Alabama
Arkansas
Alabama Softball Begins Second Half of Conference Play at Arkansas
4/12/2018 8:48:00 AM | Softball
#15/15 ALABAMA (25-11, 6-6 SEC) at #19/20 ARKANSAS (31-8, 6-6 SEC)
Fayetteville, Ark. – Bogle Park
- Friday, April 13 – 6 p.m. CTÂ
- Saturday, April 14 – 11 a.m. CT *ESPNU*
- Sunday, April 15 – 1 p.m. CT
SCOUTING ALABAMA
- Alabama is 25-11 overall and 6-6 in SEC play heading into this weekend after winning one of its three games against Florida last weekend in Tuscaloosa.
- For the second-straight week, the Crimson Tide is ranked No. 15 in both the USA Today/NFCA poll and ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. Alabama moved up two spots in the NCAA RPI to No. 18. Twelve SEC teams are ranked or receiving votes in the national polls and all 13 are ranked 32 or higher in the RPI.
- Freshman Kaylee Tow leads the offense in batting average (.378), runs scored (26), hits (37), on-base percentage (.496) and slugging percentage (.724). Her eight home runs is tied for the team lead with sophomore Bailey Hemphill, who is 30-for-92 (.326) at the plate with a team-leading 27 walks, reaching base safely in 31 of her 35 games this season including a streak of 18-straight. Elissa Brown is third on the team with a .321 batting average and leads the team with 22 stolen bases. Six of those stolen bases have come in conference play, which leads the SEC.
- Senior Alexis Osorio leads the pitching staff with a 1.99 ERA over 91.1 innings, striking out 138 batters for an average of 1.51 per inning. Junior Courtney Gettins leads the bullpen with 10 wins, owning a 2.13 ERA over 15 appearances and 79.0 innings pitched.
LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA FALLS TO FOURTH-RANKED FLORIDA
- GAME ONE: FLORIDA 6, ALABAMA 1: Alabama fell behind in the first inning after Florida scored a pair of runs. The Crimson Tide cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the second after a fielding error allowed an unearned run to cross the plate. The Gators would go on to score four more runs down the stretch to bring the score to its final mark of 6-1. Making her return following a two-week absence with a foot injury, senior Peyton Grantham went 2-for-3 batting sixth.
- GAME TWO: ALABAMA 3, FLORIDA 2: Alabama scored the first run of the game on an RBI single from freshman Kaylee Tow but Florida evened it up in the top of the fourth with a solo home run. The Crimson Tide answered right back in the bottom half with a solo home run from sophomore Bailey Hemphill to retake the lead. An RBI double for UF in the top of the fifth tied it up at 2-2 but a second long ball courtesy of UA senior Sydney Booker made it a 3-2 game, which ultimately proved final. Sophomore Elissa Brown set the tone at the top of the order, going 2-for-3 with a run scored and a pair of stolen bases. Junior Courtney Gettins threw 4.2 innings in the start with senior Alexis Osorio earning the win in relief, allowing just two hits over 2.1 innings pitched with four strikeouts.
- GAME THREE: FLORIDA 3, ALABAMA 2: Alabama pulled ahead in the bottom of the third on a two-run home run from freshman Kaylee Tow, but Florida answered right back in the next half-inning tying it with a two-run double. The score remained the same until the Gators pulled ahead 3-2 on a solo home run in the top of the sixth, which proved final. The Tide out-hit the Gators, 4-2, while sophomore Bailey Hemphill drew a pair of walks to extend her reached-base streak to 18 games. Alexis Osorio battled in the complete-game effort, throwing a season-high 179 pitches holding Florida to three runs on two hits with nine strikeouts.
ALABAMA BATS AMONG SEC LEADERS
Through four conference series, the Alabama offense is among the league leaders in numerous categories in SEC-only play.
- Batting Average - 2nd - .279
- Slugging Percentage - 2nd - .442
- Home Runs - 2nd - 12
- Walks - 2nd - 42
- Total Bases - 3rd - 138
- On-Base Percentage - 3rd - .371
- Runs Scored - 4th - 53
- Hits - 4th - 87
- Doubles - T4th - 13
- Runs Batted In - T4th - 47
TOW TEARING IT UP IN SEC PLAY
Freshman Kaylee Tow has led the Crimson Tide at the plate in SEC play and is among the top-10 league-wide in a number of offensive categories. In five of the six categories, she is the highest ranked freshman. She is second among SEC freshman in conference walks (8), only trailing Florida's Hannah Adams (11).
Kaylee Tow in SEC-Only Games
* = leader among freshmen
- *Batting Average - T3rd - .389
- *On-Base Percentage - 4th - .511
- *Slugging Percentage - 5th - .667
- *Home Runs - T5th - 3
- *Total Bases - T7th - 24
- Walks - T8th - 8
OSORIO APPROACHING 1,000 CAREER STRIKEOUTS
Senior Alexis Osorio is approaching a rare milestone at Alabama, as she is just 28 strikeouts away from the 1,000th of her career. She would be just the fourth player in program history to hit the 1,000 strikeout mark and the first since Kelsi Dunne (2008-11). Currently she sits fifth all-time at Alabama, just five away from passing Jaclyn Traina (2011-14).
Alabama Career Strikeout Leaders
- Kelsi Dunne (2008-11): 1,219
- Stephanie VanBrakle (2003-06): 1,113
- Shelley Laird (1999-2002): 1,045
- Jaclyn Traina (2011-14): 976
- Alexis Osorio (2015-pres.): 972
BAILEY ON BASE
Sophomore Bailey Hemphill leads the team with a 18-game reached base streak, hitting 17-for-49 (.347) over that stretch with six home runs, 15 RBIs and 16 walks. Overall, she has reached base safely in 31 of the 35 games she has played in so far this season, leading the team with 27 walks. Her 18-game reached base streak is just four shy of her career-best 22, set last season. In her Crimson Tide career, she has reached base safely in 86 of the 98 games she has played in.
SEVEN NATIONALLY TELEVISED GAMES REMAIN FOR ALABAMA
Alabama softball is slated to appear seven more times across ESPN's family of networks during the regular season, playing in at least one televised contest in each of the remaining series.
All Crimson Tide home games and select road contests will also be available to stream online via the SEC Network+ digital platform. Links to watch online will be posted on the softball schedule page at RollTide.com and on Alabama Softball social media platforms.
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REMAINING ALABAMA SOFTBALL TELEVISED GAMES
- Saturday, April 14 at Arkansas – 11 a.m. CT – ESPNU
- Wednesday, April 18 vs. Southern Miss – 6 p.m. CT – SEC Network
- Sunday, April 22 vs. Tennessee – 2 p.m. CT – ESPN2
- Monday, April 23 vs. Tennessee – 6 p.m. CT – SEC Network
- Saturday, April 28 at Georgia – 5 p.m. CT – SEC Network
- Friday, May 4 vs. Texas A&M – 7 p.m. CT – SEC Network
- Saturday, May 5 vs. Texas A&M – Noon CT – SEC Network
UP NEXT
Alabama plays four home games next week, starting with a midweek matchup against Southern Miss on Wednesday, April 18 at 6 p.m. CT. The Tide then welcomes in Tennessee for a three-game series starting Saturday, April 21 at 4:30 p.m. CT. Game two is set for a 2 p.m. CT start on Sunday, April 22 live on ESPN2 and the series wraps up on Monday, April 23 at 6 p.m. CT live on SEC Network.
