Alabama Softball Opens Regional Play Friday vs. Samford

May 19, 2016

THIS WEEK

2016 NCAA TOURNAMENT (REGIONAL)

Tuscaloosa, Ala. - Rhoads Stadium
Friday, May 20 vs. Samford
4 p.m. CT - SEC Network

FOLLOWING THE TIDE

Video:
- Friday - SEC Network
- Saturday/Sunday - TBD
Radio: 95.3 FM / 953thebear.com
Live Stats: rolltide.com
Twitter: @AlabamaSB

TUSCALOOSA REGIONAL SCHEDULE

Friday, May 20
- 1:30 p.m. - Cal vs. Texas State
- 4 p.m. - Alabama vs. Samford
Saturday, May 21
- 1:30 p.m. - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
- 4 p.m. - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
- 6:30 p.m. - Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3
Sunday, May 22
- 1:30 p.m. - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5
- 4 p.m. - Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary)

SCOUTING ALABAMA (46-12)

Alabama is making its 18th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, qualifying every year since 1999.
This is the 12th consecutive year that Alabama will be a top-16 national seed, hosting every year since 2005. The Tide has won every regional over that span, the longest active streak in division-I softball (11 years).
Alabama is one of just eight schools in the country with an active NCAA Tournament appearance streak of at least 18 years, along with Arizona (30), Oklahoma (23), Washington (23), Michigan (21), UCLA (18), Louisiana-Lafayette (18) and Notre Dame (18). It is the longest active streak for any SEC team.
Since the introduction of the Super Regional round in 2005, Alabama has earned a top-eight national seed for the Regional round in nine of those 12 years.
The Alabama defense has only committed 41 errors this season, the second-lowest mark in school history. The team tied a school record with only 40 errors last season, making the two-year total from 2015-16 the lowest in program history.

THE OPPONENTS

Cal Golden Bears (32-21-1)

Conference: Pac 12
2016 Record: 32-21-1 (12-10-1)
2015 Record: 39-18 (10-14)
Head Coach: Diane Ninemire (29th Season)
Starters Returning/Lost: 6/3
Newcomers: 10

Texas State Bobcats (39-20)

Conference: Sun Belt
2016 Record: 39-20 (15-9)
2015 Record: 32-21 (14-6)
Head Coach: Ricci Woodard (16th Season)
Starters Returning/Lost: 8/2
Newcomers: 6

Samford Bulldogs (40-18)

Conference: Southern Conference
2016 Record: 40-18 (15-3)
2015 Record: 33-22 (11-7)
Head Coach: Mandy Burfodr (5th Season)
Starters Returning/Lost: 6/3
Newcomers: 6

OPPONENT STAT LEADERS

Cal Stat Leaders

Batting Avg. - Kylie Reed - .407
Hits - Jazmyn Jackson - 76
Home Runs - Annie Aldrete - 7
Wins - Nisa Ontiveros - 16
ERA - Nisa Ontiveros - 1.91
Strikeouts - Nisa Ontiveros - 177

Texas State Stat Leaders

Batting Avg. - Taylor Webb - .310
Hits - Kelli Baker - 55
Home Runs - Liscano/Ortiz - 6
Wins - Randi Rupp - 29
ERA - Randi Rupp - 1.66
Strikeouts - Randi Rupp - 316

Samford Stat Leaders

Batting Avg. - Megan Dowdy - .399
Hits - Megan Dowdy - 81
Home Runs - Trombley/Brister - 12
Wins - Mollie Hanson - 23
ERA - Mollie Hanson - 2.44
Strikeouts - Mollie Hanson - 132

ALABAMA VS.THE OPPONENTS

4-3 vs. Cal

Current Streak: Alabama 3
First Meeting: Feb. 14, 1999 - L, 0-2 - Phoenix Ariz. (Fiesta Bowl Classic)
Last Meeting: June 3, 2012 - W, 5-2 - Oklahoma City, Okla. (WCWS)
Last Meeting in Tuscaloosa: May 19, 2007 - W, 19-10 (NCAA Regional)

2-0 vs. Texas State

Current Streak: Alabama 2
First Meeting: Feb. 9, 2007 - W, 9-1 (5) - San Marcos, Texas (Century-Tel Softball Classic)
Last Meeting: Feb. 10, 2007 - W, 3-0 - San Marcos, Texas (Century-Tel Softball Classic)
Last Meeting in Tuscaloosa: N/A

21-2 vs. Samford

Current Streak: Alabama 21
First Meeting: March 18, 1997 - L, 1-5 - Atlanta, Ga. (Georgia State Invitational)
Last Meeting: March 8, 2016 - W, 10-0 (5) - Tuscaloosa, Ala.

