SOFTBALL

After clinching a 2-1 series win over the LSU Tigers Sunday, the No. 2 Alabama softball team is gearing up for this weekend’s South Carolina series.

Head coach Patrick Murphy said he felt the team progressed over the weekend.

“The team defense is much better after this weekend,” Murphy said. “I feel good about that because that was the Achilles heel, I thought, at the beginning of the season: just too many sloppy mistakes.”

Offensively, Murphy said the performance over the weekend wasn’t what he liked. In preparation for South Carolina, Murphy said the team would be practicing a drill he calls “no pop, no pull.”

“They can’t pop it up, and they can’t pull it,” Murphy said. “So, they have to stay inside the ball and go with the pitch or hit line drives everywhere all over the field. So, that’s what we’re hoping for.”

The Crimson Tide has one player, freshman Leslie Jury, hailing from South Carolina. Jury said she would see many familiar faces during the series.

“It’ll be cool to have South Carolina come in here,” Jury said. “I’ve played with and against a bunch of those girls my whole life.”

Murphy said South Carolina would be a tough opponent, despite its 3-11 Southeastern Conference record. Murphy was quick to point out the Gamecocks’ series win over Arkansas earlier in the season. For its third win, South Carolina run-ruled Kentucky in the first game of this past weekend’s series on Friday, 9-1.

Despite getting swept by Florida, South Carolina was able to hold them to one run in the second game of the series in Gainesville and had five hits compared to the Gators’ three.

Murphy said his team didn’t need to look at the Gamecocks’ record heading into the weekend. Murphy instead pointed to the their pitching staff: South Carolina’s Kierstyn White defeated the Tide in Columbia, S.C., in 2009 after coming in as a relief pitcher.

“We need to respect the opponent,” Murphy said. “They mix and match to keep up. We know what they can do.”

Entering the last portion of the season, the Tide is continuing to emphasize peaking at the right time. Courtney Conley said although South Carolina may appear easy to overlook, her team would make sure to play Alabama softball all weekend.

“I think it’s important to look at this weekend and know they are a very worthy opponent,” Conley said. “We always try to play against ourselves in a game because we’re our big opponents, but we’re going to try to come out here and respect them by playing hard.”

The series begins Friday with game one set to begin at 6:30 p.m. Saturday’s game starts at 4:30 p.m., and the final game is scheduled for Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

If you go

What: Softball vs South Carolina

When: Friday, 6:30 p.m., Saturday, 4:30 p.m., Sunday, 1:30 p.m.

Where: Rhoads Stadium