Alabama Softball to Face Ole Miss in Three-Game Road Series Starting Saturday

Saturday, April 29

Oxford, Miss.

2 P.M. CT

Alabama

Ole Miss

Alabama Softball to Face Ole Miss in Three-Game Road Series Starting Saturday

4/28/2017 8:45:00 AM | Softball

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THIS WEEKEND
NO. 13/14 Alabama (38-11, 10-7 SEC)vs. No. 20/21 Ole Miss (32-16, 6-12 SEC)
Oxford, Miss. - Ole Miss Softball Complex

Saturday, April 29 - 2 p.m. CT
Sunday, April 30 - 6 p.m. CT (SEC Network)
Monday, May 1 - 6 p.m. CT (SEC Network)

FOLLOWING THE TIDE

Video:
- Saturday - SEC Network+ (Online Only)
- Sunday/Monday - SEC Network
Radio: 93.3 FM (praise933.com)
Live Stats: rolltide.com
Twitter: @AlabamaSB

SCOUTING NO. 13/14 ALABAMA (38-11, 10-7 SEC)

Alabama defeated Samford, 8-1, in its final non-conference game of the regular season Tuesday in Birmingham. The Crimson Tide is now 38-11 overall and 10-7 in SEC play with two conference series remaining in the regular season.
The Tide comes in at No. 14 for the second-straight week in the NCAA Rating Percentage Index. Alabama is also ranked No. 13 in the most recent USA Today/NFCA poll and No. 14 the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.
The Crimson Tide is second in the SEC in strikeouts (411), with league-leader Florida as the only other team with over 300 this season. Alabama also ranks second in opposing batting average (.166) and hits allowed (189) and is third in walks drawn (216), earned run average (1.54) and fielding percentage (.978).
Alexis Osorio leads the league and is seventh nationally with 233 strikeouts, one of two pitchers in the SEC with over 200 strikeouts. Littlejohn is fourth in the SEC with 152 strikeouts, making Alabama and Florida the only SEC schools to have over 300 strikeouts between two starters. Littlejohn also ranks fifth in the SEC with a 1.05 ERA.

THE OPPONENT
Ole Miss Rebels

Conference: SEC
2017 Record: 32-16 (6-12 SEC)
Head Coach: Mike Smith (Third Season)
Starters Returning/Lost: 9/3
Newcomers: 10

Ole Miss Stat Leaders

Batting Avg. - Elantra Cox - .447
Hits - Elantra Cox - 72
Home Runs - Ashton Lampton - 6
Wins - Kaitlin Lee - 14
ERA - Kaitlin Lee - 2.03
Strikeouts - Kaitlin Lee – 77

ALL-TIME VS. THE OPPONENT
57-2 vs. Ole Miss

Current Streak: Alabama 29
First Meeting: April 5, 1997 - W, 9-5 - Oxford, Miss.
Last Meeting: March 8, 2015 - W, 10-0 (5) - Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Last Meeting in Oxford: March 16, 2014 - W, 9-2

LAST TIME OUT: TWO HOME RUNS LIFT ALABAMA TO 8-1 ROAD WIN OVER SAMFORD TUESDAY
Alabama softball scored early and often Tuesday night against Samford, as a pair of home runs in the first two innings gave the Crimson Tide a sizeable lead in the eventual 8-1 road victory. Alabama scored eight runs on eight hits, with six coming off a pair of three-run home runs by Reagan Dykes and Bailey Hemphill. Hemphill was 2-3 batting third in the order, as were Elissa Brown and Chandler Dare in the one and two spots, giving the top three in the order a combined 6-9 day at the plate with six runs scored. Madi Moore earned the complete-game win in the circle, holding Samford to just one run on two hits.

TIDE HISTORY VS. OLE MISS

Alabama's .966 winning percentage against Ole Miss is its highest against any SEC opponent, winning 57 of the 59 games between the teams.
Overall, Alabama has an identical 28-1 (.966) record both at home and on the road against Ole Miss. The lone neutral-site contest between the teams came in the 2006 SEC Tournament, which the Tide won, 6-0.
The team record for walks in a game came against the Rebels on April 17, 2010 when the Tide had 15 walks in the 14-0 win on the front end of a doubleheader in Tuscaloosa. The next year against Ole Miss in Oxford, Alabama nearly matched the record again, drawing 12 in the 10-1 win on May 8, 2011.
On April 4, 1998, Alabama turned three double plays in a 3-1 win over the Rebels, which stood as the school record until May 17, 2009 when the Tide turned five against Texas to win the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional.
Mandy Burford tied a school record with four stolen bases against Ole Miss on April 21, 2007. At the time, she was just the second player in program history to steal four bases in a game. Five players have matched the total since, but Jennifer Fenton is the only other among those five to do so in conference play, stealing four against Mississippi State on March 30, 2012.

ZEROES IN THE RUN COLUMN
The April 19 victory over Southern Miss marked the 23rd shutout of the season for Alabama. It is the most shutouts in a season since 2009 and tied for the fourth-most in program history, just three shy of tying the single-season record.

Most Shutouts in a Single Season at Alabama

26 - 2009
25 - 2001
24 - 2006
23 - 2017, 2008, 2007

LATE SEASON STREAKS

Elissa Brown has reached base safely in each of her last eight games, her longest such streak of the season. Over that stretch she is hitting 8-18 (.444) with four walks, good for a .545 on base percentage, and has six runs scored and seven stolen bases.
Chandler Dare has a five-game hit streak, one shy of her season high of six set from March 12-18. Dare has hit safely in eight of her last 10 games, going 10-26 (.385) with five walks and four runs scored over that stretch.
Sydney Booker has earned at least one hit in seven of her last eight games, hitting 8-22 (.364) since the series finale against LSU on April 9. She has driven in three runs and stole two bases.
Alabama pitching has held its opponents to three or fewer runs in each of the last 11 games, a streak that includes four shutouts. Overall, Tide pitching has allowed four or more runs just five times this season and has posted 23 shutouts. The team ERA of 1.54 currently ranks third all-time at Alabama and its .166 opposing batting average is currently the best in program history.

TIDE TRENDS

Alabama is 33-2 this season when scoring first and is 22-0 when it scores in the first inning. So far this season, the Tide is outscoring its opponents 42-11 in the first inning.
The Tide has scored 46 runs in both the third and fourth innings this season, more than any other inning. The 92 combined runs in the third and fourth innings account for just under 40 percent of Alabama's run output.
When the offense hits at least one home run, Alabama is 21-0. When the opponent hits two or more home runs, Alabama is 1-5.
Seven of Alabama's 11 losses have come via shutout, while the Tide has shut out its opponents in 23 of its 38 wins.
Alabama is undefeated in midweek games at 12-0, including seven Wednesday wins and five Tuesday wins. Alabama is 10-2 on Friday, 9-5 on Saturday and 7-4 on Sunday.

UP NEXT
Next week, Alabama closes its regular season with a three-game series against ninth-ranked Auburn (40-8, 12-6 SEC) in Tuscaloosa.