The University of Alabama Crimson Tide softball team returns home Tuesday to take on the Jacksonville State Gamecocks after four games away.
The team will play the Gamecocks in the first game of a 10-game stint at home. The Tide and the Gamecocks have clashed in 15 previous games, with Alabama winning each time. The Gamecocks sport a 19-15 overall record this year and have outscored opponents 189-130 this season. The Tide has not allowed a Jacksonville State run in the last five meetings of the two teams.
The Gamecocks played four games last week, winning a game against both the Belmont University Bruins and the Samford University Bulldogs. The Tide opponent lost one game to Belmont, while another game between the two schools was rained out.
Gamecock pitcher Tiffany Harbin has won 11 of 17 games this season. The senior has struck out 168 batters in 124 innings. Harbin’s teammate, senior Kalee Tabor, has a .317 batting average and seven home runs on the season.
Over spring break, the Tide played the Auburn Tigers, University of Houston Cougars, and the No. 9 Texas A&M Aggies. The team went 5-2 with one loss each to both the Tigers and the Aggies, bringing the Tide’s record to 8-4 in Southeastern Conference play and 32-5 overall this season.
Although the Tide lost its first game to the Aggies 3-2, the team was able to fight back and outscore the Texas team 10-3 in the final two games of the series to take away two wins in the three-game sequence.
While in Texas, junior Jackie Traina shined at the bat and on the mound. Traina hit four home runs in as many at bats to aid in the Tide’s three wins. She struck out 20 opponents in the 15 innings she pitched and kept the Tide’s opponents to .160 average at the plate.
Tide senior Kayla Braud also came out to bat in Texas accumulating a .429 average with six hits and two runners batted in. Braud also stole two bases in the Tide’s four-game stretch in Texas.
The Tide will take to the Rhoads Stadium field at 6 p.m. Tuesday against the Gamecocks in the first of its 10-game homestand. Next up will be the University of Missouri Tigers in a three-game SEC matchup starting on Friday.
