Alabama Welcomes Washington to Tuscaloosa for NCAA Super Regional

May 26, 2016

THIS WEEK

2016 NCAA SUPER REGIONAL
#6 Alabama (49-12) vs. #11 Washington (39-13)
Tuscaloosa, Ala. - Rhoads Stadium

Friday, May 27 - 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
Saturday, May 28 - 4:30 p.m. (ESPN)
*Saturday, May 28 - 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)

* = if necessary

FOLLOWING THE TIDE

Video:
- Friday - ESPN2
- Saturday - ESPN/ESPN2
Radio: 95.3 FM / 953thebear.com
Live Stats: rolltide.com
Twitter: @AlabamaSB

SCOUTING ALABAMA (49-12)

With three wins last weekend, Alabama extended its NCAA Regional win streak to 31-straight games. Alabama's last loss in Regional play came in game one of the 2007 round.
As a team, Alabama allowed just one run over 21.0 innings in Regional play, scoring 14 runs on 27 hits, including five double, two triples and four home runs. Tide pitchers struck out 30 batters over those 21.0 innings while Alabama hitters only struck out five times.
This weekend will mark the Crimson Tide's 12th-straight appearance in the NCAA Super Regional round, qualifying every season since the round's introduction in 2005. Alabama is the only team in the country to appear in all 12 Super Regionals. This also marks the ninth time Alabama will host a Super Regional.
Alabama will match up against 11th-seeded Washington next weekend. The Tide is 3-4 all-time against the Huskies, most recently winning two games at the 2015 NCAA Regional. This will be the second Super Regional matchup between the two teams. The Tide previously traveled to Seattle for the 2007 Super Regional, falling in two games.

THE OPPONENT

Washington Huskies (39-13)

Conference: Pac 12
2015 Record: 42-17 (11-11)
Head Coach: Heather Tarr (12th Season)
Starters Returning/Lost: 6/3
Newcomers: 8

Stat Leaders:

Batting Avg. - Trysten Melhart - .386
Hits - Taylor Van Zee - 62
Home Runs - Ali Aguilar - 21
Wins - Taran Alvelo - 18
ERA - Casey Stangel - 2.89
Strikeouts - Taran Alvelo - 150

ALL-TIME VS. THE OPPONENT

3-4 vs. Washington

Current Streak: Alabama 2
First Meeting: May 26, 2007 - L, 3-4 - Seattle, Wash. (NCAA Super Regional)
Last Meeting: May 17, 2015 - W, 11-1 - Tuscaloosa, Ala. (NCAA Regional)

LAST TIME OUT: NCAA REGIONAL

Game One: Alabama 3, Samford 0 - The Crimson Tide was guided by a stellar performance in the circle by Alexis Osorio, who threw a complete-game shutout with just two hits allowed and 14 strikeouts. Two key hits accounted for Alabama's entire offensive output, with a two-run home run by Haylie McCleney and a solo shot by Kallie Case scoring all three runs. Case's home run was part of a 2-2 day batting ninth, also scoring on McCleney's home run after hitting a double in the preceding at-bat.
Game Two: Alabama 3, Cal 1 - Alabama fell behind in the first inning as Cal scored a run in the first, but a pair of runs in the third and some insurance in the fifth ultimately proved enough in the low-scoring affair. The Bears out-hit the Crimson Tide, 10-6, but left 10 runners stranded and twice left the bases loaded. Chandler Dare drove in two of the team's three runs with a third-inning triple and a fifth-inning double with Haylie McCleney scoring on both hits.
Game Three: Alabama 8, Cal 0 - The Crimson Tide jumped on Cal early and never looked back, scoring three runs in both the first and second innings before adding a pair of insurance runs in the sixth and seventh. Alabama tallied 15 hits, with all nine spots in the lineup contributing at least one. Leona Lafaele drove in four of the team's eight runs, smashing a two-run homer in the first inning and adding a sacrifice fly and RBI single later in the game. Five other Tide players notched multi-hit performances, including a 2-3 day with two runs scored by Demi Turner in her first start since her injury on March 12.

ALABAMA AT SUPER REGIONALS

Alabama is the only team in the country to play in all 12 Super Regional rounds since its introduction in 2005.
This is the ninth Super Regional round held in Tuscaloosa, with Alabama winning seven of the previous eight home Super Regional contests. Over those eight series, Alabama has outscored its opponents 102-45.
In the 88 Super Regional matchups from 2005-15, only 14 teams (16 percent) have managed to come back from losing game one to win the series. Alabama owns two such comebacks, overcoming game one losses to Stanford in 2011 and Oklahoma in 2015 to win the series.
Alabama and Washington previously faced off at the 2007 Super Regional round in Seattle, with the Huskies winning in two games. The only other team Alabama has faced more than once in Super Regional play is Stanford (2006 & 2011).

FIVE ALABAMA PLAYERS NAMED NFCA ALL-REGION

For the third-straight season, five Alabama Softball players have been voted to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-South Region team. Haylie McCleney, Sydney Littlejohn, Leona Lafaele and Chandler Dare represent the Crimson Tide on the first team while Andrea Hawkins earned third-team honors.

This is McCleney's fourth All-Region award, earning first-team distinction all four seasons at Alabama. This year's award is the first for Littlejohn, Lafaele, Dare and Hawkins. Alabama also placed five athletes on the All-Region team in 2014 and 2015 and has posted at least five on the list in nine of the last 11 seasons. Alabama has the most first-team honorees of any South Region team and the second-most overall South Region representatives.

TWO NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN, MCCLENEY NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN OF THE YEAR

For the second-straight year, Alabama senior Haylie McCleney has been selected as the CoSIDA Softball Academic All-American of the Year, earning first-team honors for the third-straight season while junior Sydney Littlejohn earned second team Academic All-American honors.

McCleney is just the third two-time Academic All-American of the Year since the award's introduction in 1988, joining Tennessee's Lindsay Schutzler (2006-07) and Louisiana-Lafayette's Ashley Brignac (2011-12). McCleney and former Tide standout Kayla Braud are the only players in program history to be named a first team Academic All-American three times.

Littlejohn's second-team honor is the first of her career and gives Alabama at least two Academic All-Americans in four of the last five seasons. Alabama, Oregon and Northwestern are the only schools with multiple Academic All-Americans this season.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Haylie McCleney led the team at NCAA Regionals with a .625 average, five hits and six runs scored, reaching base safely in seven of her 10 plate appearances. Four of her five hits went for extra bases, including a two-run home run vs. Samford, giving her 12 total bases and a 1.500 slugging percentage this weekend.
Alexis Osorio went 2-0 with a save over three appearances last weekend, throwing 16.2 shutout innings with 28 strikeouts. She has now gone 19.0 innings without allowing a run, tying her career-best scoreless streak.
Demi Turner hit .500 with three hits in six at-bats this weekend, scoring twice. Her at-bat in the fourth inning vs. Samford on Friday was her first since suffering an arm injury vs. LSU on March 12. She earned her first start since the injury in Sunday's Regional title game vs. Cal, going 2-3.

UP NEXT: WOMEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

The eight Super Regional winners will head to Oklahoma City next week for the 2016 Women's College World Series. Games at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium begin on Thursday, June 2.

University of Alabama Athletics