Alabama Softball Travels to Birmingham Tuesday to Face UAB

Tuesday, February 28

Birmingham, Ala.

6 P.M. CT

Alabama

UAB

Alabama Softball Travels to Birmingham Tuesday to Face UAB

2/27/2017 4:32:00 PM | Softball

Game Notes (PDF)Live Stats Live Audio (93.3 FM)Live Video (PAID)

THIS WEEK
Alabama (13-2) at UAB (5-8)
Tuesday, Feb. 28 - 6 p.m. CT
Birmingham, Ala. - Mary Bowers Field

FOLLOWING THE TIDE

Video: uabsports.com (PAID)
Radio: 93.3 FM (praise933.com)
Live Stats: rolltide.com
Twitter: @AlabamaSB

SCOUTING ALABAMA (13-2)

Alabama swept its five opponents at the Easton Bama Bash last weekend, defeating Gardner-Webb once and UCF and Texas Tech twice.
Alabama outscored its weekend opponents 31-4, holding significant advantages in hits (48-10) and extra-base hits (11-3) as well. Tide pitching allowed just three earned runs over 32.0 innings for a 0.66 ERA while the opponents were tagged for 23 earned runs over 27.1 innings for a 5.89 ERA.
With five wins over the weekend, Alabama now owns an 81-10 (.890) all-time record at the Easton Bama Bash. This past weekend's tournament was the 19th in program history, having hosted one every year but one since 1998.
All 18 Crimson Tide players appeared in at least once game this week and 12 of the 14 who got an at-bat reached base safely at least once.
Carrigan Fain was named the Easton Bama Bash MVP while Chandler Dare, Bailey Hemphill, Sydney Littlejohn and Merris Schroder joined Fain on the All-Tournament team.

THE OPPONENT

UAB Blazers

Conference USA
2017 Record: 4-9
Head Coach: Marla Townsend (18th Season)

Stat Leaders:

Batting Avg. - Joanna Fallen - .293
Hits - Joanna Fallen - 12
Home Runs - Fallen / Dunsford - 2
Wins - Megan Smith - 2
ERA - Megan Smith - 2.03
Strikeouts - Claire Blount - 23

ALL-TIME VS. THE OPPONENT

19-0 vs. UAB

Current Streak: Alabama 19
First Meeting: Feb. 23, 2000 - W, 7-1 - Chapel Hill, N.C. (UNC Classic)
Last Meeting: Feb. 16, 2016 - W, 7-0 - Birmingham, Ala.

LAST TIME OUT: EASTON BAMA BASH

Alabama 4, UCF 0: Behind a complete-game shutout by Sydney Littlejohn in the circle, Alabama shut out UCF, 4-0, to start Friday play at the Easton Bama Bash. Demi Turner and Claire Jenkins each notched a pair of hits in the win while Turner, Bailey Hemphill and Merris Schroder accounted for the Tide's four RBIs.
Alabama 7, Texas Tech 2: The Alabama offense scored consistently in Friday's second game, putting at least one run on the board in five of its six innings at the plate. Bailey Hemphill was a perfect 4-4 while Merris Schroder, Peyton Grantham and Caroline Hardy each had multi-hit performances as well. Alexis Osorio put on another masterful display in the circle, fanning 14 batters with just one walk allowed and her lone hit allowed of the day, a two-run home run, accounting for Texas Tech's entire offensive output.
Alabama 9, Gardner-Webb 0 (5): A six-run second inning provided plenty of early cushion for Alabama against Gardner-Webb as the Tide ultimately won, 9-0, in five innings. Carrigan Fain, batting seventh, was a perfect 3-3 at the plate with a pair of RBIs on a double in the fourth inning. Demi Turner went 2-2 scoring a run and Peyton Grantham drove in two RBIs on a second-inning double. Madi Moore went the distance in the circle for the win, allowing just two hits with no walks.
Alabama 8, Texas Tech 0 (6): Alabama and Texas Tech were locked in a scoreless pitcher's duel for the majority of the game before a seven-run sixth inning broke things open for the Tide to ultimately win, 8-0. Celebrating her senior day, Sydney Littlejohn threw 5.2 shutout innings with two hits and eight strikeouts for the win while Alexis Osorio entered to secure the final out of the sixth, preserving a 1-0 lead at the time with two on base to earn her second save of the season. At the plate, Chandler Dare was 3-4 out of the nine-hole with two RBIs and Merris Schroder added a pair of RBIs on a single and a bases-loaded walk.
Alabama 3, UCF 2: After some big run totals earlier in the weekend, Alabama softball was locked in a much lower-scoring affair Sunday against UCF, ultimately edging out the Knights, 3-2, to cap an undefeated weekend at the Easton Bama Bash. Alabama jumped ahead to an early 3-0 lead but a solo home run by UCF and some defensive miscues by the Crimson Tide kept the score close. Another strong performance in the circle by Alexis Osorio got Alabama out of a few late jams, as she allowed just two runs, one earned, on three hits with 14 strikeouts. Reagan Dykes drove in two of Alabama's three runs with a two-run home run in the second inning, her first long ball of the year, while Claire Jenkins tallied the third with a third-inning sac fly.

