Alabama Welcomes Kentucky for Final Regular Season Home Series

THIS WEEK: #3/3 ALABAMA (45-4, 14-4 SEC) VS. #23/22 KENTUCKY (30-18, 12-9 SEC)
Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Rhoads Stadium

Friday, April 26 – 6:30 p.m. CT
- Promotions: T-Shirt Giveaway
Saturday, April 27 – 8 p.m. CT
- Promotions: Power of Pink
Sunday, April 28 – 2 p.m. CT
- Promotions: Taco vs. Hot Sauce Day

SCOUTING ALABAMA

Alabama is 46-4 entering this week's games, owning a 14-4 record in conference play, good for first place in the SEC standings
The Tide is on an eight-game winning streak, including series sweeps over Georgia at home and Florida on the road
Last time out, Alabama defeated Belmont, 6-4, in its final non-conference game of the regular season to finish 32-0 away from SEC competition
Alabama is up to No. 8 in this week's NCAA RPI, its highest mark of the season with remaining series against Kentucky (16) and LSU (7)
The Tide also earned its highest mark of the season in the national polls, coming in at No. 3 in the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball top-25
Five of the Tide's regular starters are hitting .300 or better, led by sophomore Kaylee Tow at .360 with junior Bailey Hemphill close behind at .358. Tow is the NCAA leader with 57 walks while Hemphill has 20 home runs and 64 RBIs, both of which rank fourth
Junior Elissa Brown is third on the team with a .333 batting average and is 38-for-41 in stolen bases, just one shy of becoming the seventh player in program history with 100 career stolen bases
Freshman Montana Fouts sports a 13-1 record and 0.97 ERA, striking out 125 over 101.0 innings pitched. Junior Krystal Goodman has a 1.04 ERA and a 9-0 record while junior Sarah Cornell is 18-1 with a 2.06 ERA over 98.2 innings

ALL-TIME VS. KENTUCKY

Overall: Alabama leads 46-7
In Tuscaloosa: 21-3 | In Lexington: 23-4 | At Neutral Sites: 2-0
Current Streak: Alabama +1
Last Meeting: April 1, 2018 - Lexington, Ky. - W, 9-3
Last Meeting in Tuscaloosa: April 24, 2016 - W, 3-0

LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA DEFEATS BELMONT IN CLASH IN CULLMAN

Alabama won its final midweek non-conference game of the regular season Tuesday night, defeating Belmont at the Clash in Cullman, 6-4
Alabama scored in each of the first three innings and tacked on another in the fifth to build a six-run lead before Belmont made a late push in the seventh, scoring four before a strikeout ended the rally
Junior Elissa Brown scored twice at the top of the order and stole three bases, with sophomore KB Sides also crossing the plate twice
Junior Taylor Clark earned her first hit as a member of the Crimson Tide before driving in a run later in the game
In the circle, senior Courtney Gettins got the win with 5.0 shutout innings

HEMPHILL AND FOUTS TOP-25 FINALISTS FOR USA SOFTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Junior Bailey Hemphill and freshman Montana Fouts are among 26 finalists for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, the organization announced Wednesday
Alabama is one of seven teams with multiple finalists on the list, along with Arizona, Florida, Florida State, Oklahoma, UCLA and Washington
Eight of the 26 hail from the Southeastern Conference, the most of any conference.
Hemphill is ranked in the top-five nationally in home runs (20) and RBIs (64) and is batting .350 with a team-leading 49 hits across 140 at-bats
Fouts, who was recently named a top-25 finalist for NFCA Freshman of the Year, leads the SEC and is sixth nationally with an 0.97 ERA and owns a 13-1 record and four saves across 19 appearances and 15 starts, holding opponents to 14 earned runs over 101.0 innings while striking out 125

MONTANA FOUTS NAMED SEC PITCHER OF THE WEEK

The rookie right-hander helped guide the Crimson Tide pitching staff to a dominant weekend on the road against Florida, with Fouts holding the Gators to just one run and three hits over 10.0 innings pitched
In game one, she threw a complete game with one run on two hits, striking out five
In the series finale, she entered in relief to throw 3.0 shutout innings behind junior Krystal Goodman, allowing just one hit to secure the 3-0 shutout victory and cap the series sweep
This is Fouts' first career SEC Pitcher of the Week award, previously earning three SEC Freshman of the Week awards this season
This is the Tide's second-straight Pitcher of the Week award after junior Sarah Cornell claimed the honor last week
Alabama has claimed 41 SEC Pitcher of the Week awards in program history and this is the sixth weekly accolade of the season for the Tide, its most since 2015

ELISSA BROWN APPROACHING 100 CAREER STOLEN BASES

Junior Elissa Brown is just one shy of becoming the seventh player in program history with 100 career stolen bases
The last Tide player to earn triple-digit stolen bases was Haylie McCleney (2013-16)
Of the six ranked above her in the career records, Brittany Rogers (2006-09), Kayla Braud (2010-13) and Kelly Kretschman (1998-01) were the only ones to reach 100 stolen bases before the end of their junior season
So far this season, Brown is 38-for-41 in stolen bases

