Friday, May 19
Tuscaloosa, Ala.
4 P.M. CT
Alabama
vs
Albany
Photo by: Robert Sutton
Alabama Softball Opens NCAA Regional Play Friday in Tuscaloosa
5/18/2017 11:37:00 AM | Softball
This Week
2017 NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional
Tuscaloosa, Ala. - Rhoads Stadium
Friday, May 19
- Minnesota (54-3) vs. Louisiana Tech (37-22) - 1:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
- Alabama (42-16) vs. Albany (27-16) - 4 p.m. (SEC Network)
Saturday, May 20
- Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner - 1:30 p.m.
- Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser - 4 p.m.
- Game 4 Winner vs. Game 3 Loser - 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 21
- Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner
- Game 6 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser (if necessary)
Following the Tide
- Video:
- Friday - SEC Network
- Saturday/Saturday - TBA
- Radio: 93.3 FM (praise933.com)
- Live Stats: rolltide.com
- Twitter: @AlabamaSB
Scouting No. 16 Alabama (42-16, 12-11 SEC)
- Alabama earned a No. 16 seed for the 2017 NCAA Tournament, marking its 19th-straight tournament appearance and its 13th-straight as a regional host.
- Last week, the Tide defeated Arkansas and Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament before falling to eventual tournament champion Ole Miss in the semifinals. For their efforts, Alexis Osorio and Bailey Hemphill were named to the All-Tournament team.
- The Tide placed three on the SEC's postseason awards list, with Alexis Osorio earning second team All-SEC honors while Bailey Hemphill and Elissa Brown were both named to the SEC All-Freshman team.
- Crimson Tide pitchers have shut out opponents 24 times this season, which is two shy of the single-season school record.
- Alexis Osorio leads the SEC and is sixth nationally with 305 strikeouts. Her 11.9 strikeouts per seven innings is second in the SEC and fifth nationally.
The Opponents
Minnesota Golden Gophers
- Conference: Big 10
- 2017 Record: 54-3
- Head Coach: Jessica Allister (Seventh Season)
- Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 9/9
- Newcomers: 9
Minnesota Stat Leaders
- Batting Avg. - Kendyl Lindaman - .438
- Hits - Danielle Parlich - 73
- Home Runs - Kendyl Lindaman - 20
- Wins - Sara Groenewegen - 30
- ERA - Sara Groenewegen - 0.59
- Strikeouts - Sara Groenewegen – 280
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
- Conference: Conference USA
- 2017 Record: 37-22
- Head Coach: Mark Montgomery (Fifth Season)
- Starters Returning/Lost: 7/3
- Newcomers: 7
Louisiana Tech Stat Leaders
- Batting Avg. - Morgan Turkoly - .390
- Hits - Jazlyn Crowder - 56
- Home Runs - Pauline Tufi - 7
- Wins - Preslee Gallaway - 14
- ERA - Krystal De La Cruz - 2.00
- Strikeouts - Preslee Gallaway – 127
Albany Great Danes
- Conference: America East
- 2017 Record: 27-16
- Head Coach: Chris Cannata (22nd Season)
- Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 10/2
- Newcomers: 7
Albany Stat Leaders
- Batting Avg. - Elizabeth Snow - .439
- Hits - Elizabeth Snow - 50
- Home Runs - Elizabeth Snow - 13
- Wins - Three tied - 8
- ERA - Celeste Verdolivo - 3.29
- Strikeouts - Celeste Verdolivo – 82
All-Time vs. The Opponents
1-0 vs. Minnesota
- Current Streak: Alabama 1
- First Meeting: Feb. 10, 2000 - W, 2-0 - Minneapolis, Minn. (Metrodome Classic)
4-0 vs. Louisiana Tech
- Current Streak: Alabama 4
- First Meeting: March 17, 1998 - W, 3-2 - Tuscaloosa, Ala.
- Last Meeting: March 27, 2007 - W, 15-0 (5 Inn.) - Tuscaloosa, Ala.
4-0 vs. Albany
- Current Streak: Alabama 4
- First Meeting: May 4, 2001 - W, 10-0 (6 Inn.) - West Point, N.Y.
- Last Meeting: Feb. 14, 2004 - W, 12-0 (5 Inn.) - Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Bama Bash)
Last Time Out: Alabama Reaches SEC Tournament Semifinal Round
- Alabama 4, Arkansas 1: Alabama took an early lead over Arkansas with three runs in the first inning and added some insurance in the sixth with a solo home run by Bailey Hemphill, part of a 2-3 day with two runs scored and two RBIs for the SEC All-Freshman honoree. Fellow All Freshman award-winner Elissa Brown was 2-3 at the leadoff spot, as she has now hit safely in nine of her last 10 games. Sydney Littlejohn earned the win with one run allowed over 5.0 innings pitched, while Alexis Osorio earned her third save of the season with 2.0 shutout innings behind her, allowing just one baserunner.
