Thursday, March 28
Lexington, KY
5:30 p.m. CT
Alabama
at
Kentucky
Alabama Travels to Lexington for Three-Game Series vs. Kentucky
3/27/2024 9:21:00 AM | Softball
Game Notes (PDF)Live Audio (97.5 FM)Thursday Live StatsThursday Video (SECN+)Friday Live StatsFriday Video (SECN+)Saturday Live StatsSaturday Video (SECN+)
The Crimson Tide and Wildcats open the series at John Cropp Stadium Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – After a weekend out of conference, No. 13/14 Alabama (25-6, 2-4 SEC) resumes SEC play on the road this weekend, facing Kentucky (21-11, 0-6 SEC) for three games at John Cropp Stadium beginning Thursday, March 28 at 5:30 p.m. CT.
This Weekend: #13/14 Alabama (25-6, 2-4 SEC) at Kentucky (21-11, 0-6 SEC)
- Lexington, Ky. – John Cropp Stadium
- Thursday, March 28 – 5:30 p.m. CT
- Friday, March 29 – 5:30 p.m. CT
- Saturday, March 30 – 1 p.m. CT
- Streaming: SECN+
- Radio: The Crimson Tide Sports Network at 97.5 FM in Tuscaloosa | nick975.com
Scouting Alabama
- After a week away from conference play, Alabama resumes SEC action on the road this weekend at Kentucky starting Thursday, March 28 at 5:30 p.m. CT
- The Crimson Tide heads into the weekend at 25-6 overall following a weekend split of two games against No. 16 Virginia Tech
- Tide pitching is third in the SEC in ERA (1.60), runs allowed (65), earned runs allowed (46) and hits allowed (137)
- The Alabama defense is tied for third in the SEC with 15 double plays turned with Kenleigh Cahalan's 76 assists leading the league
- Alabama returns 15 letterwinners from last year's Women's College World Series squad, including 2023 All-SEC honoree Larissa Preuitt, 2023 NFCA All-Region Kenleigh Cahalan, 2023 All-SEC and SEC All-Tournament Team Jenna Johnson and 2022 All-SEC and All-Region Bailey Dowling
- Seven newcomers are on the Tide roster in 2024, including freshmen Lauren Johnson (Franklin, Tenn.) and Jocelyn Briski (Phoenix, Ariz.) and transfers Kayla Beaver (Central Arkansas), Kendal Clark (DMACC), Alea Johnson (LSU), Kinley Pate (Samford) and Riley Valentine (Texas A&M)
Inside the Series
- Overall vs. Kentucky: 54-12
- In Tuscaloosa: 27-6 | In Lexington: 24-6 | At Neutral Sites: 3-0
- Current Streak: Kentucky +1
- Last Meeting: March 20, 2022 - Tuscaloosa, Ala. - L, 4-9
- Last Meeting in Lexington: March 29, 2021 - L, 4-5 (8 Inn.)
Last Time Out: vs. Virginia Tech
- Alabama split a two-game out of conference series last weekend with Virginia Tech, winning game one 1-0 before falling in the second game, 8-3, in extra innings
- Kayla Beaver threw a complete-game shutout in the opener, striking out six to hand the Hokies their first shutout loss of the season
- Facing a 3-0 deficit in the bottom of the seventh in game two, the Tide scored three to send it to extras but Virginia Tech responded with five runs in the top of the eighth to ultimately win
- Saturday was Alabama's first extra inning game of the season
- Kenleigh Cahalan had two triples in Saturday's game, the first of her career and just the fifth time an Alabama player has hit two triples in a game
- Kendal Clark hit the go-ahead RBI single in game one and scored the first run of the seventh-inning comeback in game two after a leadoff triple to start the rally
- Defensively, Cahalan's eight assists on Friday are the most in a game for any Tide player since 2018 and just the eighth time in program history a player has recorded eight or more assists
Tide Trends
- Alabama is 21-1 this season when scoring first and 13-0 when scoring in the first inning
- The Crimson Tide is 25-0 when tied or leading after 4.0 innings
- Over the last nine games, Kenleigh Cahalan is hitting 9-for-25 (.360) with three runs scored, eight RBIs, three doubles, two triples and a home run
- Jenna Johnson has a hit in four of her last five games, batting 5-for-16 (.313) with four RBIs and three runs scored over that stretch
- Bailey Dowling has reached base safely in nine of the last 10 games, including multi-hit performances vs. Florida State (March 13) and Samford (March 19)
- Kayla Beaver owns a 1.26 ERA vs. ranked teams this season, allowing just eight earned runs over 44.1 innings with 32 strikeouts
Triple Threat
- Alabama's three triples Saturday vs. Virginia Tech is tied for the single-game school record, the seventh three triple game in program history and first since Feb. 14, 2016 vs. Liberty
