Softball Heads to Lexington to Face No. 13 Kentucky
4/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
THIS WEEK
#5/6 Alabama at #13/14 Kentucky
Lexington, Ky. - John Cropp Stadium
Friday, April 3 - 4:30 p.m. CT
Saturday, April 4 - 11 a.m. CT (ESPNU)
Sunday, April 5 - 2:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network)
THE TIDE ON THE AIR
TV:
Friday - SEC Network + (Online Only)
Saturday - ESPNU
Sunday - SEC Network
Play-by-play: Mark Neely, Color: Michele Smith
RADIO: 95.3 FM (953thebear.com)
SCOUTING #5/6 ALABAMA (27-8, 8-4 SEC)
- Alabama is coming off a series victory over No. 23 Texas A&M, defeating them in two out of three games in Tuscaloosa last weekend. Alabama earned midweek victories over Mississippi Valley State and Southern Miss by a combined score of 29-1.
- Freshman Demi Turner was named the SEC Freshman of the Week for the second time in three weeks after hitting .462 with three multi-hit games last week.
- Alabama and Auburn are tied for the best defense in the SEC with a .976 fielding percentage. Alabama has committed the fewest errors in the conference at 20.
- Alabama is one of four SEC teams with an overall ERA less than 2.00 and leads all teams with a 1.98 ERA in conference play.
SCOUTING #13/14 KENTUCKY (24-9, 3-6 SEC)
- The Wildcats are just 3-6 in conference play but won two big SEC games last weekend, defeating previously top-ranked LSU on Friday and Saturday in Lexington to secure the series win over the Tigers. LSU avoided the sweep with a 2-0 victory on Sunday.
- For her efforts over the weekend, junior pitcher Kelsey Nunley was named the SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week. Over 13.2 innings against LSU, she allowed just two earned runs while striking out 13. This season, Nunley has an 11-5 record with a 1.65 ERA over 102.0 innings.
- Kentucky is coming off a record year in 2014, as the Wildcats made their first ever appearance in the Women's College World Series. Kentucky fell to No. 3 UCLA in game one of the Super Regional round in Los Angeles before rebounding to win games two and three. In Oklahoma City, Kentucky defeated Louisiana-Lafayette before falling to Alabama and Baylor.
- Christian Stokes leads the offense with a .378 average and 42 hits, including six home runs.
ALL-TIME VS. KENTUCKY (40-4)
Last Meeting: May 30, 2014 - W, 2-0 - Oklahoma City, Okla. (WCWS)
First Meeting: March 21, 1997 - W, 2-0 - Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Last Meeting in Lexington: March 11, 2012 - W, 12-2 (6) - Lexington, Ky.
Current Streak: Alabama 1
LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA VS. MVSU & SOUTHERN MISS
- ALABAMA 17, MVSU 0 (5 INNINGS): After heavy rain and hail delayed the originally scheduled start time by over an hour, Alabama's offense came alive in a 17-0 drubbing over Mississippi Valley State Tuesday at Rhoads Stadium. The 17 runs scored were the most by Alabama since defeating Western Illinois 21-0 on Feb. 22, 2013. Fifteen of the Tide's runs came in a big third inning, as 20 Tide batters got an at-bat in the half-inning. Six of Alabama's 14 hits were doubles, which is tied for the third most in a single game. Demi Turner went 3-4 in the leadoff spot, scoring twice and driving in a run, while Marisa Runyon and Jadyn Spencer each had multi-hit games with Runyon driving in four runs. Starter Leslie Jury (5-3) faced just one batter over the minimum, striking out nine over 5.0 shutout innings in the circle.
- ALABAMA 12, SOUTHERN MISS 1 (5 INNINGS): After scoring 17 runs on Tuesday, Alabama's bats were hot again on Wednesday against Southern Miss as the Crimson Tide used an eight-run fourth inning to earn the convincing 12-1 win. All but one of the nine batters in the Alabama starting lineup reached base safely in the game, including four multi-hit performances. Demi Turner had her fourth straight multi-hit game, going 2-4 out of the leadoff spot with a pair of RBI. Danae Hays went 2-3 with three RBI while Chaunsey Bell drove in three on one swing, launching her third homer of the year in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starter Sydney Littlejohn (11-1) allowed just one run, a second inning solo home run, on four hits, facing just 20 batters on 68 pitches over 5.0 innings.
MOVING MCCLENEY TO THIRD
In a move that may have surprised many, Haylie McCleney was moved into the three-hole in game three vs. Florida and responded with one of her best games of the year. McCleney has made the adjustment and has performed well out of the three-hole in nine games this season:
Hitting Lines for Haylie McCleney
Batting 1st (26 games): 36-76 (.474), 26 R, 19 RBI, 17 BB, 9 2B, 1 3B, 18-19 SB/SBA
Batting 3rd (9 games): 10-18 (.556), 14 R, 9 RBI, 14 BB, 1 2B, 2 3B, 6-6 SB/SBA
Averages per game (Batting 1st / Batting 3rd)
Hits - 1.38 / 1.11
Runs - 1.00 / 1.56
RBI - 0.73 / 1.00
BB - 0.65 / 1.56
KEEP ON RUNNING
Alabama's first midweek contest was a lopsided 17-0 shutout over Mississippi Valley State, which marked one of the best offensive performances in program history:
- The 17 runs scored were the most by Alabama since scoring 21 against Western Illinois on Feb. 22, 2013
- It was the 13th time in program history in which Alabama had scored at least 17 runs in a game.
