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Alabama Softball Travels for Top 10 Matchup at Arkansas

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Alabama Softball Travels for Top 10 Matchup at Arkansas
3/7/21 Alabama softball vs South Alabama Alabama's Montana Fouts (14) Photo by Evan Pilat

This Week: No. 3 Alabama (29-4, 9-3 SEC) at No. 8 Arkansas (32-3, 12-0 SEC)

Scouting Alabama

  • No. 4 Alabama is 29-4 overall and 9-3 in SEC play after a weekend sweep over 24th-ranked Texas A&M last weekend
  • Sitting in third place in the SEC, the Crimson Tide’s next two opponents are first-place Arkansas (12-0) and second-place Florida (10-2)
  • Alabama pitching leads the SEC with 270 strikeouts and 44 walks allowed and is second with a 1.55 ERA, 62 runs allowed, 48 earned runs allowed and 29 wins
  • In SEC play, the Tide leads the league in eight offensive categories including batting average (.314), runs scored (77) and runs batted in (72)
  • Bailey Hemphill was named this week’s SEC Player of the Week and Lexi Kilfoyl the Newcomer of the Week
  • The Crimson Tide is ranked as high as No. 3 in this week’s national polls
  • Alabama returns 17 players from last season, including all seven 2020 seniors, while adding five freshmen

Inside the Series

  • Overall: Alabama leads 60-11
  • In Tuscaloosa: 32-2 | In Fayetteville: 23-8 | At Neutral Sites: 5-1
  • Current Streak: Alabama +2
  • Last Meeting: March 8, 2020 – Tuscaloosa, Ala. – W, 9-1 (6)
  • Last Meeting in Fayetteville: April 15, 2018 – L, 3-6

Last Time Out: Alabama vs. Texas A&M

  • Alabama swept its three-game series against Texas A&M last weekend in Tuscaloosa
  • The Crimson Tide is now 19-4 all-time against the Aggies, including an 8-1 record at home
  • Two of the wins came via run-rule, an 11-3 win in six innings on Thursday and a 14-6 victory in five innings on Saturday
  • Alabama scored in 10 of the 17 innings it came to bat, out-scoring Texas A&M 33-15
  • Of the three home runs hit over the weekend, two were grand slams, coming from Claire Jenkins and Kaylee Tow
  • Bailey Hemphill hit .833 over the weekend (5-for-6) along with five walks for a .923 on base percentage, reaching base safely in 12 of her 13 plate appearances
  • Alexis Mack was 7-for-10 (.700) with seven runs scored and four stolen bases from the leadoff spot, while Elissa Brown wasn’t far behind at 6-for-9 (.667) from the nine hole
  • Lexi Kilfoyl was a dual threat all weekend, pitching and hitting in all three games with a complete-game win Thursday, a save Friday and a 4-for-7 (.571) average with five walks and three RBIs over the series

Bailey Hemphill Sets Alabama Career Walks Record

  • Drawing her second walk of the day in the fourth inning of game one against Texas A&M, Bailey Hemphill improved her career total to 200, passing former Alabama record-holder Haylie McCleney to become the program’s all-time walks leader
  • Hemphill is just the fourth player in SEC history to draw 200 career walks

SEC Career Walks Leaders

  1. Amanda Lorenz (Florida) – 236 – 2016-19
  2. Devon Wallace (Arkansas) – 235 – 2012-15
  3. Kasey Cooper (Auburn) – 212 – 2014-17
  4. Bailey Hemphill (Alabama) – 203 – 2017-pres.

Hemphill and Kilfoyl Earn SEC Weekly Accolades

  • For the second time this season, Bailey Hemphill and Lexi Kilfoyl shared the spotlight with a pair of weekly awards from the Southeastern Conference, earning this week’s SEC Player of the Week and Newcomer of the Week accolades, respectively
  • The player of the week accolade is the second of Hemphill’s career, the first coming on March 16 earlier this season, and the third this year for Alabama with Kaylee Tow winning it on Feb. 22
  • In total, the Tide has earned 50 Player of the Week honors in program history
  • This is already Kilfoyl’s second newcomer of the week 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
  • Kilfoyl previously won the league’s inaugural award on March 16 and is the first player to win it twice

Alabama League Play Leaders

Team Rankings (Top 3)

  • Batting Average – 1st – .314
  • Runs Scored – 1st – 77
  • Doubles – 1st – 17
  • Hits – 1st – 106
  • On Base Percentage – 1st – .405
  • Runs Batted In – 1st – 72
  • Stolen Bases – 1st – 13
  • Batters Struck Out – 1st – 88
  • Runners Caught Stealing – 1st – 5
  • Walks – 2nd – 46
  • Wins – 3rd – 9

Individual Rankings (Top 3)

  • Batting Average – Bailey Hemphill – 2nd – .516
  • Runs Scored – Alexis Mack – 1st – 14
  • Runs Scored – Elissa Brown – 2nd – 11
  • Doubles – KB Sides – 1st – 5
  • Slugging Percentage – Bailey Hemphill – 1st – 1.097
  • Hits – Alexis Mack – 2nd – 17
  • On Base Percentage – Bailey Hemphill – 1st – .681
  • Walks – Bailey Hemphill – 1st – 12
  • Runs Batted In – Bailey Hemphill – 1st – 21
  • Home Runs – Bailey Hemphill – 2nd – 5
  • Stolen Bases – Alexis Mack – 1st – 6
  • Batters Struck Out – Montana Fouts – 1st – 48
  • Wins – Fouts/Kilfoyl – 3rd – 4
  • Caught Stealing By – Bailey Hemphill – 1st – 5

Up Next – Week 10

  • Wednesday, April 14 vs. Alabama State – Tuscaloosa, Ala. – 6 p.m. CT
  • Friday, April 16 vs. Florida – Tuscaloosa, Ala. – 6 p.m. CT
  • Saturday, April 17 vs. Florida – Tuscaloosa, Ala. – 1 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
  • Sunday, April 18 vs. Florida – Tuscaloosa, Ala. – 1 p.m. CT (SEC Network)