Alabama Softball Returns Home to Host South Carolina This Weekend

Friday, March 24

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

6:30 P.M. CT

Alabama

South Carolina

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Alabama Softball Returns Home to Host South Carolina This Weekend

3/23/2017 11:01:00 AM | Softball

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THIS WEEKEND
No. 9/9 Alabama (28-3, 5-1 SEC)
South Carolina (20-10, 1-5 SEC)
Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Rhoads Stadium

Friday, March 24 – 6:30 p.m. CT
Saturday, March 25 – 2 p.m. CT
Sunday, March 26 – 1:30 p.m. CT

FOLLOWING THE TIDE
Video: SEC Network+ (Online Only)
Radio: 93.3 FM (praise933.com)
Live Stats: rolltide.com
Twitter: @AlabamaSB

WEEKEND PROMOTIONS

Academic Achievement Weekend
- City and county schools have distributed vouchers to eligible students that can be redeemed online or at the Rhoads Stadium ticket window for admission for two. More information is available online at RollTide.com/achieve
Saturday: Free t-shirts for first 100 students
Sunday: Kid's Day (bounce house, eye black giveaway, post game autographs and opportunity to run the bases)

SCOUTING NO. 9/9 ALABAMA (28-3, 5-1 SEC)

Alabama took two of its three games last weekend at Mississippi State to improve its overall record to 28-3 and 5-1 in conference play.
So far in conference play, Alabama leads the league in hits (42), batters struck out (45) and is second in runs (32), on base percentage (.400), RBIs (26), ERA (0.92) and opposing batting average (.181).
After the quick three-game road stint, Alabama returns home for four-straight games, starting this weekend against South Carolina and continuing Tuesday against Kent State. This season, the Tide is 19-0 at Rhoads Stadium and has outscored its opponents 107-9. Alabama is just four wins shy of its 500th at Rhoads Stadium, the home of the Tide since 2000.
The Crimson Tide is ranked No. 2 in the first Rating Percentage Index (RPI) ranking of the season, released Monday. The ranking, which factors in win-loss record as well as strength of schedule, plays a large role in the eventual NCAA Tournament seeding.
Alabama is ranked No. 9 in both national polls this week, an improvement of two spots in the USA Today/NFCA poll and a one-spot drop in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.

THE OPPONENT
South Carolina Gamecocks

Conference: Southeastern
2017 Record: 20-10 (1-5 SEC)
Head Coach: Beverly Smith (Sixth Season)
Starters Returning/Lost: 6/4
Newcomers: 6

South Carolina Stat Leaders:

Batting Avg. - Krystan White - .388
Hits - Krystan White - 33
Home Runs - Three Tied - 4
Wins - Jessica Elliott - 8
ERA - Jessica Elliott - 2.89
Strikeouts - Jessica Elliott - 62

ALL-TIME VS. THE OPPONENT
40-17 vs. South Carolina

Current Streak: Alabama 1
First Meeting: April 26, 1997 - L, 0-2 - Marietta, Ga.
Last Meeting: May 1, 2016 - W, 5-1 (5) - Columbia, S.C.
Last Meeting in Tuscaloosa: March 9, 2014 - W, 4-3

LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA WINS SERIES OVER MISSISSIPPI STATE

