Alabama Crimson Tide Softball to #5/7 LSU Tigers: The Adventure Begins

The Crimson Tide begins the first of three epic battles in the distant and mystical land of Baton Rouge. They won’t have any Frodo, wizards, or elves to aid them on their journey as they battle the #4 Tigers.

ACCOLADES & RANKINGS

• Alabama (27-13, 4-5) is back in the four polls at 22/23/24/24. LSU is 5/5/7/7.
• Still no SEC Players of the Week for the Crimson Tide. It is astonishing that the conference has slept on what Vandagriff is doing in T-town.

MIDWEEK

• ALABAMA 6, ALABAMA STATE 4 – Abby Duchscherer hit a solo homer and Riley Valentine hit a three run shot. The most noteworthy thing is that Alea Johnson started and was absolutely cruising for 2.2 innings and then ran smack dab into a wall. The next six Hornets batters went walk-single-single-single-error by Duchscherer-single and Patrick Murphy just let Alea languish out there in the circle as ASU put up four runs. Valentine threw out the only attempted base stealer of the game. The junior catcher has 7 RBI in the last three games (all Bama wins). But, yeah. We don’t know what we are talking about here on RBR. Lauren Johnson led off and was 1 for 3 with a walk and run scored.
• ALABAMA 9, SAMFORD 3 – Two Bama player crossed home plate in the 1st inning before Duchscherer hit another solo homer (her third in three straight games). In the 4th, Kali Heivilin doubled in two runs and Brooke Ellestad followed with a round tripper. But because we can’t just have a good ol’ fashion rout-shutout, those same two players gave up errors in the 6th that resulted in three unearned runs for the Bulldogs. The Tide tacked on two more in the bottom of the frame to close out the scoring. Vandagriff stole three more bases to up her total to 45. She is 15 away from the school record for a season. Giles allowed a stolen base.
• The Bulldogs and Hornets did not play each other on Tuesday.
• Of note, former Bama pitcher Jaala Torrence is an Alabama State volunteer assistant as was honored before the game.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE

• Friday, Apr 4 at LSU 6pm/7pm Baton Rouge, LA
• Saturday, Apr 5 at LSU 6pm/7pm Baton Rouge, LA ESPN2
• Sunday, Apr 6 at LSU 4pm/5pm Baton Rouge, LA ESPNU

HOW TO WATCH… ALLEGEDLY

HOLY WOW! Two games on regular TV! Sadly, 80s Top 40 DJ Beth Mowins will be on the call with mumblemouth Michele Smith on color commentary. I can’t for the life of me understand why they are the 4-Letter’s #1 softball announcing team.

RED STICK WEATHER

Friday should be nice but Saturday and Sunday will have threats of rain and possibly lightning.

LSWho?

The Tigers (32-4, 6-3) began the season 15-0 with two wins each over Northwestern and Virginia Tech, plus one over UCLA. That streak was snapped at the hands of Cal State Fullerton. After a 9-game win streak, they swept Kentucky and took two of three at UGA. Last weekend, LSU lost two of three to upstart South Carolina.

WALK THIS WAY!

The Bayou Bengals have the second highest batting average in the conference. However, they don’t hit a lot of homers. They are tied for last in the league in that category and are 13th in total extra-base hits.

More importantly, LSU is tops in the SEC in on-base percentage. That stat can be linked to patience and good eyes at the plate. The Tigers are second in the league in walks behind Oklahoma and have the second lowest strikeouts just behind Florida.

Danieca Coffey is having a great season at the plate. She is hitting .474 and almost has as many walks (37) as she does hits (46). This results in a massive .606 OBP. Tori Edwards is hitting .426 with 12 home runs. Maci Bergeron is at .436 BA and 8 round-trippers.

Team OBP is best in the nation.

TIGER TOSSING

2024 All-SEC First Team pitcher Sydney Berzon (14-2, 2.06 ERA, 14 CG) is the ace among five hurlers. Jayden Heavener (9-2, 1.98 ERA) is the No. 2. Team ERA is 1.99, which is fourth best among Power teams and seventh overall.

HONEY BADGERS

The defense is better than average with a fielding percentage of .972 that ranks in the 30s nationally.

TEN CENT ANALYSIS (nickels or dimes only please)

LSU is a solid team top to bottom. This series will be a tough one for the Tide, especially being on the road. LSU coach Beth Torina has a habit of sticking with her starting pitchers through thick and thin. In the Tigers’ losses, two of them had the starter going the distance. In the the other two, only two hurlers took to the circle. Is she being stubborn or is she building good faith and confidence with her top pitchers? If the Tide staff can figure out tendencies and perhaps some tells, this series could be won in the film room. But that would mean hard work. Alabama is not going to sweep, but they have a shot at two wins and most definitely one. But you tell me. [↓POLL]

#RollTide #Team29