Alabama
South Alabama
Alabama Softball Opens Season at South Alabama in Mobile, Sand Dollar Classic in Gulf Shores
2/7/2018 11:57:00 AM | Softball
*edited to reflect latest schedule change for Sand Dollar Classic*
THIS WEEK: AT SOUTH ALABAMA / SAND DOLLAR CLASSIC
Alabama at South Alabama
Thursday, Feb. 8 – 6 p.m. CT
Mobile, Ala. – Jaguar Field
Alabama at Sand Dollar Classic
Friday, Feb. 9 – Saturday, Feb. 10
Gulf Shores, Ala. – Gulf Shores Sportsplex
- vs. Penn State – Friday, Feb. 9 – 11 a.m. CT
- vs. Lamar – Friday, Feb. 9 – 1 p.m. CT
- vs. Virginia Tech – Saturday, Feb. 10 – Noon CT
- vs. Florida A&M – Saturday, Feb. 10 – 3 p.m. CT
SCOUTING ALABAMA
- Alabama returns 13 letterwinners and nine starters from last season's team, including First Team All-American Alexis Osorio and SEC All-Freshman honorees Elissa Brown and Bailey Hemphill.
- The Tide sports a six-member senior class, tied for the largest in program history. They include Rachel Bobo, Sydney Booker, Carrigan Fain, Peyton Grantham, Alexis Osorio and Demi Turner.
- Six newcomers join the Alabama roster, including junior college transfer Courtney Gettins along with freshmen Kyra Lockhart, Maddie Morgan, Madison Preston, KB Sides and Kaylee Tow.
- Head Coach Patrick Murphy returns for his 20th season at the helm of the program, carrying a 987-273 (.783) record with the Crimson Tide.
- Alabama's schedule includes 27 games against 11 teams that are ranked in the preseason top 25. Twenty-one of those games come in conference play, with seven of the Tide's eight conference opponents represented on the list. Out-of-conference matchups include two games against No. 9/6 Florida State and No. 4/5 Washington and single games against No. 19/22 BYU and No. 10/12 Baylor.
2017 ALABAMA RECAP
- Alabama went 46-18 overall and 12-11 in SEC play, finishing fifth in the league.
- Alabama qualified for its 19th-straight NCAA Tournament, hosting an NCAA Regional as the No. 16 national seed. There, the Tide defeated Albany in the opening game before shutting out Big 10 champion Minnesota twice to win its 13th-straight Regional title and its 15th overall.
- Alabama's Super Regional appearance pushed its streak to 13-straight, having qualified every season since the round's inception in 2005. Alabama is the only team in the nation to do so. Facing top-seeded Florida in Gainesville, Fla., the Tide won the series opener, 3-0, but fell in the subsequent games, 0-2 and 1-2.
- The Crimson Tide finished the season ranked No. 11 and 12 in the final national polls, marking its 17th-straight top-25 finish.
- Alabama pitching shut out a school-record 27 opponents in 2017, beating the previous record of 26 set in 2009.
- Alexis Osorio earned her second career All-America honor after leading the team with 23 wins, a 1.21 ERA and 334 strikeouts.
SOUTH ALABAMA A FAMILIAR OPENING FOE
Six of the 13 all-time meetings between Alabama and South Alabama have come on opening weekend. Two of those six occurred in the very first game of the season, an 8-1 Tide win in Tuscaloosa in 2008 and a 2-1 win in Mobile in 2015. Alabama is 13-0 all-time against South Alabama, including a 3-0 record in Mobile.
RETURN TO THE SAND DOLLAR CLASSIC
This will be Alabama's second trip to the Sand Dollar Classic, currently in its fourth year. The Crimson Tide previously made the trip for the tournament's inaugural weekend in 2015, going 5-0 while outscoring its opponents 42-5. Pitcher Sydney Littlejohn threw a perfect game in the weekend opener against Eastern Kentucky, at the time just the second perfect game in program history.
UP NEXT
Next weekend, Alabama heads to Hattiesburg, Miss., for the Black and Gold Tournament, hosted by Southern Miss. The Tide is slated to play four games over three days, starting with the host Golden Eagles on Friday, Feb. 16 at 1 p.m. CT. Alabama will resume action on Saturday, Feb. 17 against McNeese State (1 p.m. CT) and Mississippi Valley State (4 p.m. CT) before concluding its weekend on Sunday, Feb. 18 at 1 p.m. CT against No. 10/12 Baylor.
