Alabama vs Auburn Softball Showdown; Preview & TV

“Sure, I’d like to beat Notre Dame, don’t get me wrong. But nothing matters more than beating that cow college on the other side of the state.”
~ Bear Bryant

The Crimson Tide return home for the first time since April 8 to take on the Auburn Tigers with much on the line. Both teams have identical records of 33-13 overall and 9-6 in SEC play. The winner of this series achieves many things: entrenching a position among the upper third of the conference standings, bettering the odds of hosting a Regional, and of course pride. The SEC “means more”, but Alabama-Auburn means MORE more.

SCHEDULE

• Friday, April 21 vs Auburn 8 p.m. CT Tuscaloosa, AL SEC Network - Montana Fouts Day - Bobblehead Giveaway (first 450 fans) RESCHEDULED: Saturday, 11:30 a.m. CT
• Saturday, April 22 vs Auburn 3 p.m. CT Tuscaloosa, AL SEC Network - Also A-Day
• Sunday, April 23 vs Auburn 11:30 a.m. CT Tuscaloosa, AL ESPN

TV... ALLEGEDLY

All games will be aired on basic cable. If you unfortunately reside outside the SEC footprint, you may be able to catch the games on the SECN+ or ESPN+, but don’t hold me to that.

AUBURN (33-17, 9-6)

These two team have much on common and not just W-L. Much like the Tide, Auburn relies on strikeout pitching. The team batting average of .286 is just three points ahead of the Tide. And the Tigers have some inexplicable losses (Pitt, South Alabama, Georgia Tech).

The ace of the Plains(wo)men is Maddie Penta who is third in the nation in strikeouts (227) behind Montana Fouts (244) and a Va Tech Hokie (229). Penta is 19-5 and has a 1.03 ERA which is second in the conference to UT’s superstar Ashley Rogers (0.75). The junior has started 25 games, appeared in 31, and pitched 156.0 innings - second in the league to you-know-who (158.1). After Penta are meh Annabelle Widra (8-3, ERA 2.39) and Shelby Lowe (5-4, ERA 2.59). Bama’s team ERA of 1.93 is a few ticks better than the War Beagles’ 1.98.

Offensively, AU has five players hitting between .300 and .333. Sound familiar? The big difference is that Aubie gains more bases and scores more runs than Bama. They are better in runs per game (5.6-5.0), doubles (50-47), triples (8-3), stolen bases (70-54), and home runs (54-41). Bri Ellis is hitting .303 and leads the team with 11 home runs and 36 RBI. Right behind her is Lindsey Garcia at .302, 9 HR, 35 RBI. Nelia Peralta is hitting .325 and has team-highs of 35 walks and 34 runs scored. Her on-base percentage is .497.

One oddity of Mickey Dean’s club is that he substitutes a great deal. Abbey Smith, for example, has all of 18 at bats this season but has 14 stolen bases and has scored 22 runs. 17 different Tigers have stolen a base this season.

ALABAMA (33-17, 9-6)

Yeesh.

Montana Fouts has been named a Top 25 finalist for the USA Softball Player of the Year award. It is a nice honor, but it’s not likely she beats out Rogers, Skylar Wallace (OUCH!), Clemson’s Valerie Cagle, or someone from the state of Oklahoma.

Alabama got a bump in the polls. However, they were released before the Tide’s Tuesday split. They are up to 13/13/13/14.

Team27 is at a crossroads. Can they put that stupid Appalachian road trip behind them or are they going to let it slog them down like last season?

This series sold out months ago and the Rhoads House should be a-rockin’!

#RollTide #Team27 #BoycottALdotcom