“[Tuesday] when we were supposed to play UAB, we’re all, ‘Yeah, OK, we’re going to play. We’re going to play,’ and then we get the text, ‘Game’s canceled. Practice at 3,’” sophomore infielder Marisa Runyon said. “So it was just flustered day almost.”
The practice wasn’t taken for granted. The Crimson Tide travels to No. 8 Georgia this weekend for a top-10 matchup. The Bulldogs lead the nation in batting average (.396) and have the No. 8 team ERA (1.40).
Alabama’s pitching staff comes in at No. 13 with a 1.82 ERA led by sophomore right-hander Sydney Littlejohn’s 0.92 ERA.
“Our pitching has been tremendous,” freshman infielder Demi Turner said. “I mean, they’ve been doing awesome, and us as hitters, we just need to make sure that we’re scoring and winning every single inning and not just a couple innings, just executing everything.”
Alabama coach Patrick Murphy said the Georgia lineup is a good mix of speed and power. The Bulldogs have 73 stolen bases this season and were caught stealing only four times. They average three stolen bases per game.
“Their power numbers are a little bit down this year so we’re similar,” Murphy said. “We just need to get people on. We need to match their people getting on to ours, and I think the benefit for us this year is we’ve played a little bit better schedule, and hopefully that’s going to help our pitchers against them and our hitters against their pitchers.”
On top of it all, Georgia is a rival. Although the team is quick to say Auburn is the natural rival for Alabama, the series between Alabama and Georgia is competitive.
“They come in ready to play every single game,” Runyon said. “They play hard so it will be interesting and fun this weekend. Just look at the scoreboard at the end of the game and whoever wins, wins.”
Alabama took two games out of a three-game series in Tuscaloosa last year en route to winning the SEC regular-season title. Georgia won the SEC Tournament after beating the Crimson Tide 5-3 in a semifinal game.
Murphy said he thinks the rivalry is big for the players because the teams get into it and both teams are usually ranked high.
“The crowds always come out for it, and I know they’ll have a good crowd for us,” he said. “Over the years it’s just been a very spirited rivalry. And they love to beat us. We love to beat them, and that’s what it comes down to.”
