FanPost

Tide sweep Bulldogs, prep for LSU

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            The #2 ranked Crimson Tide busted out the brooms this weekend, sweeping all three games from Mississippi State and upping their overall record to 23-2.  Kelsi Dunne picked up a pair of wins without giving up an earned run.  Charlotte Morgan led the offense, reaching base six times in nine plate appearances with a home run and six RBI.  The #1 Florida Gators completed a sweep of their own against the Bulldogs' Magnolia state sistren.*

* - I googled "Mississippi is the * state" in order to find out its nickname.  The top two results were "Mississippi is the fattest state" and "Mississippi is the poorest state".  Heh.

 

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Amanda Locke's two-run double in the sixth inning of game three won the game for Alabama.

 

Game One:  #2 Alabama Crimson Tide 4, Mississippi State Bulldogs 0

Bama Notes:  Dunne moved to 9-0 this season with a three-hit shutout.  She has not given up a run in her last six appearances.  The Tide offense was rather anemic for the first five innings.  Aside from Kelley Montalvo's first inning home run, Alabama only put three runners on base before the sixth inning.  But in the sixth, Rogers led off with a walk, moved to third on Jennifer Fenton's single, and then scored on a single by Montalvo.  Charlotte Morgan's double to left plated two runs and put the Tide up 4-0.  Fenton, Montalvo, and Morgan were the only Bama batters to get hits.

State Notes: The Bulldogs did threaten to score several times, but they stranded two runners on base in three different innings and a runner at third in a fourth.  State's best hitter Chelsea Bramlett did get on base twice, reaching second base in the first inning and third base in the fifth.  Dunne managed to get out of both jams without allowing any runs. 

Player of the Game:  Kelley Montalvo reached base in all three plate appearances, homering in the first inning, walking in the fourth, and singling in a run and scoring in the sixth.  Dunne's sixth shutout of the season also deserves special mention.

Turning Point:  With the way Dunne pitched, Bama's three-run sixth effectively ended the game.

 

Game Two:  #2 Alabama Crimson Tide 7, Mississippi State Bulldogs 1

Bama Notes:  Charlotte Morgan put together another great pitching performance for the Tide, allowing one run on four hits while striking out a career-high 12 batters.  The Tide won this one with their bats, though.  They put together seven runs (all earned) on ten hits.  Whitney Larsen and Charlotte Morgan produced three of those runs when they homered in the second and fourth innings, respectively.  In the fifth, Alabama put four runs on the board thanks to several singles, a Montalvo triple, and a two-run Larsen double.  Larsen and Morgan combined to go 4-6 with six RBI.  Tide pitchers have thrown 17 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run.

State Notes:  The Bulldogs again had issues with relief pitching.  In the first game, Kelsey Nurnberg gave up three runs in two innings in relief of starter Lindsey Dunlap.  In game two, it was Dunlap who struggled, allowing five runs in 4 1/3 innings.  Her replacement, Elizabeth Woolven, fared little better, however, surrendering two runs on three hits in only 2/3 of an inning.  Kaili Smith was the only batter with multiple hits.

Player of the Game:  Charlotte Morgan and Whitney Larsen accounted for six of the Tide's seven runs and three extra-base hits.

Turning Point:  Morgan's fourth-inning home run put the Tide up 3-0, more than enough to beat the punchless Bulldogs, who ended up down 7-0 before they pushed a run across the plate.

 

Game Three:  #2 Alabama Crimson Tide 3, Mississippi State Bulldogs 2

Bama Notes:  The Tide really earned this one, coming back from down 2-0 after just the top of the first, and scoring two runs in the bottom of the sixth to win 3-2.  After allowing two unearned runs in the top of the first, Kelsi Dunne buckled down and allowed only three hits the rest of the way.  After scoring a run in the first, the Tide struggled to score again, twice placing a runner on third but unable to plate them.  They were able to rally in the sixth, though, when Charlotte Morgan singled and Lauren Parker was hit by a pitch.  Amanda Locke's two-run double to deep right field plated both runs and gave the Tide the win.  Charlotte Morgan reached base in all three of her plate appearances, singling twice and walking once.  Kelsi Dunne extended the Tide's streak without giving up an earned run to 24 innings.

State Notes:  Lindsey Dunlap pitched very well for five innings, allowing only 1 run on three hits.  Chelsea Bramlett reached base three times, but scored only once.  Both of State's runs scored in the first inning when pitcher Kelsi Dunne made a throwing error, sending the ball into right field.  With these losses, the Bulldogs fall to 14-9.

Player of the Game:  Pitcher Kelsi Dunne really settled down after the first inning, at one point retiring eight consecutive batters.  She struck out two batters in four different innings.

Turning Point:  In the top of the fifth, the Bulldogs put their first two runners on and had runners on second and third with one out.  Dunne then struck out the middle of the order (Brittany Bell and Kailie Smith) to end the inning and end the last State threat.

 

Midweek Mayhem

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Wednesday, March 18, 2009 - 5:00pm CST

Wednesday, March 18, 2009 - 7:30 pm CST

 

#21/20 LSU Tigers

Current Record:  15-6 (2-2 SEC)

2008 Record:  44-18 (2nd in SEC West)

RF/RA:  4.8-3.0

BAF/BAA:  .288-.218

ERAF/ERAA:  2.36-3.97

Notable Wins:  6-5, 4-3 #19/23 Texas A&M

Notable Losses:  0-8 #10 Oklahoma, 3-5 UAB, 0-1 Sam Houston State

Record vs. Alabama:  28-24

Last Meeting:  UA 7-4 (05/09/2008)

Notes:  It is a bit difficult to judge LSU at this point in the season because they have had so many of their quality games canceled by weather.  By now they were supposed to have played #14 Northwestern, #24 DePaul, and #9 Georgia twice.  All of those games against Top 25 teams were canceled, so we can only judge them by a slim resume.  They did sweep Texas A&M in a pair of games but the Aggies have dropped 10 games total--not that impressive.  They have also dropped two ugly games to 11-11 Sam Houston State and 10-14 UAB.  Individually, the Tigers are pretty average.  None of their regular starters is hitting over .380.  On the other hand, only one of their starters is batting below .250.  In contrast, the Tide have four regulars hitting over .380 but also have two hitting below .220.  In the circle, Cody Trahan is the main force for LSU, having started more than half of their games.  But the Tigers do not hesitate to call on their bullpen when needed.  Their pitchers have completed only eight of the team's 21 starts compared to 19 out of 25 for Alabama.  For Alabama, Kelsi Dunne will likely get at least one of the two starts.  She is 10-0 on the season with a microscopic 0.30 ERA.  The Tide pitchers have thrown 24 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run.

Player to Watch:  Junior outfielder Kirsten Shortridge does just about everything for the Tigers.  Her .380 batting average and .457 on-base percentage lead the team and she has 13 steals as well.  Unlike some other speedsters, however, she has gap power with two triples and two homers on the season.

Bama wins if...they can avoid making errors.  LSU has capitalized on poor defense this season, scoring almost one-third of their runs as unearned runs.  In fact, while the Tigers have scored 34 unearned runs this season, the Tide have given up 34 runs total.

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