
vs. Florida: 3-4
- 1997, L 6-2 • 1999, W 4-1 • 2000, W 1-0 • 2008, L 4-1 • 2009, L 8-5 • 2012, W 10-1(5) • 2013, L, 8-4
vs. Georgia: 3-1
- 2005, W 2-0 • 2007, W 3-2 (9) • 2011, L 4-2 • 2012, W 1-0
vs. Kentucky: 1-0
- 2009, W 2-1
vs. LSU: 6-6
- 1997, L 4-2 • 1998, W 5-3 (10) • 1998, L 8-4 • 1998, W 8-1 • 2000, L 5-2 • 2002, L 6-2
• 2003, W 3-1 • 2003, W 3-1 • 2004, L 2-1 • 2007, L 4-1 • 2008, W 7-4 • 2010, W 5-4
vs. Ole Miss: 1-0
- 2006, W 6-0
vs. Mississippi State: 6-1
- 1998, W 5-4 (9) • 1999, L 6-3 • 2000, W 4-3 • 2005, W 5-0 • 2008, W 1-0 • 2011, W 5-1 • 2012, W 5-2
vs. South Carolina: 0-3
- 2001, L 2-0 (9) • 2000, L 4-1 • 2002, L 6-4
vs. Tennessee: 4-3
- 1998, W 2-1 • 2003, W 3-2 (8) • 2004, L 1-0 • 2005, L 3-1 • 2005, W 3-0 • 2006, L 2-1 • 2010, W 4-3
vs. Texas A&M: 1-0
- 2013, W 10-9
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 eight pitchers in SEC history have 100 career 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
TRAINA NAMED SEC PITCHER OF THE YEAR, MURPHY SEC COACH OF THE YEAR
- Traina, who also earned a spot on the First Team All-SEC, becomes just the second player in Alabama history to earn two SEC Pitcher of the Year awards, also earning the nod in her sophomore 2012 season. Former All-American Kelsi Dunne (2008-11) won back-to-back honors in 2010 and 2011. Traina was dominant in SEC play this season, compiling a 13-1 record over 15 starts with a 1.90 ERA. Four of her wins were against ranked opponents, including a pair against the then-top ranked Florida Gators in Gainesville, helping her win SEC Pitcher of the Week, USA Softball Player of the Week and NFCA Co-Player of the Week honors. Traina is just one win shy of earning the 100th of her career, which would make her just the third in Alabama history and the ninth in SEC history to surpass the triple-digit career mark.
- Murphy, in his 16th season at the helm of the Crimson Tide, earns his fourth SEC Coach of the Year award, winning previously in 2006, 2010 and 2012. This year's SEC Championship is his fifth at Alabama, including four in the last five years. He owns an 833-223 all-time record at Alabama, becoming just the 16th current Division-I coach with at least 800 wins at their current school earlier this season. Prior to the start of the season, Murphy was inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
- Sophomore Haylie McCleney earned spots on the First Team All-SEC and the SEC All-Defensive Team. The sophomore out of Morris, Ala., hit .386 in conference play with a team-leading 27 hits, 21 walks and 11 stolen bases. She started all 24 SEC games for Alabama, reaching base safely in all but one of them. In the field, she owned a perfect fielding percentage this season and earned an appearance on the ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 Plays with a diving catch at home against LSU. This season marks her first career appearance on the First Team All-SEC and her second-straight on the SEC All-Defensive Team.
- Senior Kaila Hunt was one of five infielders named to the Second Team All-SEC, marking her third-straight appearance on an SEC postseason team. She earned Second Team honors last season and First Team honors during the Tide's 2012 championship season. Hunt led the team with five home runs in SEC play, helping push her career total to 57 which is just three shy of Kelly Kretschman's (1998-2001) school record of 60.
- Senior Molly Fichtner makes her first career appearance on the SEC postseason award list, named as the lone catcher to the Second Team All-SEC. Fichtner led the Tide with a .391 average in conference play with 27 hits, seven doubles and 16 RBI. On defense, she threw out a conference-leading seven would-be base stealers in SEC play with just two errors and no passed balls. The Houston, Texas, native is in her second season with Alabama after transferring from UT-San Antonio following the 2012 season.
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
Cortney 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 REGIONAL
On Sunday, May 11 Alabama will learn its postseason fate with the NCAA Tournament Selection Show at 9 p.m. CT, which will be aired live on ESPNU. Sixty-four teams from across the country will enter the tournament field, with the top 16 seeds hosting four-team regionals at their home sites over the weekend from May 15-18.
