University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Softball Heads to Tuscaloosa to Face No. 5 Alabama
3/31/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss softball team continues its road swing with a single game against nationally-ranked Alabama on Wednesday evening at Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. First pitch is slated for 6:00 p.m. and the game will be shown on the SEC Network + (WatchESPN.com).
Gary Harris will handle the play by play duties, while former Crimson Tide pitcher Lauren Sewell will be a color analyst. In addition, live stats and in-game tweets (@SouthernMissSB) will be available throughout the game.
Southern Miss enters the game with a 16-18 overall record, while No. 5 Alabama is currently 25-8 overall on the season.
Alabama will be the first ranked opponent Southern Miss will face this season.
The Crimson Tide hold a 6-2 advantage in the all-time series with the Golden Eagles. Southern Miss won the first meeting between the two teams as the Golden Eagles took down the Crimson Tide, 3-0, at the 2000 Women's College World Series behind a four-hit shutout effort by All-American Courtney Blades (1999-00). Alabama claimed the next three games of the series before Southern Miss notched a 3-2 win in 2006. The Tide have won the last three meetings, including a 12-0 victory in Hattiesburg last season.
Wednesday's game will be the fifth meeting between the two teams in Tuscaloosa. The last time the two teams met in Tuscaloosa, Katie Cleary, Sarah Evans, Jenifer Gary, Morgan McKeever and Michelle Stringer each earned starts as true freshmen against the then No. 4 ranked Tide. In addition, current assistant coach Mackenzie Sher played in the game.
The game will be the Golden Eagles' sixth game in the Yellowhammer State. Southern Miss opened the season with five games at the Sand Dollar Classic in Gulf Shores, Ala. On March 18, the Golden Eagles traveled to Mobile for a single game against South Alabama.
Southern Miss comes into the week after playing a three-game series against UTEP in El Paso, Texas. After dropping the first game, the Golden Eagles responded with a 13-6 victory to snap a 10-game skid. In the game, Arielle Pollock hit her first collegiate home run, while Danielle Block picked up her fifth victory of the season. The Black and Gold slipped up in the finale, dropping the season 2-1.
Scouting the Opposition:
Alabama is coming off a series victory over No. 23 Texas A&M, defeating them in two out of three games in Tuscaloosa last weekend. Alabama and Auburn are tied for the best defense in the SEC with a .976 fielding percentage. Alabama has committed the fewest errors in the conference at 20. Alabama is one of four SEC teams with an overall ERA less than 2.00 and leads all teams with a 1.98 ERA in conference play.
