Alabama
Loyola-Chicago
Alabama Softball to Host Midweek Matchups Against Loyola and Valparaiso
3/6/2017 4:00:00 PM | Softball
THIS WEEK
NO. 11/9 Alabama (19-2)
Tuscaloosa, Ala. - Rhoads stadium
vs. Loyola-Chicago (14-0)
Tuesday, March 7 - 6 p.m. CT
vs. Valparaiso (6-2)
Wednesday, March 8 - 6 p.m. CT
FOLLOWING THE TIDE
Video: SEC Network+ (Online Only)
Radio: 93.3 FM (praise933.com)
Live Stats: rolltide.com
Twitter: @AlabamaSB
SCOUTINGÂ NO. 11/9 ALABAMA (19-2)
- Alabama swept its six opponents this week, edging out UAB on the road in an extra-inning battle on Tuesday before sweeping its five games at the Easton Crimson Classic in Tuscaloosa, outscoring its opponents 37-1.
- Tide pitching threw a pair of no-hitters over the weekend, first doing so on Friday, March 3 against Jacksonville before adding another the next day against Drake. They were the 31st and 32nd no-hitters in program history, respectively, already giving Alabama three so far this season including Alexis Osorio's perfect game on Feb. 10 at Coastal Carolina.
- Alabama is now on a 12-game winning streak, stretching back to the Feb. 22 win against North Florida. Eleven of those 12 wins have come at home.
- Alexis Osorio was named the Easton Crimson Classic MVP and earned SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week honors, her second weekly conference award of the season.
THE OPPONENTS
Loyola Ramblers
- Missouri Valley Conference
- 2017 Record: 14-0
- Head Coach: Jeff Tylka (Third Season)
Loyola Stat Leaders:
- Batting Avg. - Alyssa Mannucci - .382
- Hits - Erica Nagel - 18
- Home Runs - Katie Nasubke - 3
- Wins - K. Jones / K. Dolezal - 7
- ERA - Kiley Jones - 1.37
- Strikeouts - Kiley Jones – 39
Valparaiso Crusaders
- Horizon League
- 2017 Record: 6-2
- Head Coach: Kate Stake (Third Season)
Valparaiso Stat Leaders:
- Batting Avg. - Sam Stewart - .500
- Hits - Carly Trepanier - 14
- Home Runs - Sam Stewart - 4
- Wins - Ashlyn Montgomery - 3
- ERA - Ashlyn Montgomery - 2.24
- Strikeouts - Mackenzie Grossmann – 26
ALL-TIME VS. THE OPPONENTS
0-0 vs. Loyola-Chicago (First Meeting)
0-0 vs. Valparaiso (First Meeting)
LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA SWEEPS EASTON CRIMSON CLASSIC
- Alabama 10, Jacksonville 0 (5 Innings): The Alabama offense scored 10 runs in a five-inning victory over Drake, which proved more than enough as Alexis Osorio and Madi Moore combined to throw a no-hitter, the 31st in program history and the third combined no-hitter. Osorio struck out 11 batters over 4.0 innings of work, surpassing the 600 strikeout mark for her career in the process. The offense scored at least one run in each of the four innings they came up to the plate, including a six-run fourth in which the Tide batted around the order.
- Alabama 6, Drake 1: In the second game on Friday, Alabama earned a 6-1 victory over Drake, with Sydney Littlejohn earning the complete-game victory in the circle. Chandler Dare had a 2-2 game batting ninth, including an RBI and a run scored. Bailey Hemphill drew three walks in four plate appearances, including two intentional walks. The two intentional walks are the most in a game for an Alabama player since Kaila Hunt on May 25, 2012 against Michigan in the NCAA Super Regional round.
- Alabama 4, Stanford 0: Alabama opened Saturday action at the Easton Crimson Classic with a 4-0 shutout over Stanford. Another strong start from Osorio in the circle kept the Cardinal offense off balance, striking out 18 batters while allowing just one hit in the complete-game shutout. On offense, Elissa Brown and Merris Schroder had two-hit performances with Schroder driving in three of the Tide's four runs on a three-run triple in the first inning.
- Alabama 10, Drake 0 (5 Innings): After two scoreless innings to start the game, the Alabama offense came alive in the bottom of the third to the tune of eight runs, adding two more in the next inning to ultimately win 10-0 in five innings. In the circle, Moore and Littlejohn teamed up to throw the second combined no-hitter of the weekend, each allowing just one walk. Carrigan Fain and Claire Jenkins drove in five of the Tide's 10 runs with a pair of home runs.
