Bailey Hemphill and Kaylee Tow Named Preseason All-SEC
1/24/2019 10:01:00 AM | Softball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Southeastern Conference released its 2019 Softball Preseason All-SEC Team Thursday, and Alabama junior Bailey Hemphill and sophomore Kaylee Tow were among those selected.
The team, voted on by the league's head coaches, consists of 14 players representing 11 different SEC schools. Alabama, Florida and LSU were the only programs with multiple selections to the list.
Last season, Hemphill led the Crimson Tide with 13 home runs, 48 RBIs and 40 walks, hitting 41-for-123 (.333) with 26 runs scored. She had 13 games with multiple RBIs, the most on the team, and was top-10 in the SEC in walks, home runs, on-base and slugging percentage. The Lafayette, La., native earned All-SEC and NFCA All-South Region honors and heads into her junior year 11 home runs shy of cracking the Alabama career top-10.
Tow started 55 of the team's 56 games in her freshman campaign, leading the squad with 35 runs and 49 hits in 150 at-bats, good for a .327 batting average. She was second on the team with seven doubles, 11 home runs, 31 RBIs and 35 walks. Her 11 home runs are the fourth-highest total by a Tide freshman. In conference play, she ranked among the top 10 in home runs (2nd – 6), walks (3rd – 18), on-base percentage (3rd - .494), slugging percentage (8th - .632), batting average (9th - .353) and RBIs (10th – 15). For her efforts, the Madisonville, Ky., native earned NFCA Second Team All-America recognition and First Team All-SEC honors.
Alabama opens the 2019 season Feb. 8-10 at the Troy University Tournament in Troy, Ala. There, the Tide will face the host Trojans, along with Murray State and Maryland.
For the latest information on the team, follow @AlabamaSB on Twitter, BamaSB on Instagram and Alabama Softball on Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.
