Alabama Softball Travels to Missouri for Three-Game SEC Series

Friday, March 31

Columbia, Mo.

6:30 P.M. CT

Alabama

Missouri

Alabama Softball Travels to Missouri for Three-Game SEC Series

3/30/2017 8:45:00 AM | Softball

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THIS WEEKEND
No. 9/9 Alabama (31-4, 7-2 SEC)
Missouri (18-13, 1-4 SEC)
Columbia, Mo. – Mizzou Softball Stadium

Friday, March 31 – 6:30 p.m. CT
Saturday, April 1 – 5 p.m. CT (SEC Network)
Sunday, April 2 – 12 p.m. CT

FOLLOWING THE TIDE
Video:

Saturday: SEC Network
Friday/Sunday: SEC Network+ (Online Only)

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

SCOUTING NO. 9/9 ALABAMA (31-4, 7-2 SEC)

Alabama took two of its three games last weekend vs. South Carolina and defeated Kent State Tuesday in Tuscaloosa to improve its overall record to 31-4 and 7-2 in conference play. Alabama and Texas A&M are tied for second in the SEC standings, just one game back in the loss column to Florida at 7-1.
The Tide leads the SEC in strikeouts (331) and wins (31) and is second in opposing batting average (.160) and hits allowed (129). In conference-only games, Alabama is ranked first in hits (63) and wins (7), second in batting average (.290), on base percentage (.391), walks (34) stolen bases (10) and strikeouts (62) and third in runs scored (44).
Sydney Littlejohn and Alexis Osorio are ranked No. 4 and 5 in the SEC in ERA at 0.91 and 0.94, respectively. Osorio leads the league and is second nationally with 186 strikeouts while Littlejohn is in third in the SEC with 126. Alabama and Florida are the only SEC schools with multiple 100-strikeout pitchers.
Alabama will play seven of its next 11 games away from Rhoads Stadium, including a neutral-site contest in Florence, Ala., next Wednesday. Alabama is just one win shy of its 500th at Rhoads Stadium, the Tide's home field since 2000. Overall, Alabama is 499-77 (.866) at Rhoads Stadium.
The Crimson Tide is ranked No. 7 in this week's Rating Percentage Index (RPI) ranking and is No. 9 in both the USA Today/NFCA poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.

THE OPPONENT
Missouri Tigers

Conference: Southeastern
2017 Record: 18-13 (1-4 SEC)
Head Coach: Ehren Earleywine (11th Season)
Starters Returning/Lost: 6/3
Newcomers: 8

Missouri Stat Leaders:

Batting Avg. - Kirsten Mack - .381
Hits - Braxton Burnside - 35
Home Runs - Braxton Burnside - 9
Wins - Madi Norman - 7
ERA - Cheyenne Baxter - 2.42
Strikeouts - Cheyenne Baxter – 65

ALL-TIME VS. THE OPPONENT
11-7 vs. Missouri

Current Streak: Alabama 1
First Meeting: May 21, 1999 - L, 0-1 - Los Angeles, Calif. (NCAA Regional)
Last Meeting: March 28, 2016 - W, 16-2 (5) - Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Last Meeting in Columbia: May 3, 2014 - W, 2-0

LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA DEFEATS KENT STATE, 5-3, FOR MURPHY'S 1,000TH CAREER WIN
Head Coach Patrick Murphy's 1,000th career victory didn't come easy Tuesday night in Tuscaloosa, but Alabama persevered to defeat Kent State, 5-3, in comeback fashion as Murphy became the 16th active Division-I coach to hit 1,000 wins.

For the fourth-consecutive game, Alabama fell behind early as Kent State scored one in the top of the first. The Tide would pull ahead 2-1 in the bottom half of the inning and take a 3-1 lead in the second before a two-run home run in the top of the third tied it up at 3-3. A solo home run by Mari Cranek would break the tie in the bottom of the sixth and an RBI single by Sydney Booker added some insurance, scoring the final run in the eventual two-run victory.

PATRICK MURPHY EARNS 1,000TH CAREER WIN

Alabama defeated Kent State Tuesday night to give Head Coach Patrick Murphy his 1,000th career win, now with an all-time record of 1,000-279 (.782). This includes a 28-20 record as the interim head coach at Northwest Missouri State in 1995 and a 972-259 (.790) mark as the skipper of the Crimson Tide, a position he has held since 1999.
Murphy is the 23rd 1,000-win coach at the Division-I level and is one of 16 among that group who are still active coaches.
He is the seventh SEC coach to surpass the 1,000-win plateau, as Murphy joins current coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly (Tennessee), Jo Evans (Texas A&M), Clint Meyers (Auburn), Lu Harris-Champer (Georgia) and former coach Joyce Compton (South Carolina, 1987-2010).

TIDE TRENDS

Alabama is 26-0 this season when scoring first, but the Tide has also come back to win in five of the nine games in which the opponent scored first.
Alabama is 17-0 when it scores in the first inning. So far this season, the Tide is outscoring its opponents 29-9 in the first inning.
Rhoads Stadium has proven a big home-field advantage for Alabama, as the Tide is 22-1 at home this season. All-time, Alabama is 499-77 (.866) at Rhoads Stadium since it opened in 2000.
When the offense hits at least one home run, Alabama is 18-0.
Alabama has proven it can win close games this season, owning a 9-1 record in one-run and two-run games.
Alabama has played well under the lights this year, owning an 9-0 record in night games.
34 of the 35 starting pitchers the Tide have faced off against have been right-handed, with UAB's Claire Blount as the only lefty.

UP NEXT
Next week, Alabama plays a neutral-site game against Lipscomb in Florence, Ala., on Wednesday, April 5 before hosting LSU for a three-game series starting Friday, April 7.