Alabama Closes Home Stand Wednesday Against UAB

THIS WEEK: #4/4 ALABAMA (36-2) VS. UAB (14-20)
Wednesday, April 3 – 6 p.m. CT
Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Rhoads Stadium

SCOUTING ALABAMA

Alabama is 36-2 entering this week's games, owning a 7-2 record in conference play. The Crimson Tide currently sits atop the SEC standings
Wednesday's game against UAB wraps up a five-game home stand before Alabama heads to Columbia, S.C., for a three-game series with the Gamecocks
The Tide won its first two games last weekend against Mississippi State to clinch the weekend series before falling in the final game Sunday
For the second consecutive week, Alabama is No. 4 in both the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball top-25 rankings
Six of the Tide's regular starters are hitting above .300, led by sophomore Kaylee Tow at .372. Junior Bailey Hemphill is batting .339 with 16 home runs and an NCAA-best 54 RBIs, while sophomore Maddie Morgan is second on the team with a .349 batting average

ALL-TIME VS. UAB

Overall: Alabama leads 24-0
In Tuscaloosa: 12-0 | In Birmingham: 11-0 | At Neutral Sites: 1-0
Current Streak: Alabama +24
Last Meeting: Feb. 27, 2019 - Birmingham, Ala. - W, 8-0 (6)
Last Meeting in Tuscaloosa: March 20, 2018 - W, 10-5

LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA WINS WEEKEND SERIES VS. MISSISSIPPI STATE

Game One: Alabama 3, Mississippi State 2 (8 Inn.): Alabama trailed after Mississippi State scored a run in the top of the second, but a two-run single from sophomore Kaylee Tow in the fourth swung the lead in the Crimson Tide's favor. The score remained 2-1 until the Bulldogs tied it with a solo home run in the top of the seventh and Alabama could not score in the bottom half, sending the game to extra innings. After a 1-2-3 top of the eighth, the Tide loaded the bases in the bottom half and Tow battled to a full count, eventually taking ball four for the walk-off walk to win, 3-2.
Game Two: Alabama 8, Mississippi State 2: Alabama trailed early after Mississippi State plated a run in the top of the first, but a pair of home runs in the bottom half put the Tide ahead 4-1 and never trailed from that point on. The first of those home runs came from junior Bailey Hemphill, part of a 2-for-4 day with two RBIs. Sophomore KB Sides scored a pair of runs in the win, going 2-for-4 with an RBI. Senior Courtney Gettins was locked in from the circle Saturday, allowing just two runs, one earned, over 7.0 innings pitched with four strikeouts.
Game Three: Mississippi State 12, Alabama 9 (10 Inn.): Alabama was in an early five-run hole to Mississippi State though two innings before scoring nine unearned runs in a big fourth inning to swing the score in the Crimson Tide's favor, 9-5. The Bulldogs took three back in the fifth inning to make it a one-run game and then tied it at 9-9 in the top of the sixth. After three scoreless frames, a three-run home run in the top of the 10th gave Mississippi State a 12-9 lead and Alabama stranded the bases loaded in the bottom half to end the game.

ALABAMA AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS

The Tide leads the SEC and ranks seventh nationally with 86 stolen bases, averaging 2.24 per game
Alabama paces the conference and is sixth in the country with 59 home runs over 38 games, averaging 1.55 per contest
The Tide's 273 runs scored ranks fourth, with its 7.18 runs-per-game average ranked ninth
Junior Bailey Hemphill is the national leader with 54 RBIs and is tied for third with 16 home runs
Sophomore Kaylee Tow leads the NCAA with 44 walks, helping build a .567 on base percentage that ranks 11th
Freshman Montana Fouts leads the SEC and is seventh nationally with a 1.05 ERA, and her 6.53 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks 13th

ALABAMA IN SEC PLAY (TOP 5)

Home Runs - 21 - 1st
Walks - 64 - 1st
Stolen Bases - 17 - 1st
On Base Percentage - .456 - 1st
Slugging Percentage - .623 - 1st
Home Runs Allowed - 4 - 1st
Batting Average - .310 - 2nd
Walks Allowed - 19 - T2nd
Runs Scored - 75 - 3rd
Runs Batted In - 66 - 3rd
Earned Run Average - 3.08 - 3rd
Earned Runs Allowed - 28 - 3rd
Runs Allowed - 38 - 4th
Hits - 74 - 5th

GRAND SLAMS

After not hitting any grand slams through the first 24 games of the season, Alabama has hit five over its last 14 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 38 games, junior Bailey Hemphill is already closing in on multiple single-season top-10 marks at UA
Her 16 home runs is tied for 9th 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 54 RBIs is just six shy of the single-season top 10 at UA. The single-season record is 80, set by Marisa Runyon in 2015

ALABAMA RANKED NO. 4 IN BOTH POLLS FOR SECOND-STRAIGHT WEEK

A 3-1 week, including a series win against Mississippi State, helped Alabama softball maintain its spot in the national top-5, coming in at No. 4 in both the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball polls for the second-consecutive week
Alabama is the highest-ranked SEC team in both polls, joined in the top 10 by Tennessee (5/7), LSU (7/5) and Florida (8/9)
In total, 10 SEC programs are represented in at least one top 25 poll with Missouri receiving votes in both

UP NEXT
Alabama resumes SEC play with a three-game road series at No. 17/RV South Carolina, starting Friday, April 5 at 5 p.m. CT

Alabama Closes Home Stand Wednesday Against UAB

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Reagan Dykes

Montana Fouts

Courtney Gettins

Bailey Hemphill

Claire Jenkins

Maddie Morgan

KB Sides

Kaylee Tow

University of Alabama Athletics

Alabama Closes Home Stand Wednesday Against UAB

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Reagan Dykes

Montana Fouts

Courtney Gettins

Bailey Hemphill

Claire Jenkins

Maddie Morgan

KB Sides

Kaylee Tow

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