Alabama
Washington
Alabama Softball Travels to Seattle to Face Washington in NCAA Super Regional Round
5/23/2018 8:26:00 AM | Softball
#12 ALABAMA (36-18) at #5 WASHINGTON (47-8)
2018 NCAA Seattle Super Regional
Seattle, Wash. – Husky Softball Stadium
- Friday, May 25 – 8 p.m. CT *ESPNU*Â
- Saturday, May 26 – 6 p.m. CT *ESPN2*Â
- (if necessary) Sunday, May 27 – 6 p.m. CT *ESPNU*Â
*live stat links for Saturday/Sunday will be created upon the completion of the preceding game*
SCOUTING ALABAMA
- Alabama is 36-18 on the year following a three-game sweep over Middle Tennessee, Wisconsin and Oregon State at last weekend's Tuscaloosa regional.
- The Crimson Tide secured its 16th regional title, improving its regional win streak to 14-straight rounds and 37-straight games.
- With its 14th Super Regional appearance, Alabama remains the only team to play in all 14 Super Regional rounds since the format's introduction in 2005.
- Following a 4-for-7 (.571) weekend at the plate, sophomore Elissa Brown moved into the team lead with a .357 batting average, tallying 45 hits with 30 stolen bases as the primary leadoff hitter. Sophomore Bailey Hemphill improved her team-leading home run total to 13 with one against Wisconsin last weekend. She is 41-for-117 (.350) at the plate and also tops the team with 48 RBIs and 39 walks. Freshman Kaylee Tow still paces the Tide with 49 hits, including seven doubles, two triples and 11 home runs.
- Senior Alexis Osorio earned two wins last weekend to improve to 15-9 this season with a 2.10 ERA and 219 strikeouts over 160.1 innings pitched. Junior Courtney Gettins threw her 11th complete game on Friday against Middle Tennessee, improving to 14-4 with a 2.37 ERA on the season.
LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA SWEEPS TUSCALOOSA REGIONAL
- GAME ONE: ALABAMA 8, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 0 (6 INN.): Alabama took the first lead over Middle Tennessee in the first inning with two quick runs and added some cushion with a five-run third inning. The Blue Raiders stranded a combined four runners in the fourth and fifth innings before a solo home run from senior Peyton Grantham in the bottom of the sixth capped the run-rule victory for the Tide.
- GAME TWO: ALABAMA 9, WISCONSIN 1 (5 INN.): Alabama and Wisconsin only played one inning before rain and lighting entered the area, forcing a three-hour weather delay. Upon resumption, the Crimson Tide scored three in the third inning before the Badgers answered with its first run of the day in the bottom-half of the inning. A six-run fifth inning for Alabama put the game out of reach, as Wisconsin went down in order in the bottom half to secure the run-rule victory.
- GAME THREE: ALABAMA 6, OREGON STATE 0: Alabama took the first lead of the game over Oregon State with a two-run double from sophomore Bailey Hemphill in the first inning. Both teams went down in order until the fifth inning, when the Tide doubled its lead with a pair of RBI singles from sophomore Elissa Brown and senior Demi Turner, who each tallied two hits batting at the top of the order. The final blow, a two-run home run from junior Merris Schroder, came in the top of the sixth before senior Alexis Osorio shut the door with a scoreless sixth and seventh to complete the 6-0 win.
ALABAMA IN SUPER REGIONALS
- Alabama is the only team in college softball to play in all 14 Super Regional rounds since its inception in 2005.
- The Tide is 20-10 (.667) in Super Regional play, winning nine of the 13 previous rounds it has played in.
- Of the 13 rounds it has played in, Alabama has hosted nine times, winning eight of those matchups. The Tide has been on the road four times, winning once (2005 at Texas A&M).
- Alabama's Super Regional round has been decided in two games nine times, with the Tide winning seven of those. Of the series that stretched to three games, Alabama has won two of the four, overcoming a game-one loss in both of those series (2011 vs. Stanford, 2015 vs. Oklahoma).
TUSCALOOSA REGIONAL NUMBERS
- The Tide has hosted a regional round every year since 2005 and has now won 14 straight, the longest active streak in Division-I softball.
