Alabama
Tennessee
Alabama Softball Welcomes Tennessee for Three-Game SEC Series
4/20/2018 1:59:00 PM | Softball
#17/17 ALABAMA (27-13, 7-8 SEC) vs. #7/10 TENNESSEE (38-8, 8-7 SEC)
Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Rhoads Stadium
- Saturday, April 21 (DH-1) – 4:30 p.m. CT
- Saturday, April 21 (DH-2) – TBD
- Monday, April 23 – 6 p.m. CT *SEC Network*
SCOUTING ALABAMA
- Alabama is 27-13 overall and 7-8 in SEC play heading into this weekend after winning its midweek contest Wednesday against Southern Miss, 4-2.
- The Crimson Tide moved up two spots in the NCAA RPI rankings to No. 16 but fell to No. 17 in both the USA Today/NFCA poll and ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.
- Freshman Kaylee Tow leads the offense in batting average (.369), runs scored (30), hits (41), home runs (10), on-base percentage (.485) and slugging percentage (.739). Sophomore Bailey Hemphill leads the team with 31 RBIs and 28 walks and is just behind Tow with eight home runs, hitting 31-for-100 (.310) on the season. A stellar month at the plate has propelled sophomore Gabby Callaway up to a .336 batting average, second on the team, with five multi-hit games over the last 10 contests. Elissa Brown is third on the team with a .310 batting average and leads the Tide with 22 stolen bases. Six of those stolen bases have come in conference play, which is tied for second in the SEC.
- Junior Courtney Gettins earned the complete-game victory over Southern Miss on Wednesday, collecting her team-leading 11th win of the season. The junior college transfer also owns a team-leading 2.13 ERA over 92.0 innings pitched. Senior Alexis Osorio is 10-6 with a 2.29 ERA and 152 strikeouts over 104.0 innings pitched. She is now just 14 away from becoming the fourth pitcher in program history with 1,000 career strikeouts.
LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA DEFEATS SOUTHERN MISS, 4-2
Alabama opened its four-game home stand with a 4-2 win over Southern Miss Wednesday night at Rhoads Stadium. The Crimson Tide jumped ahead in the bottom of the second on a solo home run from senior Peyton Grantham before the Golden Eagles tied it up at 1-1 in the next half-inning. An RBI single from sophomore Gabby Callaway in the bottom of the third gave Alabama a 2-1 lead and she padded the lead further in the fifth inning with a two-run home run. Southern Miss got a run back in the top of the seventh on a sacrifice fly to make it 4-2 but ultimately stranded a pair on base as the Tide held on to win. Callaway had a career-high three hits at the plate, marking her 11th multi-hit game of the season and her fifth in the last 10 games. Junior Courtney Gettins went the distance in the circle, holding Southern Miss to two runs while stranding seven runners on base.
KAYLEE TOW NAMED TOP 25 FINALIST FOR NFCA FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Alabama softball's Kaylee Tow has been selected as a top 25 finalist for the Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I Freshman of the Year.
Tow leads the Crimson Tide in batting average (.369), hits (41), home runs (10), slugging percentage (.739) and on-base percentage (.485). Her 10 home runs are the fifth-most by a freshman in program history and the most since Reagan Dykes finished with 12 during her debut campaign in 2016. She is among the top 10 in the Southeastern Conference in home runs, slugging percentage, on-base percentage and total bases.
This is the third time since the award's inception in 2014 that Alabama has been represented among the top 25 finalist list. Tow's accolade follows Bailey Hemphill in 2017 and Alexis Osorio in 2015. Tow is one of five freshmen on the list from the Southeastern Conference, tied with the Pac-12 for the most of any conference.
CALLAWAY FINDS A WAY
Over the last 10 games, sophomore Gabby Callaway has made the most of her nine appearances and eight starts, hitting 13-for-29 (.448) with six runs scored, three doubles and three home runs. She earned at least one hit in seven of her nine appearances over that stretch, including five multi-hit games and three multi-RBI games. She now has 11 multi-hit games on the season, only trailing freshman Kaylee Tow's 12 for the team lead, and is tied with sophomore Bailey Hemphill for the most multi-RBI games at seven.
ALABAMA BATS AMONG SEC LEADERS
Through five conference series, the Alabama offense is among the league leaders in numerous categories in SEC-only play.
- Slugging Percentage - 2nd - .419
- Home Runs - 2nd - 15
- Runs Scored - 3rd - 62
- Batting Average - 4th - .265
- Hits - T4th - 105
- Runs Batted In - 4th - 55
- Walks - 4th - 46
- On Base Percentage - 5th - .349
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 six of the eight categories, she is the highest ranked freshman.
Kaylee Tow in SEC-Only Games
* = leader among freshmen
- *Total Bases - T3rd - 33
- *Slugging Percentage - T3rd - .717
- *Home Runs - T3rd - 5
- *Runs Batted In - T4th - 11
- *Batting Average - T5th - .370
- *Hits - T5th - 17
- On-Base Percentage - 6th - .482
- Runs Scored - 10th - 10
OSORIO 14 AWAY FROM 1,000th CAREER STRIKEOUT
Senior Alexis Osorio is approaching a rare milestone at Alabama, as she is just 14 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). She moved to fourth all-time at Alabama following last weekend's series at Arkansas, passing three-time All-American 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
- Alexis Osorio (2015-pres.): 986
- Jaclyn Traina (2011-14): 976
TOW AMONG FRESHMAN HOME RUN LEADERS AT UA
Freshman Kaylee Tow hit two home runs in last Sunday's game at Arkansas, increasing her team-leading total to 10. This is the most home runs hit for a Crimson Tide freshman since Reagan Dykes in 2016 and is tied for the fifth-most from any UA freshman.
Most Home Runs as a Freshman
- 25 - Kelly Kretschman (1998)
- 13 - Jaclyn Traina (2011)
- 12 - Reagan Dykes (2016), Stephanie VanBrakle (2003)
- 11 - Charlotte Morgan (2007)
- 10 - Kaylee Tow (2018), Kaila Hunt (2011), Courtney Conley (2010)
UP NEXT
Alabama makes its final SEC road trip of the regular season next weekend, heading to Athens, Ga., to take on the Georgia Bulldogs. The series opens on Friday, April 27 at 5 p.m. CT. Game two will air live on SEC Network on Saturday, April 28 at 5 p.m. CT and the weekend concludes on Sunday, April 29 at 1 p.m. CT.
