Alabama Opens Home Stand Wednesday Against Georgia Tech on SEC Network

Wednesday, March 27

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

6:30 p.m. CT

Alabama

Georgia Tech

Alabama Opens Home Stand Wednesday Against Georgia Tech on SEC Network

3/26/2019 3:08:00 PM | Softball

Game Notes (PDF)Live Stats Live Audio (93.3 FM)Live Video (SEC Network)

THIS WEEK: ALABAMA (33-1) VS. GEORGIA TECH (22-12)

Wednesday, March 27 – 6:30 p.m. CT
Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Rhoads Stadium
SEC Network

SCOUTING ALABAMA

Alabama is 33-1 entering this week's games, owning a 5-1 record in conference play. The Crimson Tide currently sits atop the SEC standings
Last weekend, Alabama won its first two games on the road at Texas A&M in run-rule fashion, 13-3 and 11-1, to clinch the series before falling in game three, 4-3, on a walk-off RBI single
The Tide took its first loss of the season Sunday at Texas A&M, ending a streak of 33-straight wins. It marked the best start in program history, beating the previous record of 27-0 from 2001, and is the third-longest such streak in NCAA Division-I history
Alabama is No. 4 in this week's USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball top-25 rankings
Seven of the Tide's regular starters are hitting above .300, led by sophomore Kaylee Tow at .390. Junior Bailey Hemphill is batting .343 with 15 home runs and an NCAA-best 51 RBIs

LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA WINS WEEKEND SERIES AT TEXAS A&M

Overall: Alabama leads 14-3
In Tuscaloosa: 8-1 | In Atlanta: 3-1 | At Neutral Sites: 3-1
Current Streak: Alabama +10
Last Meeting: March 14, 2018 in Atlanta, Ga. - W, 3-1
Last Meeting in Tuscaloosa: March 25, 2015 - W, 11-0 (6)

LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA WINS WEEKEND SERIES AT TEXAS A&M

Alabama went 2-1 last weekend at Texas A&M, winning the first two games in run-rule fashion before falling in the series finale, the Crimson Tide's first loss of the season
The two run-rule victories over the Aggies improve the Tide's season total to 10 such wins. Alabama has now scored 10 or more runs in four of its six SEC games this season
Sophomore Kaylee Tow led the Tide offense against the Aggies, batting .571 (4-for-7) with four runs scored, four RBIs and six walks. She reached base safely in each game, extending her streak to 15 games. She is the NCAA leader with 38 walks and in SEC games she leads the league in slugging percentage (1.188) and is second in batting average (.563).
Senior Merris Schroder returned to her home state and batted .333 (3-for-9) on the weekend, with two of her hits being home runs. She hit a solo home run in each of the first two games, adding a two-run single in the second game as part of a 2-for-3 day at the plate with three RBIs. She is now tied for second on the team with eight home runs this season.
Juniors Bailey Hemphill and Claire Jenkins each slugged a pair of home runs over the weekend, giving Jenkins eight this season and Hemphill a team-leading 15. Jenkins has hit a home run in four of the six SEC games, while Hemphill's 15 home runs ranks in the top-5 nationally and her 51 RBIs leads the NCAA.

ONE OF THE BEST STARTS IN NCAA HISTORY
Alabama won 33 games before taking its first loss of the season, marking the best start to a season in program history and the third-longest in NCAA Division-I softball history

Best Starts in NCAA Division-I Softball History

Oregon (2017) - 35-0 *WCWS*
UCLA (1999) - 35-0 *National Champion*
Alabama (2019) 33-0
UCLA (1992) - 33-0 *National Champion*
Cal (2001) - 32-0 *WCWS*

ALABAMA AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS

The Tide leads the SEC and ranks seventh nationally with 77 stolen bases, averaging 2.26 per game
Alabama paces the conference and is fifth nationally with 54 home runs over 34 games, averaging 1.59 per contest
The Tide's 249 runs scored ranks third nationally, with its 7.32 runs-per-game average at 10th
Junior Bailey Hemphill is the national leader with 51 RBIs and is tied for fourth with 15 home runs
Sophomore Kaylee Tow leads the NCAA with 38 walks, helping build a .577 on base percentage that ranks 10th. She also sits at 18th with 36 RBIs
Freshman Montana Fouts is second in the SEC and 10th nationally with a 1.05 ERA, throwing more innings than seven of the nine ranked above her, and her 6.53 strikeout-to-walk ratio is 15th in the country

HEMPHILL CLOSING IN ON SINGLE-SEASON TOP 10

Through just 34 games, junior Bailey Hemphill is already closing in on multiple single-season top-10 marks at UA
Her 15 home runs is already tied for 10th all-time at UA, the most since Leona Lafaele finished with 16 in 2016
The single-season record for home runs is 25, set by Kelly Kretschman in 1998. The only other player to surpass 20 home runs in a season was Kaila Hunt with 21 in 2012
Hemphill's NCAA-leading 51 RBIs is just nine shy of the single-season top 10 at UA. The single-season record is 80, set by Marisa Runyon in 2015

GRAND SLAMS

After not hitting any grand slams through the first 24 games of the season, Alabama has hit four over its last 10 games
The four over that span already surpasses the entire season totals from 2018 and 2017. Alabama hit four grand slams in 2016
The UA single-season record for grand slams is seven, set in 2015. The Tide hit six in 2008, 2010 and 2011

2019 Alabama Grand Slams

Reagan Dykes vs. Missouri - March 10
Bailey Hemphill vs. Niagara - March 14
Kaylee Tow vs. Niagara - March 15
Bailey Hemphill at Texas A&M - March 23

ALABAMA RANKED NO. 4 IN WEEK SEVEN POLLS

A series win on the road at Texas A&M last weekend helped Alabama softball maintain its position near the top of the national rankings this week, coming in at No. 4 in both the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball polls
Alabama is the highest-ranked SEC team in both polls, joined in the top 10 by Tennessee (5/6), Florida (6/7) and LSU (8/5)
In total, 10 SEC programs are represented in the top 25 with two others receiving votes in at least one poll

MURPHY HITS SEC WIN MILESTONE
Alabama's win in game one of the series against Missouri marked the 400th SEC win of head coach Patrick Murphy's career. He is the only head coach in league history to reach 400 conference wins, with no current or former coach having reached 300.

SEC Wins (as of 3/26/19)

Patrick Murphy (Alabama 1999-pres.) - 404
Lu Harris Champer (Georgia 2000-pres.) - 295
Ralph and Karen Weekly (Tennessee 2002-pres.) - 289
Tim Walton (Florida 2006-pres.) - 262
Yvette Girouard (LSU 2001-11) - 220

UP NEXT
Alabama plays its third SEC series of the season, welcoming Mississippi State (20-10, 1-5 SEC) to Rhoads Stadium. Action begins Friday, March 29 at 6:30 p.m. CT, continues Saturday, March 30 at 2 p.m. CT and concludes Sunday, March 31 at 1:30 p.m. CT.