No. 19 Kentucky Hosts No. 16 Alabama in Critical SEC Series
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After a disappointing weekend on The Plains in Auburn, the Kentucky softball team will look to turn the page to week eight of the season, which kicks off on Friday night in the first of a three-game series at John Cropp Stadium against the No. 16 Alabama Crimson Tide.
Game one of the series will be on Friday at 6 p.m. ET on the SEC Network+. Saturday’s game will be at 5 p.m. ET and shown live on ESPN2 with Tiffany Greene (pxp) and Carol Bruggeman (color) on the call from John Cropp Stadium. The series finale will be on Easter Sunday at 1 p.m. ET live on the SEC Network+, ESPN3 and the ESPN app.
Fans will be able to run the bases at John Cropp Stadium following the conclusion of game three on Sunday.
UK had won four games in a row before being swept by the Tigers this past weekend in three close games at Jane B. Moore Field. Autumn Humes pitched all of a 12-inning barnburner but lost out on a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 12th to walk it off for the Tigers, 1-0 thanks to Tannon Snow. On Sunday, UK grabbed a 2-1 lead in the third, but AU responded with runs in three of the next four innings to re-claim the lead.
Under the direction of 2012 national championship head coach Patrick Murphy, who enters his 20th season at the helm of the Tide, Alabama is 22-8 on the season with a 3-3 record in Southeastern Conference play.
UA as a team is hitting .282 led by Elissa Brown, who is in at .348 going into the weekend. Brown has scored 18 runs on 23 hits with 10 RBI and a pair of triples. Alabama has always been known for power, and this season is no different. The Tide boast seven players who have hit multi-HR’s on the season, and are led by Bailey Hemphill’s seven on the season.
In the circle, Alexis Osorio leads Alabama with a 1.61 ERA. Alabama has a very balanced pitching staff, which is also anchored by Courtney Gettins and Madison Preston. Alabama’s last series was a 2-1 win against Ole Miss without Osorio. The Tide won on Friday and Sunday, with Sunday’s win coming in walk-off fashion.
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