- With its three-game sweep last weekend, Alabama has won 37-straight NCAA regional games, the longest active streak in the country. The Tide's last loss in regional play came in the opening game of the 2007 round to Tennessee Tech, 4-2.
- The Tide improved to 93-40 (.699) in NCAA Tournament play, including a 56-9 (.862) mark in reigonal play and 49-3 (.942) mark at home in regionals
- It marked the fifth time in program history and the first time since 2015 that Alabama posted multiple run-rule victories in regional play.
- Alabama averaged 7.67 runs per game in regional play, the sixth-highest total among the 16 regional winners.
- The Tide outscored its opponents 23-1 over the weekend's three games. The 22-point margin of victory was the fifth-highest among the 16 regional winners.
ALABAMA VS. WASHINGTON POSTSEASON HISTORY
- This year marks the third time Alabama and Washington have met in NCAA Super Regional play. Stanford is the only other team the Tide has faced multiple times in the round-of-16, doing so twice.
- The first Super Regional meeting between the two was in 2007, with Washington taking two games, 4-3 and 7-5, behind ace pitcher Danielle Lawrie. It was Alabama's first Super Regional round loss and remains just one of two series losses for the Tide that came in two games.
- The two teams met again in super regional play nearly a decade later in Tuscaloosa, with Alabama sweeping Washington in two games, 2-1 and 5-2. The game-one win came in extra innings on a walk-off RBI single from current Tide senior Demi Turner.
- In addition to the two Super Regional meetings, the Huskies traveled to Tuscaloosa in 2015 for NCAA Regional play, with the Tide claiming both meetings, 9-0 and 11-1.
ALEXIS OSORIO IN POSTSEASON PLAY
- Over her four-year career, Alexis Osorio owns a 13-4 record in NCAA tournament play with a 1.14 ERA and 137 strikeouts over 111 innings pitched (1.23 K/IP) and just 45 walks (3.04 K/BB).
- Twelve of the 18 earned runs she has allowed in postseason play came her freshman season, giving her a 0.64 ERA from 2016-18.
- In four years of NCAA Regional play, Osorio was 7-0 with just two runs allowed, one earned, over 51.1 innings pitched.
- In Super Regional play, she is 5-2 with a 1.22 ERA and 54 strikeouts over 46 innings, making seven appearances with six starts and four complete games. Previous super regional opponents include Oklahoma (2015), Washington (2016) and Florida (2017).
HEMPHILL HAMMERING IT FOLLOWING INJURY
Sophomore Bailey Hemphill sustained a foot injury in the series finale at Arkansas on April 15, forcing her to miss six games before returning to the starting lineup in the final game of the Georgia series two weeks later. Her first at-bat against the Bulldogs was a two-run home run, setting the stage for a power surge since her return.
Bailey Hemphill Following Injury (Last 9 Games)
- 10-for-17 (.588), 8 runs scored
- 2 doubles and 5 home runs (1.588 slugging percentage)
- 17 RBIs
- 11 walks (.733 on-base percentage)
TOW AMONG FRESHMAN HOME RUN LEADERS AT UA
Freshman Kaylee Tow's home run in game two of the Texas A&M series was her 11th of the season. This is the most home runs hit for a Crimson Tide freshman since Reagan Dykes in 2016 and is tied for the fourth-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 - Kaylee Tow (2018), Charlotte Morgan (2007)
OSORIO CLIMBS CAREER STRIKEOUTS LIST AT UA
Over two starts during regional play, senior Alexis Osorio moved into third all-time on the Alabama career strikeout list, passing Shelley Laird (1999-2002). Earlier this year during the Tide's series against Tennessee, she became the fourth player in program history to reach 1,000 career strikeouts and the first since Kelsi Dunne (2008-11). She now is 60 behind former All-American and current pitching coach Stephanie VanBrakle's (2003-06) career total of 1,113.
Alabama Career Strikeout Leaders
- Kelsi Dunne (2008-11): 1,219
- Stephanie VanBrakle (2003-06): 1,113
- Alexis Osorio (2015-pres.): 1,053
- Shelley Laird (1999-2002): 1,045
- Jaclyn Traina (2011-14): 976
UP NEXT
The winner of the Seattle Super Regional round will earn a spot in the 2018 Women's College World Series field, which begins Thursday, May 31, at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla.
