Alabama Softball Opens 2017 Season Friday at Kickin' Chicken Classic

Friday, February 10

Conway, S.C.

11:30 A.M. CT

Alabama

Towson

Alabama Softball Opens 2017 Season Friday at Kickin' Chicken Classic

2/9/2017 9:30:00 AM | Softball

Game Notes (PDF)Tournament Central Roster Schedule

THIS WEEK
KICKIN' CHICKEN CLASSIC
CONWAY, S.C.
COASTAL CAROLINA SOFTBALL STADIUM

Friday, Feb. 10

vs. Towson - 11:30 a.m. CT
at Coastal Carolina - 2 p.m. CT

Saturday, Feb. 11

vs. Towson - 9 a.m. CT
vs. Youngstown State - 11:30 a.m. CT

Sunday, Feb. 12

at Coastal Carolina - 11 a.m. CT

FOLLOWING THE TIDE
Video: goccusports.com (Friday at Coastal Carolina - Paid)
Radio: 93.3 FM (praise933.com)
Live Stats: rolltide.com
Twitter: @AlabamaSB

SCOUTING ALABAMA

Last season, Alabama made its 11th Women's College World Series appearance, finishing sixth nationally with a 51-14 overall record.
The Crimson Tide return 14 players from last year's team, including All-American pitcher Sydney Littlejohn and SEC All-Freshman catcher Reagan Dykes. Alabama returns seven of its 11 regular position starters and all three of its pitchers.
New additions to the team this season include freshmen Elissa Brown (Eclectic, Ala.), Gabby Callaway (San Diego, Calif.), Bailey Hemphill (Lafayette, La.) and Claire Jenkins (Cullman, Ala.).
The Tide coaching staff was named the NFCA South Region Coaching Staff of the Year for the 10th time in program history last year, led by head coach Patrick Murphy who enters his 19th season at the helm of the team this year. In 19 seasons as the head coach at Alabama, Murphy owns a 941-255 (.787) record.

THE OPPONENTS

Towson Tigers

Colonial Athletic Association
2016 Record: 37-17 (11-8 CAA)
Head Coach: Lisa Costello (22nd Season)
Starters Returning/Lost: 7/2
Newcomers: 8

Towson Returning Stat Leaders:

Batting Avg. - Shelby Stracher - .389
Hits - Shelby Stracher - 61
Home Runs - Shelby Stracher - 15
Wins - Megan Dejter - 14
ERA - Blakely Thrower - 2.51
Strikeouts - Megan Dejter – 70

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

Sun Belt
2016 Record: 37-22 (18-6 SBC)
Head Coach: Kelley Green (Eighth Season)
Starters Returning/Lost: 7/4
Newcomers: 7

Coastal Carolina Stat Leaders:

Batting Avg. - Taty Forbes - .479
Hits - Taty Forbes - 104
Home Runs - Alexis Alvino - 6
Wins - Ashley Guillette - 11
ERA - Ashley Guillette - 4.05
Strikeouts - Ashley Guillette – 139

Youngstown State Penguins

Horizon League
2016 Record: 30-21 (15-7 Horizon)
Head Coach: Brian Campbell (Ninth Season)
Starters Returning: 7
Newcomers: 5

Youngstown State Stat Leaders:

Batting Avg. - Cali Mikovich - .398
Hits - Cali Mikovich - 70
Home Runs - Cali Mikovich - 13
Wins - Paige Geanangel - 17
ERA - Paige Geanangel - 4.17
Strikeouts - Caitlyn Minney - 96

ALABAMA ALL-TIME VS. THE OPPONENTS

0-0 vs. Towson

2-0 vs. Coastal Carolina

Current Streak: Alabama 2
First Meeting: March 4, 2006 (DH - GM1) - W, 4-2 - Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Last Meeting: March 4, 2006 (DH - GM2) - W, 5-2 - Tuscaloosa, Ala.

0-0 vs. Youngstown State

ALABAMA ON OPENING WEEKEND

Alabama is 77-19 (.802) all-time on opening weekend
The Tide has only lost once on opening weekend since 2010
In 20 seasons, Alabama has gone undefeated on opening weekend 12 times (2000, 2001, 2005-09, 2011-15)
This year marks the 11th time in 21 seasons that Alabama will start the season outside the state of Alabama. Previous sites outside of the Yellowhammer state to start the season include Oklahoma City ('97), Tempe, Ariz. ('98), Phoenix, Ariz. ('99), Minneapolis ('00), Tucson, Ariz. ('02), Los Angeles ('03), Stanford, Calif. ('04), San Marcos, Texas ('07), Cedar Falls, Iowa ('13) and Orlando, Fla. ('16).

