Alabama
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Mississippi State
Alabama Welcomes Mississippi State for Three-Game Conference Series
3/28/2019 3:58:00 PM | Softball
THIS WEEKEND: ALABAMA (34-1, 5-1 SEC) VS. MISSISSIPPI STATE (21-10, 1-5 SEC)
Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Rhoads Stadium
- Friday, March 29 – 6:30 p.m. CT
- Saturday, March 30 – 2 p.m. CT
- Sunday, March 31 – 1:30 p.m. CT
SCOUTING ALABAMA
- Alabama is 34-1 entering this week's games, owning a 5-1 record in conference play. The Crimson Tide currently sits atop the SEC standings
- Alabama is in the middle of a five-game home stand, which started Wednesday with a 4-3 win over Georgia Tech
- 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 .388. Junior Bailey Hemphill is batting .340 with 15 home runs and an NCAA-best 51 RBIs, while junior Elissa Brown is second on the team with a .349 batting average and second in the SEC with 25 stolen bases
ALL-TIME VS. MISSISSIPPI STATE
- Overall: Alabama leads 60-10
- In Tuscaloosa: 28-2 | In Starkville: 25-7 | At Neutral Sites: 7-1
- Current Streak: Alabama +1
- Last Meeting: March 19, 2017 - Starkville, Miss. - W, 3-0
- Last Meeting in Tuscaloosa: April 10, 2016 - W, 8-1
LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA EDGES OUT GEORGIA TECH, 4-3
A fifth-inning grand slam from junior Claire Jenkins made all the difference in Alabama softball's 4-3 win Wednesday night over Georgia Tech at Rhoads Stadium.
Alabama fell behind, 2-0, after a pair of RBI doubles by Georgia Tech in the third and fourth innings. The Crimson Tide started to gather some momentum in the bottom of the fifth, sparked by a leadoff single from junior Elissa Brown. A pair of walks eventually loaded the bases with one out, setting up Jenkins for the go-ahead grand slam. Alabama has now hit five grand slams over its last 11 games, already surpassing the season totals from each of the last three years.
The Yellow Jackets tried to rally in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases with two out before an infield single moved everyone up 60 feet to make it a one-run ballgame. Alabama used three different pitchers in the inning, but ultimately it was junior starter Sarah Cornell who re-entered to secure the final out and earn her 13th win of the season.
ALABAMA AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS
- The Tide leads the SEC and ranks seventh nationally with 81 stolen bases, averaging 2.31 per game
- Alabama paces the conference and is fifth in the country with 55 home runs over 35 games, averaging 1.57 per contest
- The Tide's 253 runs scored ranks in the top-five, with its 7.23 runs-per-game average among the top-10
- 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 39 walks, helping build a .575 on base percentage that ranks among the top-10
- Freshman Montana Fouts is second in the SEC and top-10 nationally with a 1.05 ERA, and her 6.53 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks in the top-20
GRAND SLAMS
- After not hitting any grand slams through the first 24 games of the season, Alabama has hit five over its last 11 games
- The five over that span already surpasses the entire season totals from 2016, 2017 and 2018
- 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
- Claire Jenkins vs. Georgia Tech - March 27
HEMPHILL CLOSING IN ON SINGLE-SEASON TOP 10
- Through just 35 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
UP NEXT
Alabama closes its home stand Wednesday, April 3 against UAB at 6 p.m. CT before heading to Columbia, S.C., for a three-game series at No. 16/25 South Carolina beginning Friday, April 5 at 5 p.m. CT
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