Alabama Softball: Road Trip Continues

The road is long
With many a winding turn
That leads us to who knows where?

He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother ~ The Hollies

The Crimson Tide continues the second half of their six game SEC road trip. After winning one of three against Tennessee, Bama has a chance to improve their station in life against a struggling Mizzou team.

SCHEDULE

• Friday, March 31 at Missouri 6 p.m. CT Columbia, MO
• Saturday, April 1 at Missouri 5 p.m. CT Columbia, MO - SEC Network
• Sunday, April 2 at Missouri 1 p.m. CT Columbia, MO

TV... ALLEGEDLY

The Friday and Sunday games should be available on the SECN+.

MISSOURI (21-14, 1-8)

If there is any team struggling more than Alabama, it is Mizzou. The Tigers are in danger of missing their first NCAA Tournament since 2006. Earlier in March, they were swept at home by Kentucky while being outscored 16-0. They won one of three at Florida and are coming off being swept at Auburn in which the orange and blue team scored a total of 8 runs in three games. Four of Mizzou’s last five losses have come by one run.

Missouri is eleventh out of 13 SEC teams in team batting average (.282) and pitching ERA (2.93). The Tigers have the highest opponent batting average in the conference at .253.

Though they lack in other departments, what they do have is speed. MU has ten triples and have swiped 68 of 77 bases. They are also pretty adept on defense with a .980 fielding percentage - tops in the league.

OF Alex Honnold has been a bit of a surprise sporting a .457 BA to go with seven round-trippers and 29 RBI. Leadoff hitter and shortstop Jenna Laird is at .391 with team-high 32 runs and 22 stolen bases.

Laurin Krings (7-7, 2.34 ERA) and Jordan Weber (6-5, 3.58 ERA) are both back on the pitching staff but they have had a tough go of it this spring. Freshman Cierra Harrison (6-1, 2.81 ERA) is the third pitcher, but has been abused in her two SEC appearances with an astronomical 11.67 conference ERA.

ALABAMA

As we come to the end of March, the Crimson Tide sits at 24-10. A 70% winning percentage might sound great, but consider that Alabama lost a total of nine games for the entire 2021 season. In 2018, Bama finished 36-20 (.643) overall and 12-12 in the SEC. The overall record is the worst program finish since Patrick Murphy’s rookie year in 1999 when his team went 39-26. That 12-12 conference record is the only time in program history - including pre-Murphy - that the Tide has not been above .500. If this Tide team wants to avoid infamy, they need to start winning some weekend series. Keep going 1-2 and it will be a memorable season - for all the wrong reasons.

Alabama has an opportunity to take down a wounded deer and build some confidence.

#RollTide #Team27 #BoycottALdotcom