Wednesday, February 15
Tuscaloosa, Ala.
5 P.M. CT
Alabama
vs
South Alabama
Alabama Softball Hosts South Alabama Wednesday for Home Opener at Rhoads Stadium
2/14/2017 4:34:00 PM | Softball
THIS WEEK
No. 5/4 ALABAMA (5-0) VS. SOUTH ALABAMA (5-0)
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 15 - 5 P.M. CT
TUSCALOOSA, ALA.
RHOADS STADIUM
FOLLOWING THE TIDE
- Video: SEC Network+ (Online Only)
- Eli Gold & Danae Hays
- Radio: 93.3 FM (praise933.com)
- Live Stats: rolltide.com
- Twitter: @AlabamaSB
SCOUTING ALABAMA (5-0)
- Alabama went 5-0 on the opening weekend of the 2017 season, sweeping its opponents at the Kickin' Chicken Classic in Conway, S.C. This improves Alabama's record on opening weekend to 82-19 (.812).
- The Crimson Tide outscored its weekend opponents 43-5, including a 17-0 win over Towson that was the highest run total in a season-opening game in program history.
- All 15 batters on the roster got at least one at-bat over the weekend and all three pitchers threw at least 10.0 innings. Additionally, all four freshmen got at least one start.
- Junior pitcher Alexis Osorio threw the fourth perfect game in program history on Friday against Coastal Carolina with a school-record 19 strikeouts.
- Alabama took home a pair of weekly conference honors following the weekend, as junior pitcher Alexis Osorio was named the Pitcher of the Week and Bailey Hemphill was named the Freshman of the Week.
- The Tide moved into the top five in both national polls this week, climbing to No. 5 in the USA Today/NFCA poll and No. 4 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.
THE OPPONENT
South Alabama Jaguars
- Sun Belt
- 2016 Record: 5-0
- Head Coach: Becky Clark (12th Season)
- Starters Returning/Lost: 12/5
- Newcomers: 9
Returning Stat Leaders
- Batting Avg. - Kaleigh Todd - .415
- Hits - Kaleigh Todd - 68
- Home Runs - Haleigh Lane - 1
- Wins - Devin Brown - 20
- ERA - Devin Brown - 1.66
- Strikeouts - Devin Brown - 324
ALABAMA ALL-TIME VS. THE OPPONENT
- 12-0 vs. South Alabama
- Current Streak: Alabama 12
- First Meeting: Feb. 8, 2008 - W, 8-1 - Tuscaloosa, Ala.
- Last Meeting: April 20, 2016 - W, 4-2 - Tuscaloosa, Ala.
ALABAMA HOME OPENERS
- Alabama is 17-3 (.850) in home openers over its 20-year history and has outscored its opponents 131-32.
- Today's game marks just the fifth time in 21 seasons that the Tide will play its home opener against an in-state opponent. Alabama and South Alabama previously met in the Tide's home opener on Feb. 8, 2008, an 8-1 victory for Alabama.
- This year's game is the earliest home opener for Alabama since the Tide opened the 2010 season hosting Missouri for a three-game series. In total, nine of the previous 20 home openers have come on or before Feb. 15.
- This will be just the third home opener to take place in the middle of the week, though it is the second-straight season in which Alabama is doing so. Last year, the Tide hosted Troy on Wednesday, Feb. 24 for its home opener, an 8-0 victory.
ALABAMA SOFTBALL CLIMBS TO TOP-FIVE NATIONAL RANKING
- Alabama softball moved into the top five in both national polls this week, coming in at No. 5 in the USA Today/NFCA poll and No. 4 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, released Tuesday.
- Alabama jumped ahead two spots in the NFCA poll and three spots in the USA Softball poll for its first top-five appearance of the season. Preseason No. 1 Oklahoma fell to No. 4/6 after a pair of losses on opening weekend as Florida claimed this week's top spot in both polls. Auburn and Florida State are at No. 2 and 3, respectively, in both lists while UCLA sneaks in at No. 5 in the USA Softball poll.
- Alabama is one of nine SEC schools ranked in this week's top 25, the most of any conference. Ranked SEC teams include Florida (1/1), Auburn (2/2), Alabama (5/4), LSU (7/8), Georgia (12/12), Tennessee (15/14), Missouri (17/13), Texas A&M (19/17) and Kentucky (22/23). South Carolina and Ole Miss are both receiving votes outside the top 25.
OSORIO AND HEMPHILL EARN SEC WEEKLY HONORS
- After a successful opening weekend, Alabama softball earned a pair of weekly honors from the Southeastern Conference, announced Monday. Junior pitcher Alexis Osorio is the SEC Pitcher of the Week and freshman catcher Bailey Hemphill is the SEC Freshman of the Week.