ALABAMA RANKED SEVENTH IN PRESEASON NATIONAL RANKINGS

Alabama softball enters the 2017 season ranked No. 7 in the both the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) and the USA Softball preseason polls
The Crimson Tide has been ranked in the top 10 in every preseason poll since 2006 and has finished the season ranked in the top 10 every year since 2005.
Following its 11th Women's College World Series appearance last season, Alabama finished the year ranked sixth in the NFCA poll and seventh in the USA Softball poll.
Alabama is one of nine SEC schools ranked in the preseason top 25, the most of any conference. Ranked SEC teams include Auburn (2/2), Florida (t4/3), LSU (t4/5), Alabama (7/7), Georgia (12/10), Tennessee (15/15), Missouri (17/19), Texas A&M (19/18) and Kentucky (20/20). South Carolina and Ole Miss are both receiving votes just outside the top 25.

OSORIO NAMED TO TOP 50 PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST, PRESEASON ALL-SEC

For the second-straight season, Alabama junior pitcher Alexis Osorio has been selected to the Top-50 Player of the Year Watch List and the preseason All-SEC team
This is Osorio's second-straight appearance on the initial Player of the Year watch list and the 15th-straight season in which Alabama has had at least one player on the list, a streak stretching back to 2003.
Osorio is one of 18 juniors and 16 pitchers on the list and one of 12 Southeastern Conference players on the watch list, the most of any conference.
The Player of the Year award, currently in its 16th season, is the most prestigious individual athletic honor in Division I softball. The list will be narrowed to a top 25 on April 12, with freshmen also eligible for addition to that list. From there, a top-10 list will be announced on May 10, a top 3 on May 24 and the winner will be announced on May 30 in Oklahoma City prior to the start of the Women's College World Series.

ALABAMA VOTED THIRD IN PRESEASON SEC COACHES POLL

Alabama softball is third in this year's Southeastern Conference preseason coaches' poll, voted by the league's 13 head coaches.
Defending conference champion Florida earned the top spot with 141 points and nine first-place votes, followed by Auburn with 126 and Alabama and LSU tied for third with 118 points each.
Alabama has won five SEC regular season titles, including four over the last seven years, along with five SEC Tournament titles.
The Crimson Tide owns winning all-time records over 11 of its 12 league opponents and an all-time record of 410-143 (.741) in SEC play.
This year's senior class is 52-20 (.722) in SEC play since their 2014 freshman season, winning 21 of the 24 conference series played over those three years.

RECORD WATCH

A number of Crimson Tide players enter the 2017 season with a chance to move up towards the top tier of the career school records

Senior Chandler Dare enters the season ranked eighth all-time in career batting average (.365) and sixth in stolen base percentage (.881). She is just shy of the next-closest in both categories, barely trailing Lauren Parker in seventh (.368) and Whitney Larsen in fifth (.891), respectively.
Senior Marisa Runyon is sixth all-time with a .635 career slugging percentage and is tied for ninth with 33 home runs. Her 139 career RBIs put her 23 shy of cracking the top 10.
Senior Sydney Littlejohn is sixth all-time with a 1.99 career ERA and seventh with a .216 opposing batting average. Junior teammate Alexis Osorio is eighth (2.06) and third (.183), respectively, in both categories.
Additionally, Osorio's 500 career strikeouts rank seventh all-time and her 9.29 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.

TIDE WELCOMES FOUR FRESHMEN

Alabama welcomes four newcomers to the 2017 team

Elissa Brown is a speedy left-handed hitter from Eclectic, Ala., just outside of Montgomery. She holds 12 Alabama High School Athletic Association records and was a three-time All-State selection at Elmore County High School. Playing club softball with the Birmingham Thunderbolts, she helped guide the team to third-place finishes at PGF Nationals in 2015 and 2016.
Gabby Callaway was born and raised in Mobile, Ala., but moved to San Diego, Calif., for high school and played against some of the top talent in the country. She helped lead Poway High School to a California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) title in 2015 and a runner-up finish in 2016. She is a two-time All-CIF and three-time All-Palomar League selection. She played club softball with OC Batbusters, winning a PGF Platinum championship in 2014.
Bailey Hemphill out of Lafayette, La., arrives in Tuscaloosa as FloSoftball's top-rated catcher in her class is in the top-10 overall. She is a two-time NFCA High School First Team All-American (2015-16) and was named Louisiana Miss Softball after her senior year at St. Thomas More Catholic. She broke her school's home run record in just two seasons and led the team to a pair of state titles in 2013 and 2014.
Claire Jenkins is an in-state product from Cullman, where she was named the 6A All-State Hitter of the Year as a senior at Cullman High School. She is a two-time area Player of the Year (2015-16) and was a Max Preps All-American and Super All-State selection in 2016. She played club softball with the Birmingham Thunderbolts alongside fellow freshman Elissa Brown in 2016, finishing third at PGF Nationals.

UP NEXT

Alabama plays its home opener on Wednesday, Feb. 15 against South Alabama at 5 p.m. CT before hitting the road for a three-game series against No. 11 Louisiana-Lafayette.