FanPost

Tide take two from #20 Georgia Tech, prep for Auburn

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            The Tide are coming home for their final regular season series and rival Auburn is on the schedule.  Alabama is riding a seven game winning streak that included a doubleheader sweep of the ACC's number two team, Georgia Tech.  The Tide received brilliant pitching performances from Kelsi Dunne and Charlotte Morgan, including Morgan's first no-hitter of her career, as they shut out the Yellow Jackets in a pair of mercy rule-shortened games.  The Tide will finish up their regular season with weekend series against their two biggest rivals, Auburn and Tennessee--Auburn at home this weekend, Tennessee in Knoxville next weekend.  Alabama will look to wrap up yet another SEC West title this weekend, which they can do with two more wins.

 

Auburn Tigers

 

Current Record:  28-21 (8-14 SEC West)

2008 Record:  38-22 (3rd SEC West

RF/RA:  3.7-3.3

BAF/BAA:  .249/.216

ERAF/ERAA:  2.45/2.88

Notable Wins:  6-5 #13 North Carolina, 4-1 #16 Cal,

Notable Losses:  7-6, 0-1 Mercer, 1-3 South Alabama

Record vs. Bama:  13-30

Last Meeting:  UA 4-2 (04/13/2008)

Notes:  Auburn started out very hot, winning eleven of their first twelve games.  After the quick start, though, they went downhill fast.  They lost four of their final seven non-conference games and dropped eight in a row before winning the second game of a doubleheader against Mississippi State.  The Tiger pitchers have been quite successful despite their win-loss records.  Anna Thompson is the power pitcher, with 226 strikeouts in 159.1 innings.  Her 2.11 ERA leads the team.  The only other pitcher on the Tiger staff is Jenee Lauree, who has a 2.39 ERA but has allowed 21 unearned runs.  The only hitter really worth mentioning is Myesha Finney who leads the team in BA, OBP, SLG, and home runs.

Player to Watch:  Myesha Finney has a .320/.466/.547 line that leads the team in every category.  She's the only hitter on the team with an average higher than .292 and also leads the team with seven homers.

Bama wins if...they can put up some runs.  Auburn's offense is atrocious, so if the Tide can get past the Tiger pitchers they should win handily.

 

Midweek Mayhem

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Morgan's no-hitter was the best performance in a week of great performances.

 

Game One:  #5 Alabama Crimson Tide 8, #20 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 0 (5)

Bama Notes:  Pitcher Kelsi Dunne picked up her twentieth win of the year with a masterful two-hit shutout of the Yellow Jackets.  She had fantastic command, going all five innings without walking or hitting a single batter, something I don't believe she has done all season.  On the offensive side, the game was relatively uneventful until the fourth inning.  The Tide didn't manage a hit for the first three innings, but in the fourth they put together a pair of walks and a pair of singles to score three runs.  Alabama was unable to get an extra base hit in the entire game, but they did get four walks and three singles in the fifth to put five more runs on the board and end the game after five innings.

Tech Notes:  The Yellow Jackets were almost the victims of a perfect game, as they were unable to put a runner on base through the first four innings.  They tried to keep the game going in the fifth inning with a pair of singles to lead it off, but Dunne was able to shut them down and end the game.  Kristen Adkins picked up the loss for Tech.  While the Tide weren't able to hit the ball very hard, they got seven walks and five hits off of Adkins, which led to eight earned runs in five innings.

Player of the Game:  Kelsi Dunne had her best performance of the season outside of the no-hitter she threw last week.  She was in complete control, allowing only two hits and walking none in five innings of work. 

Turning Point:  Kellie Eubanks' two-run single in the fourth inning gave the Tide more than enough offense to win.

 

Game Two:  #5 Alabama Crimson Tide 10, #20 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 0 (6)

Bama Notes:  Charlotte Morgan pitched a no-hitter for the Tide, the first of her career and the second in a week for Alabama.  Even if it is softball and even if it was a shortened game, I can't not get excited about a no-hitter.  Only one errant throw, a HBP in the fifth, ruined a potential perfect game.  Once again the Tide offense started slowly, but they put up seven runs in the final two innings to put the game away.  Unlike the first game of the doubleheader, Alabama brought the lumber and the wheels in the second game.  Cassie Reilly-Boccia, Ashley Holcombe, and Kellie Eubanks all homered, and six different Tide batters each stole at least one base. 

Tech Notes:  There isn't much to be said about an offense whose only base runner reached by being hit by a pitch.  Pitcher Tiffany Johnson may have struck out 11 batters, but her five walks and seven hits allowed the Tide to score 10 runs.  This is likely a game the Yellow Jackets would like to quickly forget.

Player of the Game:  You pitch a no-hitter, you win Player of the Game.  It's that simple.  Congratulations, Charlotte Morgan.

Turning Point:  Brittany Rogers's second inning single drove in two runs and provided Alabama with all the offense they needed.

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