TOW WALKING UP THE LEADERBOARDS

Sophomore Kaylee Tow is the NCAA leader with 57 walks, putting her within reach of the UA and SEC single-season records
Her 57 walks is currently tied for third all-time at Alabama, alongside Charlotte Morgan (2010) and Bailey Hemphill (2017)
She is four shy of tying Haylie McCleney (2015) for second with 61 and nine away from Cassie Reilly-Boccia's (2010) record of 66
Reilly-Boccia's mark is the fifth-highest in SEC single-season history, with Arkansas' Devon Wallace (2013) leading the way with 79
Three of the top five marks in SEC history have come in the last four years, including Auburn's Kasey Cooper (71 - 2016), Florida's Amanda Lorenz (70 - 2018) and Florida's Kayli Kvistad (67 - 2017)

ALABAMA AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS

The Tide leads the SEC and ranks fifth nationally with 118 stolen bases, one of only 10 teams in triple digits
Alabama paces the conference and is seventh in the country with 70 home runs over 50 games, averaging 1.40 per contest
The Tide is first in the SEC and fifth nationally with 338 runs scored, one of eight teams in the country with at least 330 runs scored
Junior Bailey Hemphill is fourth on the NCAA leaderboards with 64 RBIs and 20 home runs
Sophomore Kaylee Tow leads DI softball with 57 walks, eight better than second place, helping build a .557 on base percentage that ranks eighth
Junior Elissa Brown's 38 stolen bases is fifth nationally and only trails LSU's Aliyah Andrews for the SEC lead
Freshman Montana Fouts leads the SEC and is fifth among all Division-I pitchers with an 0.97 ERA

HOME SWEET HOME

Alabama is 22-1 at home this season, sporting its highest home winning percentage (.957) since 2011 when the Tide went 25-1 (.962)
Tide hitters have outscored the opponents 143-55 this season at Rhoads Stadium
31 of the team's 67 home runs have come at Rhoads Stadium, paced by nine from junior Bailey Hemphill
Tide pitching owns a 1.89 ERA this season at home, holding the opponent to two or fewer runs in 17 of the 23 games played

ALABAMA PITCHING IN SEC PLAY (TOP 3)

Earned Run Average - 1st - 2.36
Runs Allowed - 1st - 52
Earned Runs Allowed - 1st - 42
Home Runs Allowed - 1st - 9
Opposing Batting Average - 2nd - .231
Hits Allowed - 3rd - 109

ALABAMA HITTING IN SEC PLAY (TOP 3)

On Base Percentage - 1st - .422
Walks - 1st - 108
Stolen Bases - 1st - 37
Triples - 1st - 6
Slugging Percentage - 2nd - .516
Home Runs - 2nd - 29
Batting Average - 3rd - .283
Runs Scored - 3rd - 112
Hits - 3rd - 132
Runs Batted In - 3rd - 96

SEC DOWN THE STRETCH

Leading the SEC standings with two weeks remaining, Alabama is within striking distance of claiming its sixth regular season SEC Championship
Sitting at 14-4, the Tide has six conference games remaining while second-place LSU is at 14-7 with only three left on its schedule. The two teams will meet May 3-5 in Baton Rouge to close out the regular season
Four conference wins gives Alabama sole possession of the SEC Championship, while three could earn at least a share
If Ole Miss sweeps its remaining six games, it would finish at 17-6 due to a rainout earlier this season
Tennessee could sweep its remaining six games and finish at 17-7
Teams outside the top four that could be in contention with losses to teams in front of them are Missouri at 10-8 and Kentucky at 11-9
The SEC recognizes co-champions for the regular season title, with tie-breakers only implemented to determine SEC Tournament seeding

ALABAMA EARNS HIGHEST RANKING OF THE SEASON AT NO. 3 (APRIL 23)

A seven-game winning streak, including a series sweep on the road last weekend, helped propel Alabama softball to its highest ranking of the season at No. 3 in both the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball top-25 polls
With two weeks of conference play remaining, Alabama is the highest-ranked SEC team in both polls, joined in the top 10 by Florida (7/10), Tennessee (9/9) and LSU (10/7)
In total, 10 SEC programs are represented in both top-25 polls with Missouri also receiving votes in both

UP NEXT
This weekend, Alabama closes out the home portion of its 2019 regular season with a three-game series against Kentucky at Rhoads Stadium, beginning Friday, April 26 at 6:30 p.m. CT. Game two is an 8 p.m. CT first pitch Saturday, April 27 on ESPN with the finale at 2 p.m. CT on Sunday, April 28 on SEC Network.

Alabama Welcomes Kentucky for Final Regular Season Home Series

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Elissa Brown

Taylor Clark

Sarah Cornell

Montana Fouts

Courtney Gettins

Krystal Goodman

Bailey Hemphill

KB Sides

Kaylee Tow

University of Alabama Athletics

Alabama Welcomes Kentucky for Final Regular Season Home Series

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Elissa Brown

Taylor Clark

Sarah Cornell

Montana Fouts

Courtney Gettins

Krystal Goodman

Bailey Hemphill

KB Sides

Kaylee Tow

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