2015 Softball Season Preview Part Three: Infield
1/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
If you plan on guessing any Alabama lineups this season, you'd be better served writing it in pencil rather than pen. While a few standouts will certainly emerge and earn a good amount of playing time, there's no guarantee that any one player will be a lock at any given position on game day. To have the ability to play the nine best hitters, defensive versatility is a must and that quality is most apparent in the amount of capable infielders on the 2015 Alabama team.
Of all the infield options, senior Danae Hays will be the only four-year starter among them. Hays was the starting second baseman for the majority of her 2012 freshman season, including the national championship series against Oklahoma. She shifted to shortstop in her sophomore season and has been a mainstay there ever since, starting in 114 of the team's 124 games over that stretch. Now more than ever, she will be counted on her for her leadership abilities as much as she is for her ability to turn a double play or make a diving back-handed catch.
"We're going to look to her for leadership," says Head Coach Patrick Murphy, "because it could possibly be new players at nearly every other spot: pitcher, catcher, first, second and third. I think she's taken it upon herself to be a more vocal leader this season which is great to see."
Junior Leona Lafaele started 58 games at first base last season, but with a possible role behind home plate this year, senior Jadyn Spencer and sophomore Marisa Runyon could see time at first base as well. As is the case with many first basemen, the three account for a good portion of the team's power potential as they combined to hit 25 of the team's 68 home runs last season.
"Who starts at first depends on who's hitting well and who the opposing pitcher is," says Murphy. "If we have a good feeling about how these three might be against a specific pitcher, we can play those matchups. I think all three will be fine at first. They are very athletic and can do the job."
Runyon is one of four possible left-handed batters that could play the infield positions, giving the Crimson Tide a lot more chances to start a lefty-heavy lineup if the situation calls for it. The majority of the left-handed options could find a spot at second base including Runyon, who started 10 games there last season as a freshman. Junior Kallie Case spent time at second in her freshman season and could make a return to the position if necessary, while sophomore Chandler Dare has been practicing at multiple infield positions after spending the majority of last season in the outfield. Senior Danielle Richard has practiced at the position in the fall and freshman Demi Turner could also force herself into the lineup with her lefty bat and great speed on the base paths.
"At second we have a lot of options," says Murphy. "We have six possible lefty bats in the whole lineup so if we wanted a left-hand dominant lineup, someone like Chandler can step in and play any position and give us a lot of flexibility. We could literally have four left-handed batters playing in the infield between Runyon, Demi, Kallie and Chandler."
The Tide have multiple options at third base as well, including Richard and Runyon, but the unfortunate absent option is sophomore Peyton Grantham, who started 40 games at third last season but tore her ACL this past fall. Offseason surgery dispelled any hope of seeing the field in 2015, but the pity party didn't last long.
"When Peyton got injured," says Murphy, "myself and our athletic trainer Erin Weaver give her about 48 hours to digest it all, feel bad for herself and go through all those emotions. After that, she went right into rehab and her doctors have said that she has done really well, so she's over those emotions now. Now, her goal is to be the best teammate possible."
The role of the bench players is extremely vital to the culture that Alabama Softball has established. If you ask Murphy or his coaching staff, many of the most impactful players in program history rarely saw any time on the field. Grantham, like many of those players in the past, has not merely resigned herself to a role on the bench but has embraced it. The circumstances that put her there were out of her control, so she is making the most of the situation.
"She'll sit in the dugout, talk to every hitter that comes in, talk to everyone that's going back out on defense and really be the fifth coach on the staff," says Murphy. "She has to help us somehow and I think she's going to be really good in that role. She's a very calming presence. She doesn't get too high and doesn't' get too low."
