Softball Faces Jacksonville State in Midweek Road Test Wednesday

March 1, 2016

THIS WEEK: AT JACKSONVILLE STATE

Alabama (15-1) at Jacksonville State (7-7)

Wednesday, March 2 - 5 p.m. CT
Jacksonville, Ala. - University Field

FOLLOWING THE TIDE

Video: OVCdigitalnetwork.com
Radio: 99.1 FM / tide991.com
Twitter: @AlabamaSB

SCOUTING ALABAMA (15-1)

Alabama has now won 14-straight games after going 4-0 at the Easton Bama Bash last weekend in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama has four wins over ranked opponents this season, defeating James Madison, Tennessee and Arizona twice.
The Crimson Tide jumped two spots in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, moving to No. 2 in the week three poll. It is the highest ranking for Alabama since the final poll of 2014. Alabama is ranked No. 4 in the USA Today/NFCA coaches' poll for the second-straight week.
Alabama is third in the SEC and 18th nationally in stolen bases per game (2.19). Nine players on the Tide roster have at least one stolen base.
All three of Alabama's pitchers have five wins so far this season. Florida is the only other team in the SEC that has three pitchers with at least five wins.

ALL-TIME VS. JACKSONVILLE STATE

17-0 vs. Jacksonville State

Current Streak: Alabama 17
First Meeting: March 14, 1999 - W, 3-2 (8) - Chattanooga, Tenn. (Frost Cutlery Tournament)
Last Meeting: May 17, 2013 - W, 4-0 - Tuscaloosa, Ala. (NCAA Regional)

LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA GOES 4-0 AT EASTON BAMA BASH

Feb. 26 - #4 Alabama 4, #15 Arizona 3: Alabama saw its 2-0 lead erased in the fourth inning as Arizona pulled ahead, 3-2. The lead remained the same in the seventh inning as Alabama loaded the bases to put the potential winning runs in scoring position. A would-be force play at the plate got away from the catcher, allowing two to score and Alabama to win in walk-off fashion.
Feb. 27 - #4 Alabama 9, #15 Arizona 1 (6 Innings): The offense was on display in a run-rule victory over Arizona, as three Tide players had multi-hit performances with Peyton Grantham driving in a career-high five RBIs. Sydney Littlejohn threw a complete game with just one unearned run allowed on four hits.
Feb. 27 - #4 Alabama 4, Marshall 2: The Tide offense wasn't as quick out of the gate in its second game of the day against Marshall, as the Thundering Herd hung around and tied the score twice before a huge two-run homer by Leona Lafaele in the seventh finally put the Tide on top for good.
Feb. 28 - #4 Alabama 6, #14 Tennessee 5: Alabama took an early 3-0 lead over Tennessee thanks to a three-run homer by Peyton Grantham in the first inning, but the Vols would score five unanswered to take a two-run lead into the seventh inning. With two on base, a double by Grantham and a single by Leona Lafaele would bring in three as Alabama took the walk-off victory.

OSORIO NAMED SEC PITCHER OF THE WEEK

Alabama sophomore pitcher Alexis Osorio has been named the SEC Pitcher of the Week, announced by the Southeastern Conference on Monday. Osorio collected three wins this week at the Easton Bama Bash, including complete-game victories over No. 15 Arizona and No. 14 Tennessee. She struck out 20 batters over 16.0 innings pitched and allowed just seven walks. So far this season, Osorio is 5-0 with a 2.08 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 33.2 innings pitched. This is the first career SEC weekly honor for Osorio, though she was named the SEC Freshman of the Year last season. Alabama has now won at least one Pitcher of the Week award in each of the last three seasons including Jaclyn Traina in 2014 and Sydney Littlejohn and Leslie Jury in 2015.

CRIMSON COMEBACK

Alabama has four wins this season when tied or trailing after the sixth inning, already matching the fifth-highest total in single season history.
One more comeback victory would tie last season's total (5) and three more would tie for second in program history (7).
The school record for victories when tied or trailing after the sixth inning came in 2000 when Alabama pulled off an incredible 17 comeback victories.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

With a six-inning win over Arizona, junior Sydney Littlejohn has now gone 24.0-straight innings without allowing an earned run. She is 5-1 this season with a 1.66 ERA, allowing just nine earned runs over 38.0 innings pitched with just five walks.
Redshirt sophomore Peyton Grantham was named the MVP of the Easton Bama Bash, hitting .385 (5-13) over the weekend with 11 RBIs. Four of her five hits went for extra bases (.923 slugging pct.), including a three-run homer against Tennessee. She is now just one RBI shy of matching her 2014 freshman season total of 21.
Senior Leona Lafaele continued to hit well last weekend, leading the team with a .455 batting average (5-11) to earn All-Tournament honors. This season, she is tied for the team lead with 19 hits and sports a .432 batting average.
Demi Turner posted multi-hit games against Arizona and Tennessee, stretching her season total to a team-leading seven multi-hit games. She led the team in that category last season with 26.

UP NEXT - EASTON CRIMSON CLASSIC (TUSCALOOSA, ALA.)

Friday, March 4 vs. Louisiana-Monroe - 4 p.m. CT
Friday, March 4 vs. North Dakota State - 6 p.m. CT
Saturday, March 5 vs. DePaul - 1:30 p.m. CT
Saturday, March 5 vs. North Dakota State - 4 p.m. CT
Sunday, March 6 vs. Louisiana-Monroe - 1:30 p.m. CT

University of Alabama Athletics