- Alabama 7, Jacksonville 0: Alabama only scored two runs through the first five innings before the bats came alive with five runs in the final two innings off a pair of home runs by Gabby Callaway and Reagan Dykes. Jacksonville was kept off the base paths until the fourth inning and only tallied three hits in a strong outing from Tide starter Littlejohn, who struck out a career-high 11 batters in the complete-game shutout.
ALEXIS OSORIO NAMED SEC CO-PITCHER OF THE WEEK
For the second time this season, junior pitcher Alexis Osorio has earned SEC Pitcher of the Week honors, announced Monday by the Southeastern Conference. She shares this week's honor with Florida senior pitcher Delanie Gourley.
The weekly award is the third of Osorio's career, previously winning on Feb. 29, 2016 and Feb. 13 earlier this season. Overall, Alabama has won SEC Pitcher of the Week 36 times in program history.
Osorio went 3-0 last week over three appearances, striking out 38 batters over 15.0 innings while not allowing a single run. On Friday, she started as part of a combined no-hitter against Jacksonville along with sophomore Madi Moore, already the second no-hitter that Osorio has pitched in this season along with her perfect game at Coastal Carolina in week one. Against the Dolphins, she struck out 11 batters over 4.0 innings. On Saturday against Stanford, she earned a complete-game victory over the Cardinal with 18 strikeouts in 7.0 innings of work with just one hit allowed. The 18 strikeouts is the second-highest total in a single game in program history, only trailing the 19 she threw earlier this season in the perfect game against the Chanticleers.
So far this season, Osorio has an NCAA-leading 122 strikeouts, averaging 2.09 per inning with a 7:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. She also leads the SEC in opposing batting average (.085) and is third in hits allowed (16) and fourth in wins (9).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Merris Schroder led the team with eight hits this week, going 8-15 (.533) with five runs scored and seven RBIs. She earned at least one hit in all six games, including multi-hit efforts against Jacksonville on Friday and Stanford on Saturday. She drove in three runs against the Dolphins with a three-run home run and added another three RBIs the next day against the Cardinal with a three-run triple in the first inning. She was named to the Easton Crimson Classic All-Tournament team and is currently on a 13-game hitting streak.
- Sydney Littlejohn was 2-0 in two starts and four appearances this week, allowing just two runs with 24 strikeouts over 18.0 innings pitched. Both wins were complete games, throwing 7.0 innings against Drake on Friday allowing just one run on three hits before shutting out Jacksonville on Sunday with just three hits allowed. She fanned a career-high 11 batters against the Dolphins and was named to the Easton Crimson Classic All-Tournament team.
- Claire Jenkins made the most of three starts and two pinch-hit appearances, going 7-10 (.700) with four runs scored. On Saturday against Drake, she went 2-2 driving in a pair on a fourth-inning home run, the first of her career. On Sunday against Jacksonville, she went 3-4 hitting two singles and a double and scoring twice. She was named to the Easton Crimson Classic All-Tournament team.
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 10.01 strikeout-per-game average, surpassing previous record-holder Kelsi Dunne (2008-11) at 9.82. Osorio's 622 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 1.78 career ERA and seventh with a .207 opposing batting average. Littlejohn went 35.1 innings to start the season before allowing an earned run. Osorio is right behind Littlejohn in ERA at seventh (1.91) and is second (.171) in opposing batting average.
- Junior Demi Turner is ranked fifth all-time with a .412 career batting average. She has 145 hits in 352 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 (.882), just nine points behind fifth-place Whitney Larsen (2008-11) at .891. Dare is 8-9 in stolen bases so far this season. She also cracked the top 10 in batting average at .364, just one point shy of ninth-place Ashley Courtney (2002-05) at .365 and four points shy of eighth-place Lauren Parker (2007-09) at .368.
- Senior Marisa Runyon is seventh all-time with a .612 career slugging percentage and is ninth with 35 home runs. Her 148 career RBIs put her 14 shy of cracking the top 10.
UP NEXT
Alabama opens SEC play this weekend in Tuscaloosa, welcoming the Arkansas Razorbacks (17-1) for a three-game series at Rhoads Stadium. Game two of the series will air live on the SEC Network with Trey Bender and Leigh Ross on the call.
- Friday, March 10 - 6:30 p.m. CT
- Saturday, March 11 - 5 p.m. CT (SEC Network)
- Sunday, March 12 - 1:30 p.m. CT