- Alabama 2, Texas A&M 1 (10 Innings): Alabama held Texas A&M hitless through seven innings before a solo home run by Tori Vidales tied it in the bottom of the seventh, sending the game to extra innings. After two more scoreless innings, Hemphill blasted a two-strike pitch over the fence in center field to give the Tide a 2-1 lead, which ultimately proved final. The 10-inning game is tied for the longest game in SEC Tournament history by innings. Alexis Osorio was masterful in the circle for Alabama, throwing a career-high 10.0 innings while limiting the SEC's leading power team to just one run on two hits along with an SEC Tournament single-game record 15 strikeouts.
- Ole Miss 4, Alabama 1: Alabama and Ole Miss were originally scheduled to face each other on Friday afternoon, but inclement weather in the area forced a schedule change with the teams meeting on Saturday morning instead. Three runs by the Rebels in the top of the second gave them an early lead and they added another on a solo home run in the top of the fifth. Alabama scratched one across in the bottom of the sixth and got the potential tying run to the plate in the seventh but the comeback effort fell just short. Four of Alabama's seven hits came from Chandler Dare and Marisa Runyon, each going 2-4. Bailey Hemphill drove in the Tide's lone run of the day on a sixth-inning RBI single.
Tide History at the NCAA Tournament
- Alabama has made the NCAA Tournament 19-consecutive seasons, a streak that started in head coach Patrick Murphy's debut 1999 season.
- The Tide is 86-38 (.694) in NCAA Tournament play, including a 50-9 (.847) mark in regional play and 43-3 (.935) mark at home in regionals. Alabama has not lost a game in the regional round since 2007, a streak of 31-straight games.
- Only seven other Division-I softball teams besides Alabama own an active NCAA Tournament appearance streak of at least 19 years: Arizona (31), Oklahoma (24), Washington (24), Michigan (22), UCLA (19), Louisiana (18) and Notre Dame (18).
- Alabama has earned a top-16 national seed 15 times, including a streak of 13-straight starting in 2005. The Tide has won each of the 12 previous regional rounds during that stretch, the longest streak in the NCAA.
Alexis Osorio and Bailey Hemphill Earn SEC All-Tournament Honors
- Alexis Osorio was 1-0 with a save over two appearances and one start at the SEC Tournament, allowing just one earned run over 12.0 innings pitched. She struck out 18 batters, including a SEC Tournament record 15 in Thursday's win over Texas A&M. She has not allowed more than three earned runs in a game since April 2 and has posted double-digit strikeouts in five of her nine starts since that point.
- Bailey Hemphill led the team with a .571 average at the tournament, going 4-7 at the plate with three runs scored and four RBIs. Two of her four hits were home runs, including a go-ahead solo home run in the 10th inning against Texas A&M. She has now reached base safely in 11 of her last 12 games, hitting 9-30 (.300) over that stretch with nine RBIs, three home runs, 11 walks and five runs scored.
Late Season Streaks
- Elissa Brown went 0-4 against Ole Miss on Saturday, ending her reached base streak at a season-high 16 games. At the time, it was the longest active streak on the team and is the fourth-longest for any Tide player this season. Over those 16 games, Brown hit 19-43 (.442) with 12 runs scored and was 12-13 in stolen bases. She had multi-hit games in six of those 16 appearances, including against Arkansas and Texas A&M at the SEC Tournament.
- Reagan Dykes earned a hit against Arkansas and Texas A&M last week before going 0-3 against Ole Miss, ending her hitting streak at a season-best nine games. She has earned a hit in 10 of her last 12 games and has reached base safely in 11 of her last 13. She has 10 hits, five walks and seven RBIs over the last 13 games.
- Bailey Hemphill has reached base safely in 13 of her last 15 games, hitting 12-38 (.316) over that stretch with nine RBIs, six runs scored and 13 walks (.509 OBP). She reached base safely in 22-straight games to start the season, the second-longest streak for a freshman in program history. In total, she has reached base safely in 50 of her 56 games played.
- Saturday's 4-1 loss to Ole Miss was just the eighth time this season that Tide pitchers allowed an opponent to score more than three runs. Alabama pitching has posted 24 shutouts this season, just two shy of the Alabama single-season record. The team ERA of 1.58 currently ranks fifth in Alabama single-season history and its .166 opponent batting average is currently the best in program history.
Up Next
The winner of the Tuscaloosa Regional round will advance to face the winner of the Gainesville Regional, hosted by No. 1 overall seed Florida. Other teams competing against the Gators include Oklahoma State, Florida International and Florida A&M.
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
IF
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