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Alabama Softball Closes Regular Season at Home Against Ole Miss

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Alabama Softball Closes Regular Season at Home Against Ole Miss

THIS WEEK: NO. 3 ALABAMA (39-7, 15-6 SEC) vs. NO. 25 OLE MISS (34-16, 12-9 SEC)

  • Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Rhoads Stadium
  • Thursday, May 6 – 6 p.m. CT | LIVE VIDEO
  • Friday, May 7 – 6 p.m. CT | LIVE VIDEO
  • Saturday, May 8 – 11 a.m. CT (SEC Network) | LIVE VIDEO

SCOUTING ALABAMA

  • No. 3 Alabama is 39-7 overall and 15-6 in SEC play after sweeping 21st-ranked Georgia on the road last weekend
  • Alabama has now won seven straight games, including six against ranked teams, outscoring its opponents 43-16
  • The Crimson Tide closes the regular season this weekend against Ole Miss before hosting the 2021 SEC Tournament starting Tuesday, May 11 at Rhoads Stadium
  • Sophomore Savannah Woodard was named the SEC Newcomer of the Week, Alabama’s ninth weekly accolade of the season
  • Alabama pitching leads the SEC with 385 strikeouts and is third with a 1.73 ERA
  • The Crimson Tide is No. 1 in this week’s NCAA RPI and No. 3 in the national polls
  • Alabama returned 17 players from last season, including all seven 2020 seniors, while UA added five freshmen

INSIDE THE SERIES VS. OLE MISS

  • Overall: Alabama leads 60-6
  • In Tuscaloosa: 30-2 | In Oxford: 29-3 | At Neutral Sites: 1-1
  • Current Streak: Alabama +1
  • Last Meeting: March 25, 2018 – Tuscaloosa, Ala. – W, 3-2

LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA AT GEORGIA

  • Alabama earned the weekend road sweep against Georgia, its first three-game sweep in Athens since 2001
  • The Tide has now won eight straight over the Bulldogs
  • Alabama scored a combined 23 runs over the weekend, just one shy of its highest series total ever against Georgia
  • Alexis Mack, Maddie Morgan and Kaylee Tow each earned at least one hit in every game, combining to go 14-for-34 (.412) with nine runs scored, three doubles, a home run, nine RBIs and seven walks
  • Montana Fouts pitched a pair of complete-game victories, striking out 20 over 14.0 innings with just four runs allowed on seven hits

SAVANNAH WOODARD NAMED SEC NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK

  • Sophomore infielder Savannah Woodard was named the SEC Softball Newcomer of the Week, an award created specifically by the SEC for spring sports this season to recognize student-athletes that were freshmen in 2020 and are now sophomores in 2021
  • Woodard reached base at least twice in all three games last weekend against 21st-ranked Georgia
  • After drawing a career-best two walks with a run scored and stolen base in game one, the Warrior, Ala., native went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBIs in game two, including two RBI singles and an RBI groundout
  • She added another RBI on a bases-loaded walk in the weekend finale, going 1-for-3 from the plate
  • The award is the first of Woodard’s career and Alabama’s third newcomer of the week honor, with Lexi Kilfoyl winning twice earlier this season

SEC WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS

  • Savannah Woodard’s SEC Newcomer of the Week award this week is the ninth weekly honor this season for Alabama, tied for the highest total in program history
  • The Tide has earned three Pitcher of the Week (Fouts x3), three Player of the Week (Hemphill x2, Tow) and three Newcomer of the Week (Kilfoyl x2, Woodard) awards this season

Most SEC Weekly Awards in a Season

  1. 2006 – 9 (5 Player, 4 Pitcher)
  2. 2021 – 9 (3 Player, 3 Pitcher, 3 Newcomer)
  3. 2019 – 7 (1 Player, 2 Pitcher, 4 Freshman)
  4. 2012 – 7 (4 Player, 3 Pitcher)
  5. 2008 – 7 (4 Player, 2 Pitcher, 1 Freshman)
  6. 2007 – 7 (3 Player, 1 Pitcher, 3 Freshman)

DOUBLE DIGIT STRIKEOUTS

  • Montana Fouts has thrown 10+ strikeouts 13 times this season, including seven of her last eight starts
  • Her seven most recent double-digit totals have come against ranked teams
  • Fouts’ 13 games with double-digit strikeouts is the third-highest total for any UA pitcher in a season

Most Games with 10+ Strikeouts in a Season

  1. 16 – Stephanie VanBrakle (2006)
  2. 16 – Kelsi Dunne (2010)
  3. 15 – Kelsi Dunne (2011)
  4. 15 – Alexis Osorio (2017)
  5. 13 – Montana Fouts (2021)

HEMPHILL TWO SHY OF UA CAREER HOME RUN RECORD

  • Senior Bailey Hemphill’s 58 career home runs is tied with Kaila Hunt (2011-14) and Charlotte Morgan (2007-10) for second in the UA career rankings, two shy of Kelly Kretschman’s (1998-2001) career record of 60
  • She is the fifth player in program history to reach the 50 home run mark, the first since Hunt
  • Hemphill tied the UA single-season record in 2019 with 26 home runs
  • With her second home run in game one against Auburn on March 12, Hemphill became the third player in program history to surpass the 200 career RBI mark, joining Charlotte Morgan (2007-10) and Kaila Hunt (2011-14) in the prestigious club
  • Now with 222 career RBIs, Hemphill passed Hunt’s total of 215 and continues to close in on Morgan’s school-record total of 264

ALABAMA LEAGUE PLAY LEADERS

Team Rankings (Top 3)

  • On Base Pct. – 1st – .384
  • Batters Struck Out – 1st – 169
  • Batting Avg. – 2nd – .288
  • Runs Scored – 2nd – 113
  • Hits – 2nd – 165
  • Runs Batted In – 2nd – 102
  • Stolen Bases – 2nd – 22
  • Caught Stealing By – 2nd – 5
  • Doubles – 3rd – 24
  • Walks – 3rd – 80
  • Hits Allowed – 3rd – 132
  • Earned Runs Allowed – 3rd – 47

Individual Rankings (Top 3)

  • Slugging Pct. – Bailey Hemphill – 1st – .904
  • Walks – Bailey Hemphill – 1st – 23
  • On Base Pct. – Bailey Hemphill – 1st – .642
  • Runs Batted In – Bailey Hemphill – 1st – 24
  • Batters Struck Out – Montana Fouts – 1st – 112
  • Caught Stealing By – Bailey Hemphill – 1st – 5
  • Batting Avg. – Bailey Hemphill – 2nd – .462
  • Runs Scored – Alexis Mack – 2nd – 21
  • Total Bases – Bailey Hemphill – 3rd – 47
  • Stolen Bases – Alexis Mack – 3rd – 9

UP NEXT – 2021 SEC TOURNAMENT (TUSCALOOSA, ALA.)

  • Tuesday, May 11-Saturday, May 15