- 15 of the Tide's 17 runs came in the third inning, which is the most runs scored in a single inning in program history. The previous record was 14, which happened three separate times. Most recently, it happened on March 21, 2010 in a 21-1 win over South Carolina.
- Alabama followed its 17-0 shutout with a 12-1 win over Southern Miss the following day. It marks the third time this season Alabama posted double-digit runs in consecutive games.
Demi Turner NAMED SEC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
For the second time in three weeks, Alabama freshman Demi Turner has been named the SEC Freshman of the Week, announced by the Southeastern Conference Monday.
Turner had three multi-hit games last week while hitting .462 (6-13) with five RBI and four runs scored. She scored a run in four of the five games last week, including the final run in the Crimson Tide's game three victory over No. 2 Florida on Monday. Her first multi-hit performance came on Wednesday against Georgia Tech, where she went 2-3 with a run scored. Her second came in game two against Texas A&M, as she drove in three runs on a pair of singles to help lead Alabama to a comeback victory on Saturday to secure the series win over the Aggies. She capped the weekend with a 2-3 performance on Sunday, driving in a pair of runs while scoring once herself.
This is already Turner's second Freshman of the Week honor, as she earned the same accolade two weeks ago after a stellar weekend on the road against eighth-ranked Georgia. Turner is just the fifth player in program history to earn multiple SEC Freshman of the Week awards, joining Haylie McCleney (2013), Jaclyn Traina (2011), Kayla Braud (2010) and Charlotte Morgan (2007). Overall it is the fifth weekly conference honor earned by an Alabama player so far this season, as sophomore Sydney Littlejohn was named Pitcher of the Week twice and McCleney was named Player of the Week once.
ALABAMA WINNING WEEKLY
- The five weekly SEC awards so far this season are the most for Alabama since winning seven in 2012.
- This season is the first time since 2011 that Alabama has earned Player of the Week, Pitcher of the Week and Freshman of the Week honors in the same season. Alabama accomplished the feat five straight seasons from 2007-11 but had not done so since.
- The most weekly awards won in program history is nine in 2006. Alabama has earned seven awards three times (`07, `08, `12) and six awards twice (`09, `11).
SOFTBALL RANKED FIFTH IN NFCA POLL, SIXTH IN USA SOFTBALL POLL
Alabama is again one of five SEC teams ranked in the Top 10 in this week's national rankings, coming in at No. 5 in the USA Today/NFCA poll and No. 6 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, released Tuesday.
Alabama is ranked No. 5 in the USA Today/NFCA poll for the fourth straight week while sliding down to No. 6 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll behind Oklahoma. Oregon is ranked No. 1 for the first time this season in both polls, as previous top-ranked LSU fell down to No. 2 following a series loss in Lexington against Kentucky. Oregon is the first non-SEC team to claim the top spot this season. Florida and Michigan remain at No. 3 and 4, respectively. Despite little movement among the ranked teams, only four teams in the top 25 went undefeated this past week.
The SEC has nine ranked teams in both polls, including five in the top 10 and three in the top five: LSU (2/2), Florida (3/3), Alabama (5/6), Auburn (7/7), Georgia (9/T8), Tennessee (11/T14), Kentucky (13/T14), Missouri (21/21) and Texas A&M (23/22). South Carolina and Mississippi State are also receiving votes outside the top 25.
ALABAMA RANKED NO. 6 IN LATEST RPI
- Alabama fell one spot in the latest RPI to No. 6 after being ranked No. 5 last week.
- Five of the top 10 teams are in the SEC: Florida (1), LSU (2), Auburn (3), Alabama (6) and Missouri (8).
- Alabama has played 15 games this season against teams ranked in the top 30 and is 8-7 in those 15 games:
- #1 Florida: 1-2
- #4 Michigan: 0-2
- #14 Louisiana-Lafayette: 2-1
- #16 Texas A&M: 2-1
- #24 South Alabama: 1-0
- #26 Georgia: 2-1
DYNAMITE DEFENSE
- Alabama sports a .976 fielding percentage, which is tied with Auburn for the best in the SEC
- Alabama has committed the fewest amount of errors in the SEC at 21
- In 35 games this season, Alabama has only committed multiple errors five times and has gone error-free in 20 games.
Patrick Murphy APPROACHING CAREER WIN #900
Alabama Head Coach Patrick Murphy is just five wins shy of career win No. 900, owning an 897-254 (.779) record. He went 28-20 as the interim head coach at Northwest Missouri State in 1995 and has since earned an 869-234 (.788) record in 16-plus seasons at the helm of the Crimson Tide. Since taking over as the head coach at Alabama in 1999, he has made 16-straight NCAA Tournament appearances and nine Women's College World Series appearances, including a national championship in 2012. Alabama has won five SEC regular season titles and five SEC Tournament titles as well.
NEXT TIME OUT: AT UAB / VS. MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE
Alabama will play a pair of midweek games next week, traveling to Birmingham to face UAB on Tuesday, April 7 at 6 p.m. CT before heading to Decatur, Ala., for a neutral site game against Middle Tennessee State on Wednesday, April 8 at 6:30 p.m. CT. The game in Decatur is a hometown game for senior Danielle Richard, who hails from nearby Priceville, Ala.
