Alabama Softball Welcomes Florida for Top-Five Matchup in Tuscaloosa

Mar 12, 2021; Auburn, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide Bailey Hemphill (16) reacts after scoring during the game between Auburn and Alabama at Jane B. Moore Field. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood/AU Athletics

This Week: No. 3 ALABAMA (32-5, 11-4 SEC) vs. No. 4 Florida (30-5, 10-2 SEC)

• Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Rhoads Stadium
• Friday, April 16 – 6 p.m. CT | LIVE VIDEO
• Saturday, April 17 – 1 p.m. CT (ESPN2) | LIVE VIDEO
• Sunday, April 18 – 1 p.m. CT (SEC Network) | LIVE VIDEO

Scouting Alabama

• No. 3 Alabama is 32-5 overall and 11-4 in SEC play after a midweek run-rule win over Alabama State on Wednesday
• The Crimson Tide is two games behind Arkansas in the league standings with three remaining series against Florida, Georgia and Ole Miss
• Alabama pitching leads the SEC with 313 strikeouts and is second with a 1.59 ERA and 32 wins
• In SEC play, the Tide leads the league in five offensive categories including hits (123) and runs scored (84)
• 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 Florida 41-37
• In Tuscaloosa: 17-14 | In Gainesville: 21-13 | At Neutral Sites: 3-10
• Current Streak: Alabama +1
• Last Meeting: June 1, 2019 – W, 15-3 (5 Inn.) – Oklahoma City, Okla. (WCWS)
• Last Meeting in Tuscaloosa: April 9, 2018 – L, 2-3 

Last Time Out: Alabama vs. Alabama State

• Alabama earned a convincing 11-3 win over Alabama State in five innings Wednesday night in Tuscaloosa
• The run-rule victory was the ninth this season for the Crimson Tide
• The 17 hits were the most this season for Alabama and its most since tallying 17 on Feb. 9, 2019 against Murray State
• Fifteen different players made a plate appearance with 12 earning a hit
• Alexis Mack, Elissa Brown, Kat Grill, Kaylee Tow and Savannah Woodard each posted multi-hit performances
• Woodard’s 2-for-2 day extended her hit streak to five games
• A third-inning RBI single for KB Sides extended her hitting streak to six games and her reached-base streak to a team-leading 15 games
• Krystal Goodman tied her career high with seven strikeouts, previously doing so on May 5, 2019 at LSU
• KJ Haney’s home run was her first collegiate hit in just her third at-bat of the season

Montana Fouts Named SEC Pitcher of the Week

• Fouts shut down a potent Razorback offense last weekend in Fayetteville, allowing just three runs, all unearned, across 14.0 innings with 23 strikeouts, posting double-digit Ks in each game
• Prior to last weekend, Arkansas had hit at least one home run in 31 of its 35 games; they didn’t hit any home runs off Fouts and only two of their eight hits went for extra bases
• In Sunday’s series rubber match, the Grayson, Ky., native threw a three-hit shutout, marking just the second time this season the Razorbacks have been shut out
• It was the first home series loss for Arkansas since 2017 and the first series win in Fayetteville for Alabama since 2015
• It is Fouts’ second pitcher of the week award this season and the third of her career
• She also earned four freshman of the week awards during her 2019 rookie campaign

SEC Weekly Award Winners

• Fouts’ Pitcher of the Week award this week is the seventh weekly honor this season for Alabama, marking its second-highest total in program history
• The Tide has earned two Pitcher of the Week (Fouts x2), three Player of the Week (Hemphill x2, Tow) and two Newcomer of the Week (Kilfoyl x2) awards this season

Most SEC Weekly Awards in a Season

1. 2006 – 9 (5 Player, 4 Pitcher)
2. 2021 – 7 (3 Player, 2 Pitcher, 2 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) 

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) at 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 221 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)

• Runs Scored – 1st – 84
• Hits – 1st – 123
• Runs Batted In – 1st – 78
• Walks – 1st – 50
• Stolen Bases – 1st – 14
• Batters Struck Out – 1st – 120
• Caught Stealing By – 1st – 5
• On Base Percentage – 2nd – .380
• Doubles – 2nd – 18
• Wins – 2nd – 11
• Batting Average – 3rd – .294
• Earned Run Average – 3rd – 2.30

Individual Rankings (Top 3)

• Batting Average – Elissa Brown – 3rd – .442
• Runs Scored – Alexis Mack – 1st – 15
• Doubles – KB Sides – 1st – 6
• Slugging Percentage – Bailey Hemphill – 2nd – .950
• Hits – Elissa Brown – 2nd – 19
• Walks – Bailey Hemphill – 2nd – 13
• On Base Percentage – Bailey Hemphill – 2nd – .603
• Runs Batted In – Bailey Hemphill – 1st – 23
• Home Runs – Bailey Hemphill – 2nd – 6
• Stolen Bases – Alexis Mack – 3rd – 6
• Batters Struck Out – Montana Fouts – 1st – 71
• Wins – Montana Fouts – 2nd – 6
• Caught Stealing By – Bailey Hemphill – 1st – 5

Alabama in SEC Play

• Alabama is 465-177 (.724) all-time in SEC play, including a 430-156 (.734) mark under head coach Patrick Murphy
• The Crimson Tide has won six SEC regular season titles (2006, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’14, ’19) and five SEC Tournament titles (1998, 2003, ’05, ’10, ’12)
• Alabama has never had a losing record in conference play, winning 20 or more conference games 11 times

Up Next – Week 11

• Wednesday, April 21 vs. Southern Miss – Tuscaloosa, Ala. – 6 p.m. CT
• Saturday, April 24 vs. Louisiana – Tuscaloosa, Ala. – 1:30 p.m. CT
• Sunday, April 25 vs. Louisiana – Tuscaloosa, Ala. – 1:30 p.m. CT