Alabama 11, Mississippi State 3 (5 Inn.): Alabama needed just five innings to defeat Mississippi State Friday night on the road, scoring 11 runs in the 11-3 run-rule victory over the Bulldogs. Alabama scored in four of the five innings it came to the plate, including a big five-run fifth that gave the Crimson Tide enough cushion to earn the run-rule victory over Mississippi State, holding off a late rally by the Bulldogs in the bottom half of the inning. Marisa Runyon was 3-3 in the win with two RBIs while Peyton Grantham drove in a team-leading three RBIs on a first-inning home run, her third long ball of the year.
Mississippi State 1, Alabama 0: Alabama softball's 20-game winning streak ended Saturday night in Starkville as Mississippi State earned the slim 1-0 win with a lone unearned run proving the difference in the pitcher's duel. Alabama was shut out for just the second time this season, with its two hits tied for its lowest offensive output of the season. Mississippi State had a no-hitter until the sixth inning, scoring its lone run of the day in the second inning following a fielding error.
Alabama 3, Mississippi State 0: After a shutout loss on Saturday to even the weekend series, Alabama softball rebounded with a shutout win on Sunday over Mississippi State, clinching the weekend series with a 3-0 victory at Nusz Park. Alabama scored three runs on six hits, with two of those coming off the bat of Sydney Booker with a second-inning RBI single and a fifth-inning solo home run. The Crimson Tide's third run of the day score on an RBI single by Reagan Dykes, as that proved enough for Alexis Osorio and the Alabama defense, who shut out Mississippi State and held the Bulldogs to just four hits.

ZEROES IN THE RUN COLUMN
Alabama's series-winning 3-0 victory over Mississippi State on Sunday was already its 19th shutout of the season. This surpasses last year's total of 17 and is just one shy of the 20 earned during the 2015 season.

Most Shutouts in a Single Season at Alabama

26 - 2009
25 - 2001
24 - 2006
23 - 2008
23 - 2007
22 - 2011
22 - 2005
20 - 2015
19 - 2017
19 - 2000

PATRICK MURPHY APPROACHING 1,000 CAREER WINS
Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy is just three wins shy of his 1,000th career win, owning a career record of 997-278 (.782). This includes a 28-20 record as the interim head coach at Northwest Missouri State in 1995 and a 969-258 (.790) mark as the skipper of the Crimson Tide, a position he has held since 1999.

There are 22 1,000-win coaches all-time at the Division-I level, 15 of which are still active coaches.
In the SEC, five active coaches have already surpassed the 1,000-win plateau: Ralph and Karen Weekly (Tennessee), Jo Evans (Texas A&M), Clint Meyers (Auburn) and Lu Harris-Champer (Georgia). Former South Carolina coach Joyce Compton (1987-2010) also surpassed 1,000 career wins.

OSORIO BREAKS SCHOOL RECORD FOR SCORELESS INNINGS STREAK
Alexis Osorio's scoreless innings streak ended at 40 on Friday against Mississippi State, marking the longest such streak in program history. It is just the fifth time a Tide pitcher has posted a streak of at least 30-straight scoreless innings:

Longest Scoreless Innings Streaks in UA History

40 - Alexis Osorio, 2017
37 - Stephanie VanBrakle, 2006
31 - Charlotte Morgan, 2009
30 - Kelsi Dunne, 2009
30 - Erin Wright, 2001

CAREER RECORD WATCH
A number of Crimson Tide players are moving up the career school records so far in the 2017 season.

Junior Alexis Osorio moved into first place with a career 10.15 strikeouts-per-game average, surpassing previous record-holder Kelsi Dunne (2008-11) at 9.82. Osorio's 680 career strikeouts rank fifth all-time with fourth-place Jaclyn Traina's (2001-14) 976 career strikeouts as the next milestone.
Senior Sydney Littlejohn is fifth all-time with a 1.71 career ERA and seventh with a .207 opposing batting average. Osorio is right behind Littlejohn in ERA at seventh (1.81) and is tied for first (.165) in opposing batting average.
Junior Demi Turner is ranked fifth all-time with a .406 career batting average. She has 154 hits in 379 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 sixth in stolen base percentage (.885), just six points behind fifth-place Whitney Larsen (2008-11) at .891. Dare is 9-10 in stolen bases so far this season.
Senior Marisa Runyon is seventh all-time with a .606 career slugging percentage and is ninth with 35 home runs. Her 152 career RBIs put her 10 shy of cracking the career top 10.

UP NEXT
Next week, Alabama hosts Kent State for a midweek contest on Tuesday, March 28 before hitting the road for a three-game series at Missouri.