WEEK THREE STANDOUTS

Carrigan Fain (Jr. – C – Gardendale, Ala.) led the team with a .700 (7-10) average this week, earning Easton Bama Bash MVP honors. She went 3-3 in Saturday's win over Gardner-Webb, including a two-run double, and drove in another run on a bases-loaded walk in the next game against Texas Tech. She capped the weekend with a 2-2 performance against UCF on Sunday.
Bailey Hemphill (Fr. – UTIL – Lafayette, La.) went 7-13 (.538) this week with four runs scored, eight walks and three RBIs. She drove in a run in each of the week's first three games, including a 4-4 performance against Texas Tech on Friday. The Red Raiders learned their lesson the next day, walking Hemphill in all four of her plate appearances Saturday. She earned Easton Bama Bash All-Tournament honors for her stellar performance over the weekend.
Merris Schroder (So. – OF – Houston, Texas) went 5-12 (.417) at the plate this week, driving in a team-leading six RBIs. She slugged a pair of home runs in back-to-back games on Friday, hitting a two-run shot in the sixth inning against UCF before hitting a solo home run in the fifth inning against Texas Tech. She added an RBI double the next day against Gardner-Webb for her third extra-base hit of the weekend. She was named to the Easton Bama Bash All-Tournament Team.
Sydney Littlejohn (Sr. – RHP – Rusk, Texas) went 3-0 this week with three shutouts and has still not given up an earned run so far this season over 33.1 innings pitched. She threw 5.1 innings Wednesday against North Florida with a season-high 10 strikeouts. She then threw a pair of two-hit shutouts at the Easton Bama Bash, throwing 7.0 innings against UCF on Friday before throwing 5.2 against Texas Tech on Saturday. Between the two games, she struck out 14 batters and did not allow a walk. She was named to the Easton Bama Bash All-Tournament team.

RECORD WATCH

A number of Crimson Tide players are moving up the career school records so far in the 2017 season.
Junior Demi Turner is ranked fifth all-time with a .414 career batting average. She has 139 hits in 336 at-bats, making her one of five on the list with a career average over .400. Former teammate Haylie McCleney (2013-16) holds the record at .447.
Senior Chandler Dare is seventh in stolen base percentage (.872) and is just three points shy of sixth-place Kayla Braud at .875. Dare is 4-5 in stolen bases so far this season.
Senior Marisa Runyon is seventh all-time with a .621 career slugging percentage and is tied for ninth with 35 home runs. Her 146 career RBIs put her 16 shy of cracking the top 10.
Senior Sydney Littlejohn is fifth all-time with a 1.82 career ERA and seventh with a .210 opposing batting average. Littlejohn has yet to allow an earned run so far this season over 33.1 innings pitched. Junior teammate Alexis Osorio is seventh (1.98) and second (.174), respectively, in both categories.
Additionally, Osorio's 584 career strikeouts rank fifth all-time and her 9.73 strikeouts-per-game average is second, only trailing Kelsi Dunne (2008-11) at 9.82. Osorio is just the fourth pitcher in program history to earn at least 500 strikeouts in their first two seasons. The next strikeout milestone for the junior is Jaclyn Traina (2001-14) in fourth place with 976 career strikeouts.

UP NEXT
Alabama returns to Rhoads Stadium to host the Easton Crimson Classic on March 3-5. There, the Tide will face Jacksonville, Drake and Stanford.

Easton Crimson Classic - Tuscaloosa, Ala.