- The weekly award is the second of Osorio's career, previously winning on Feb. 29, 2016, and the first for Hemphill who made her Crimson Tide debut last weekend. Hemphill joins Charlotte Morgan (2007) and Haylie McCleney (2013) as the only players in program history to win Freshman of the Week in the first week of the season. Overall, Alabama has won SEC Pitcher of the Week 35 times and Freshman of the Week 18 times, the latter award only being introduced in 2007.
- Osorio was perfect over 11.2 innings pitched this weekend, striking out 25 batters while not allowing a single baserunner. She threw the fourth perfect game in program history in her season debut on Friday against Coastal Carolina, striking out a school-record 19 batters in the game. She earned the win in relief the next day against Towson, throwing 4.2 more perfect innings with six strikeouts. Ultimately, 25 of the 35 outs recorded by Osorio came via strikeout.
- Hemphill made quite an impression in her first weekend with the Tide, hitting .500 (7-14) over five starts with nine RBIs a team-leading three home runs, posting a 1.214 slugging percentage. She hit a home run in her first career at-bat, a three-run shot against Towson on Friday, and added another three-run homer the very next game against Coastal Carolina. She capped the weekend with another long ball on Sunday against the Chanticleers, part of a 3-3 day at the plate. She earned at least one hit in all five games played this weekend and scored at least one run in four of the five.
LAST TIME OUT: KICKIN' CHICKEN CLASSIC
- Alabama 17, Towson 0 (5 Inn.): Alabama's offense was on full display in its season opener, scoring 17 runs in a five-inning shutout over Towson. The 17 runs are the most scored by the Tide in a season opener and its five home runs are the most in a game since April 15, 2012 vs. South Carolina. Eight of Alabama's nine starting batters reached base safely in the game. In the circle, Littlejohn (1-0) earned the win with 4.0 shutout innings pitched with just three hits allowed along with eight strikeouts.
- Alabama 6, Coastal Carolina 0: Alexis Osorio was lights-out in Friday's second game at the Kickin' Chicken Classic, throwing a school-record 19 strikeouts in the fourth perfect game in program history as the Tide defeated Coastal Carolina, 6-0. Her 19 strikeouts break the previous school record of 18 shared by Shelley Laird and Stephanie VanBrakle. All but two of the defensive outs in the game came via strikeout, including a streak of 12-straight to start the game. Offensively, Grantham had another strong day at the plate going 2-3 with two RBIs. Hemphill slugged her second home run of the day, a three-run shot in the third.
- Alabama 4, Towson 2: After shutting out the Tigers 17-0 on Friday, the Tide found itself in a much tougher game against Towson on Saturday, falling behind 2-1 in the third inning before coming back to eventually win 4-2. Brown and Grantham each had two hits with Brown scoring two of the teams four runs. Madi Moore went 2.1 innings in the start before Alexis Osorio entered in relief, ultimately earning the win with 4.2 perfect innings. So far this season, Osorio has not allowed a baserunner over 11.2 innings pitched and has 25 strikeouts.
- Alabama 7, Youngstown State 0: Littlejohn earned the win in the circle in the Tide's second game on Saturday, going the distance with the complete-game shutout, striking out 10 batters while allowing just one hit. She took a no-hitter into the fifth inning when the Penguins broke it up with a two-out bunt single. At the plate, Grantham, Schroder and Claire Jenkins each had a pair of hits with the latter two accounting for four of the team's six RBIs.
- Alabama 9, Coastal Carolina 2: Alabama scored nine runs on 16 hits, overcoming an early 2-0 lead by Coastal Carolina. Demi Turner tied a career high with four hits, going 4-5 at the plate, while freshmen Bailey Hemphill and Gabby Callaway were each a perfect 3-3. In the circle, Madi Moore earned the win with a complete-game effort, striking out a career-high seven batters.
UP NEXT
This weekend, Alabama heads to Lafayette, La., for a three-game series against No. 18/18Â Louisiana-Lafayette (4-2).
- Friday, Feb. 17 at No. 18/18Â Louisiana-Lafayette - Lafayette, La. - 5 p.m. CT
- Saturday, Feb. 18 at No. 18/18Â Louisiana-Lafayette - Lafayette, La. - 1 p.m. CT
- Sunday, Feb. 19 at No. 18/18Â Louisiana-Lafayette - Lafayette, La. - 1 p.m. CT
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
LHP
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballNCAA Super Regional GM 2 Postgame: Coach Murphy
Saturday, May 24
NCAA Super Regional GM 1 Postgame: Coach Murphy & Kali Heivilin
Friday, May 23
NCAA Super Regional Preview: Patrick Murphy, Jocelyn Briski & Audrey Vandagriff
Thursday, May 22
NCAA Super Regional Preview: Patrick Murphy
Wednesday, May 21
