Alabama Softball Completes Successful Fall Season
11/7/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ?? If only it was so easy in March. That’s what Alabama head softball coach Patrick Murphy must be thinking after his Crimson Tide softball team breezed through four games of competition en route to another perfect fall season.
Murphy’s team certainly made it look simple. The Tide went 4-0 in two weekends of play and invoked the softball run-rule limit in each on the strength of its explosive offense and some dominating performances by the pitching staff. Alabama outscored its opponents, 38-4, compiled a team batting average of .432 and put together a staff ERA of 0.91 in wins over Wallace-Dothan, Alabama-Huntsville and the University of Memphis.
“This is the first time in a long time that the majority of our roster is upperclassman,” said Murphy. “I was impressed with the work ethic of everyone but in particular Katie Johnson, Kelley Montalvo, Kellie Eubanks, Ashley Holcombe, Brittany Rogers and Charlotte Morgan. You could tell immediately when we stepped on the field that they were prepared for our fall workouts.”
With such dominating stats, it isn’t hard to point out some standouts for the Tide this fall. Five players hit over .500 in the four games and four have five RBI or more.
One of the most promising features of the Tide’s four games were the performances of the top of the lineup. Indeed, the Tide’s top four hitters gave a glimpse of what could be one of the most explosive offenses in the nation this spring after sparking the team’s outstanding offensive numbers in all four games.
Despite playing with a shortened roster of 12 players with some players nursing injuries, the Alabama offense was certainly impressive.
“I was pleased with our offensive efforts in all four ball games,” said Murphy. “However, we need to work more on pitch selection in certain situations. We will improve that with game experience. When we get Lauren Parker, Allison Moore, Alex Blewitt and Jessica Smith back from injuries we should be a very deep squad this spring.”
Leadoff hitter Brittany Rogers showed her ability to set the table for the heart of the lineup. Rogers hit .556 in the four games, drew a pair of walks and scored a team-high seven runs. Always a threat on the base paths, Rogers was a perfect 4-of-4 in stolen base attempts.
Jordan Praytor, another speedy baserunner, was right behind her. Praytor hit .667 while going 6-of-9 from the plate, scored six runs and drove in four. She went 3-of-4 in stolen base attempts and legged out three doubles for the Tide.
Those efforts reaped benefits for the middle of the lineup, who responded in fine fashion. The leader of this group, sophomore Charlotte Morgan, proved why she was one of the most dangerous freshmen in the nation last season.
Morgan hit .500 while going 7-of-14 from the plate. She hit two home runs, including a towering shot over the left-field scoreboard in the first game against Memphis. Morgan drove in a team-high 10 runs in the fall and had five extra-base hits for the Tide.
Dani Woods, a senior, led the team while hitting an incredible .714 in the fall. She went 5-of-7, recorded five hits, drove in six runs and drew five walks. Kellie Eubanks hit .571 with four hits, while Whitney Larsen batted .400 with three runs scored and an RBI.
Equally impressive were the numbers put up by the UA pitching trio of Chrissy Owens, Morgan and true freshman Kelsi Dunne.
Dunne’s numbers were truly amazing considering she was toeing the rubber for the first time as a college player. Her effort against Memphis in the final game of a doubleheader was the most impressive. Dunne recorded 14 strikeouts in the 15 outs she recorded in the game and was responsible for each of the 15 outs the team recorded. She didn’t allow an earned run in 11 innings pitched, finished with 20 strikeouts and allowed only four hits and three walks in two games.
Owens, the Tide’s All-American ace, didn’t fail to impress either. Owens pitched six innings, including one start, and didn’t allow a run. The native of Miami had eight punchouts, didn’t allow a walk and gave up just two hits.
Morgan pitched six innings in relief, allowing five hits and striking out three in addition to her gaudy offensive numbers.
To be sure, the fall season showed glimpses of why the Tide will certainly be among the favorites in the powerful SEC in the spring and will be in contention for another College World Series berth come May.
Another certainty is that the competition will get much tougher when the regular season rolls around. In addition to facing some of the nation’s best in the league, Alabama’s spring schedule includes some stiff non-conference games against highly-ranked teams from Washington, DePaul and Northwestern to name just a few. Nobody knows that better than Murphy and his experienced team.
“The thing that is different with our schedule this year is more tough road games,” Murphy said. “It won’t be easy going back to Seattle to face four tough teams at UW. It won’t be easy going to Chicago and playing two World Series teams in DePaul and Northwestern. And it certainly won’t be easy going to Arkansas, Auburn, Kentucky, Mississippi State and Georgia for SEC series. Hopefully those road games will help us become a more mentally tough team in the postseason.”
Time remains for the Tide to continue to make improvements before the season-opener on Feb. 8. And with nearly 1,000 season tickets sold already, it is sure to be an exciting season at the Alabama softball facility this spring, where Murphy and his team look to make yet another run at an SEC title and a return trip to the College World Series.
