Crimson Tide to Open 2019 Season at Trojan Classic

Friday, February 8

Troy, Ala.

12:30 p.m. CT

Alabama

Murray State

Photo by: Kristen Taylor

Crimson Tide to Open 2019 Season at Trojan Classic

2/7/2019 11:03:00 AM | Softball

Game Notes (PDF)Live Audio (93.3 FM)Friday Stats vs. Murray State Friday Stats vs. Troy Friday Video vs. Troy Saturday Stats vs. Maryland Saturday Stats vs. Murray State Sunday Stats vs. Troy Sunday Video vs. Troy

THIS WEEKEND: TROJAN CLASSIC
Troy, Ala. – Troy Softball Complex

Friday, Feb. 8
vs. Murray State – 12:30 p.m.
at Troy – 5:30 p.m. CT

Saturday, Feb. 9
vs. Maryland – 10 a.m. CT
vs. Murray State – 12:30 p.m. CT

Sunday, Feb. 10 at Troy – 12:30 p.m. CT

SCOUTING ALABAMA (0-0, 0-0 SEC)

Alabama returns 12 student-athletes from last year's roster along with seven newcomers, including four freshmen and three transfers. Among the returnees are 2018 All-American Kaylee Tow and All-Region honorees Elissa Brown and Bailey Hemphill
The bullpen sports five pitchers this season, the largest contingent in program history. The previous high was four during the Tide's 2012 national championship season
Alabama enters the season ranked No. 9 in the preseason NFCA poll and No. 11 in the USA Softball poll. The Tide has been ranked in the preseason top-10 in at least one poll every year since 2006

ALL-TIME VS. MURRAY STATE

Overall: First Meeting

ALL-TIME VS. TROY

Overall: 20th Meeting (Alabama leads 19-0)
In Tuscaloosa: 11-0 | In Troy: 6-0 | At Neutral Sites: 2-0
Current Streak: Alabama +19
Last Meeting: Feb. 2016 – Tuscaloosa, Ala. – W, 8-0 (5)

ALL-TIME VS. MARYLAND

Overall: 13th Meeting (Alabama leads 11-1)
In Tuscaloosa: 5-0 | In College Park: 2-0 | At Neutral Sites: 4-1
Current Streak: Alabama +1
Last Meeting: Feb. 21, 2016 – Atlanta, Ga. – W, 10-5

2018 REVIEW

Alabama finished last season with a 36-20 record, including a 12-12 mark in SEC play
The Tide ranked No. 14 in both national polls at the end of the 2018 season, marking its 19th-straight top-25 finish
Alabama made its 20th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and its 14th-straight Super Regional appearance. The Tide is one of just eight teams with a NCAA Tournament streak of at least 20 years and is the only team to appear in all 14 Super Regional rounds since its introduction in 2005. Alabama swept its three regional opponents, stretching its regional win streak to 37-straight games, also a NCAA best. The Tide has not lost a game in NCAA regional play since 2007.
Kaylee Tow had a stellar debut season, earning NFCA Second Team All-America honors. She is the 11th Tide freshman to earn national recognition and it marked the 54th All-America award in program history, giving Alabama at least one All-American every year since 1998.

STARTING THE SEASON STRONG

Alabama is 84-19 all-time on opening weekend. The Tide has only lost three games on opening weekend since 2004 and only one since 2010
The Tide is 44-2 when playing in the state of Alabama on opening weekend, including a 5-0 mark in Troy, Ala., when the Tide traveled there to start the 2014 season
Alabama is 15-0 when playing in-state opponents on opening weekend, including a 2-0 mark against Troy

ALABAMA RANKED NO. 9 IN PRESEASON NFCA POLL

Alabama is ranked No. 9 in the preseason NFCA poll and No. 11 in the USA Softball poll
The Crimson Tide finished last season ranked No. 14 in both polls, marking its 19th-straight top-25 finish
Since 2006, Alabama has started every season ranked in the top-10 in at least one poll
This year's schedule features 22 games against eight teams ranked in the preseason top 25, including No. 5/5 Florida, No. 6/7 Georgia, No. 7/6 Arizona, No. 9/9 South Carolina, No. 11/10 LSU, No. 13/15 Kentucky, No. 20/20 Texas A&M and No. 24/RV Mississippi State.

BROWN NAMED TO TOP 50 WATCH LIST FOR USA SOFTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Alabama junior outfielder Elissa Brown was selected to the Top 50 Watch List for USA Softball Player of the Year, released Jan. 30
The list is composed of 24 seniors, 16 juniors and 10 sophomores, with freshmen ineligible for inclusion on the initial watch list
Brown led the Crimson Tide last season with a .341 batting average tallying 45 hits and 29 runs scored. She was 30-for-34 in stolen bases, with 10 of those coming in conference play
For her efforts in 2018, she earned All-SEC and NFCA All-South Region honors
The Eclectic, Ala., native enters her junior season ranked fifth in career stolen base percentage at Alabama (.897) and ninth in stolen bases (61)

HEMPHILL AND TOW NAMED PRESEASON ALL-SEC

Alabama junior Bailey Hemphill and sophomore Kaylee Tow were among those selected to the Southeastern Conference's 2019 Preseason All-SEC Team.
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.

FOUTS AND WALLACE MAKE 2019 USA JUNIOR WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER

Alabama freshmen Montana Fouts and Skylar Wallace were both selected to the 2019 Junior Women's National Training Team following tryouts in January
The roster of 20 was selected from a field of 42 athletes and will be further narrowed to 17 prior to the World Baseball Softball Confederation World Championships this summer
Alabama and UCLA are the only schools with multiple freshmen on the roster, and the Tide is the only SEC school with a current freshman on the roster
Additionally, Alabama signee Lexi Kilfoyl made the squad. She is a high school senior from Land O' Lakes, Fla. and is making her second appearance on the JWNT, previously playing alongside current Tide players Elissa Brown and Kaylee Tow on the gold-medal winning squad in 2017

TIDE TO BE FEATURED 11 TIMES ON NATIONAL TELEVISION

Alabama softball is slated to appear 11 times across ESPN's family of networks during the regular season, playing in at least one televised contest in seven of its eight conference 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
Alabama's 2019 regular season TV schedule features two games on ESPN, three on ESPN2, one on ESPNU and five on SEC Network

2019 Alabama Softball TV Schedule (All Times Central)

Sunday, March 10 vs. Missouri - 1 p.m. - SEC Network
Saturday, April 6 at South Carolina - 5 p.m. - ESPN
Saturday, April 13 vs. Georgia - 11 a.m. - ESPN2
Sunday, April 14 vs. Georgia - 6 p.m. - SEC Network
Monday, April 15 vs. Georgia - 6 p.m. - SEC Network
Friday, April 19 at Florida - 4:30 p.m. - ESPN2
Saturday, April 20 at Florida - 1 p.m. - ESPN
Saturday, April 27 vs. Kentucky - 5:30 p.m. - ESPNU
Sunday, April 28 vs. Kentucky - 2 p.m. - SEC Network
Friday, May 3 at LSU - 6 p.m. - ESPN2
Sunday, May 5 at LSU - 1 p.m. - SEC Network (Bases Loaded coverage)

UP NEXT
Alabama heads west to Tucson, Ariz., and the campus of the University of Arizona for the Hillenbrand Invitational. The Tide opens play on Friday, Feb. 15 against USF (1:15 p.m. CT) and New Mexico (3:30 p.m. CT), continues Saturday, Feb. 16 against Cal State Fullerton (3:30 p.m. CT) and Arizona (5:45 p.m. CT), before concluding Sunday, Feb. 17 against UIC (1:15 p.m. CT).