- Two of the three triples came from Kenleigh Cahalan, making her just the fifth Tide player to hit two triples in a game, the first since Sydney Booker vs. UAB on March 20, 2018
Turning Two
- Alabama has turned 15 double plays through 31 games this season, which is four shy of cracking the single-season top 10
- The Tide turned 19 double plays in 2022, its most since hitting the same mark in 2018
- Alabama hasn't reached 20 or more double plays in a season since 2007
Kayla Beaver and Abby Duchscherer earn National Recognition from Softball America and D1 Softball
- Softball America released its updated player position rankings at the beginning of March, with Kayla Beaver at No. 3 on its pitchers list
- Beaver is 10-2 with three saves over 17 appearances this season, including eight complete games and four solo shutouts while striking out 88 batters over 85.2 innings pitched
- Abby Duchscherer came in at No. 5 for first base on both Softball America and D1 Softball's lates position power rankings
- Duchscherer is batting .333 on the season with a team-leading 30 hits, five doubles, six home runs and 26 RBIs
Alabama in the SEC Rankings (Top 5)
Team
- ERA - 3rd - 1.60
- Batters Struck Out - T3rd - 210
- Runs Allowed - 3rd - 65
- Earned Runs Allowed - 3rd - 46
- Hits Allowed - 3rd - 137
- Hit By Pitch - 3rd - 32
- Double Plays Turned - T3rd - 15
- Opposing Batting Avg. - 4th - .190
- Home Runs Allowed - T4th - 12
- Runners Caught Stealing - T4th - 6
Individual
- Assists - 1st - Kenleigh Cahalan - 76
- Hit by Pitch - T4th - Jenna Johnson - 9
- ERA - 5th - Kayla Beaver - 0.90
Alabama in SEC Play
- Alabama is 504-201 (.715) all-time in SEC play, including a 469-180 (.723) mark under Head Coach Patrick Murphy
- The Crimson Tide has won six SEC regular season titles (2006, '10, '11, '12, '14 and '19) and six SEC Tournament titles (1998, 2003, '05, '10, '12 and '21)
- Alabama has never had a losing record in conference play, winning 20 or more conference games 11 times
- The Tide is the only team to win the SEC Tournament on its home field, doing so in 2012 and 2021
Sweet Home Alabama
- Alabama sports a 723-139 (.839) all-time record at home, including a 687-123 (.848) mark under Head Coach Patrick Murphy (1999-pres.) and a 668-119 (.849) record at Rhoads Stadium, the Tide's home field since 2000
- Since Rhoads Stadium opened in 2000, Alabama has won at least 25 home games in 20 of its 24 previous years there
Alabama Softball Scheduled for 16 TV Games
- The Crimson Tide is slated to appear 16 times on the ESPN family of networks throughout the 2024 regular season
- Over half of the Crimson Tide's league slate will be nationally televised, including the entirety of the Texas A&M (April 13-15) and Auburn (May 2-4) series
- A non-conference matchup on the road at Florida State on Wednesday, March 13 will also be aired on the ACC Network
- All home games and every SEC road game will also be streamed online through the SEC Network Plus digital platform, available at WatchESPN.com or on the ESPN app
- Additionally, the entirety of the 2024 SEC Softball Tournament will also be aired live on the ESPN family of networks
Alabama 2024 TV Schedule
- Sunday, March 10 vs. Florida - SEC Network
- Monday, March 11 vs. Florida - SEC Network
- Wednesday, March 13 at Florida State - ACC Network
- Saturday, March 16 at Georgia - SEC Network
- Sunday, March 17 at Georgia - SEC Network
- Saturday, April 6 vs. Ole Miss - SEC Network
- Saturday, April 13 vs. Texas A&M - ESPN2
- Sunday, April 14 vs. Texas A&M - ESPN2
- Monday, April 15 vs. Texas A&M - SEC Network
- Saturday, April 20 at Arkansas - SEC Network
- Sunday, April 21 at Arkansas - ESPNU
- Saturday, April 27 vs. Tennessee - ESPN2
- Sunday, April 28 vs. Tennessee - ESPNU
- Thursday, May 2 at Auburn - ESPNU
- Friday, May 3 at Auburn - SEC Network
- Saturday, May 4 at Auburn - SEC Network
Up Next
- Tuesday, April 2 at Jacksonville State - Jacksonville, Ala. - 6 p.m. CT
- Friday, April 5 vs. Ole Miss - Tuscaloosa, Ala. - 6 p.m. CT
- Saturday, April 6 vs. Ole Miss - Tuscaloosa, Ala. - 5 p.m. CT - SEC Network
- Sunday, April 5 vs. Ole Miss - Tuscaloosa, Ala. - 1:30 p.m. CT
Players Mentioned
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UTIL
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C
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