LAST TIME OUT: SEC TOURNAMENT

Game One: Alabama 7, Mississippi State 5 - Alabama gutted out a hard fought back-and-forth victory against Mississippi State on the opening day of the 2016 SEC Tournament. The Tide fell behind early in the top of the first to the Bulldogs but rallied to score five in the bottom half of the inning and hold the lead the rest of the way. Alabama benefitted from some sloppy MSU defense, who committed five errors that ultimately accounted for three unearned runs. All nine of the Tide's offensive starters reached base safely at least once in the game, including four walks by Haylie McCleney which sets a new SEC Tournament record and ties a school record.
Game Two: Auburn 6, Alabama 4 - After rain pushed the game from a Thursday night start to Friday morning, Alabama ultimately fell in its SEC Tournament quarterfinal game against Auburn, 6-4. The Tide fell behind early with the Tigers scoring four in the bottom of the first. The teams traded runs for the remainder of the game with Alabama ultimately drawing within two in the close loss. Haylie McCleney and Andrea Hawkins each had multi-hit performances, with McCleney scoring two of the team's four runs.

ALABAMA VS. NCAA TOURNAMENT FIELD

Alabama owns a 23-12 record this season against teams that made the 2016 NCAA Tournament, playing 35 games against 19 opponents.
Nine of the Tide's 19 tournament opponents are from the Southeastern Conference, with Alabama posting a 14-9 record against them.
Alabama played nine of the 16 national seeds this season, going 11-8 against them. National seeds faced this season include #1 Florida (2-1), #3 Oklahoma (0-1), #4 Auburn (0-1), #7 James Madison (1-0), #9 Kentucky (2-1), #10 LSU (1-2), #13 Tennessee (1-0), #15 Missouri (2-1) and #16 Georgia (2-1).

NCAA REGIONAL COACHING CONNECTION

The Tuscaloosa Regional features a pair of Alabama alumnae on the coaching staffs of two of the weekend's opponents:
Samford head coach Mandy Burford, currently in her fifth season at the helm of the Bulldogs, played at Alabama from 2004-07. She appeared in 217 games and made 135 starts, earning the bulk of her starts in the outfield in her final two seasons. She finished with a .289 career batting average, 78 RBIs and 61 stolen bases.
Texas State assistant coach Kelly Kretschman was Alabama's first All-American, earning her first of four such honors as a freshman in 1998. One of the best players in program history, she still owns career records in slugging percentage (.766), runs scored (288), hits (368), doubles (65), triples (16) and home runs (60).

MCCLENEY NAMED TOP 10 FINALIST FOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Alabama senior outfielder Haylie McCleney is one of 10 finalists for the 2016 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, USA Softball announced on May 11.

McCleney was one of 26 finalists for the award last season and was a top-10 finalist two years ago as a sophomore. She is one of four SEC players on the list, one of three seniors and one of two outfielders.

ALABAMA PLACES FIVE ON SEC SOFTBALL POSTSEASON TEAMS

The Southeastern Conference announced its annual postseason awards ahead of this week's SEC Tournament and five Alabama softball players won seven spots on the various All-SEC teams.

Senior Haylie McCleney was named First Team All-SEC outfielder for the third-straight season and also earned a spot on the SEC's All-Defensive Team at center field for the fourth-straight season. Alabama's second-team honorees include junior pitcher Sydney Littlejohn and senior infielder Leona Lafaele, with Lafaele also taking home SEC All-Defensive honors at first base. Tide freshman Reagan Dykes was named to the Freshman All-SEC team while senior Kallie Case was named to the All-Defensive team in left field.

Alabama and Tennessee were tied for the second-most players represented with five each. Florida and Georgia led the league with seven players each.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Leona Lafaele has 10 home runs over her last 14 games, accounting for two-thirds of her 15 hits. Over that stretch, she is hitting .395 (15-38) with a 1.237 slugging percentage and 20 RBIs. The 10 home runs is already higher than any of her three previous season totals and has pushed her team-leading total this season to 14.
Haylie McCleney enters the postseason with a .604 on base percentage, which leads the SEC and ranks fourth nationally. Her 51 walks ranks sixth nationally and pushes her career total to an SEC-record 194. She has reached base safely in all but two games this season, including a current streak of 27-straight games. Her career on base percentage of .570 is a school and SEC record.
Caroline Hardy has earned hits in each of her last four appearances as a pinch hitter, including the first single in what would end up as an eight-run sixth inning against Georgia on May 7 to allow Alabama to come back from a 7-1 deficit and win, 9-7. The four hits are the most for any Tide player as a pinch hitter this season.
Sydney Littlejohn's ended the regular season with 22 overall wins, which ranks second in the SEC, while her 12 wins in conference play was the most of any SEC pitcher. Her 12 conference wins came at the expense of only 82.0 innings, which is eighth among SEC pitchers. She is the only SEC pitcher with fewer than 90.0 conference innings pitched and more than 10 conference wins.

UP NEXT: NCAA SUPER REGIONALS

The winner of the Tuscaloosa Regional will advance to the Super Regional round, paired against the winner of the Seattle Regional featuring Washington, Minnesota, North Dakota State and Weber State.

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