#12 ALABAMA (33-18) vs. MIDDLE TENNESSEE (39-20)

2018 NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional

Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Rhoads Stadium

Friday, May 18 – 8:30 p.m. CT

TUSCALOOSA REGIONAL SCHEDULE

Friday, May 18

6 p.m. CT – Wisconsin vs. Oregon State

8:30 p.m. CT – Middle Tennessee vs. Alabama

Saturday, May 19

1:30 p.m. CT – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2

4 p.m. CT – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2

6:30 p.m. CT – Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3

Sunday, May 20

1:30 p.m. CT - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5

(if necessary) 4 p.m. CT – Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6

SCOUTING ALABAMA

Alabama is 33-18 heading into NCAA Tournament play after defeating Auburn in the opening round of last weekend's SEC Tournament before falling to eventual tournament champion Florida in the quarterfinals.

The Crimson Tide earned a No. 12 seed for the 2018 NCAA Tournament, making its 20th-consecutive appearance and its 14th-straight as a host seed. Alabama is ranked No. 13 in both national polls and is No. 16 in the NCAA RPI ranking.

This year's NCAA Tournament appearance marks the 20th-consecutive appearance for Alabama. The Tide has hosted 16 regional rounds, including a streak of 14-straight.

Freshman Kaylee Tow leads the offense with 48 hits and a .350 batting average. Her 35 walks are tied for the team lead with sophomore Bailey Hemphill and her 31 RBIs are tied for second with sophomore Gabby Callaway . Hemphill leads the team in the power numbers, slugging 12 home runs and posting 41 RBIs. Sophomore Elissa Brown is 41-119 (.345) as the Tide's primary leadoff hitter, stealing 26 bases in 30 attempts.

leads the offense with 48 hits and a .350 batting average. Her 35 walks are tied for the team lead with sophomore and her 31 RBIs are tied for second with sophomore . Hemphill leads the team in the power numbers, slugging 12 home runs and posting 41 RBIs. Sophomore is 41-119 (.345) as the Tide's primary leadoff hitter, stealing 26 bases in 30 attempts. Senior Alexis Osorio is 13-9 with a team-leading 2.22 ERA and 203 strikeouts over 148.1 innings pitched. Junior Courtney Gettins also has 13 wins this season in 24 appearances, tossing 115.0 innings.

LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA DEFEATS AUBURN, FALLS TO FLORIDA AT SEC TOURNAMENT

GAME ONE: ALABAMA 6, AUBURN 4: Alabama and Auburn each scored two runs in the first inning, with the Tide's runs coming off a two-run home run from sophomore Bailey Hemphill . A two-run home run in the top of the fifth gave the Tigers a 4-2 lead but Alabama immediately answered with three in the bottom of the fifth and an insurance run in the sixth to take the score to its final tally, 6-4. In addition to Hemphill, sophomore Elissa Brown also drove in a pair of runs on a game-tying double in the fifth inning. Junior Merris Schroder went 2-for-3 batting eighth, driving in the final run of the day for Alabama with an RBI single in the sixth. Senior Alexis Osorio started the game but exited after Auburn took a 4-2 lead. Freshman Madison Preston threw 2.0 shutout innings in relief to earn the win while Osorio eventually re-entered to secure the final two outs and earn her fifth save of the season.

Alabama and Auburn each scored two runs in the first inning, with the Tide's runs coming off a two-run home run from sophomore . A two-run home run in the top of the fifth gave the Tigers a 4-2 lead but Alabama immediately answered with three in the bottom of the fifth and an insurance run in the sixth to take the score to its final tally, 6-4. In addition to Hemphill, sophomore also drove in a pair of runs on a game-tying double in the fifth inning. Junior went 2-for-3 batting eighth, driving in the final run of the day for Alabama with an RBI single in the sixth. Senior started the game but exited after Auburn took a 4-2 lead. Freshman threw 2.0 shutout innings in relief to earn the win while Osorio eventually re-entered to secure the final two outs and earn her fifth save of the season. GAME TWO: FLORIDA 5, ALABAMA 2: Alabama got on the board first with a pair of runs in the first inning before Florida came back to tie it in the fourth inning with a two-run home run. With the score still tied in the bottom of the sixth, another home run for the Gators gave them a 5-2 lead, which proved final. The Tide tallied four hits in the loss, driving in its two runs on an RBI groundout from freshman Kaylee Tow and a sacrifice fly from sophomore Gabby Callaway . Alabama starter Courtney Gettins threw 4.0 innings in the start but did not factor into the decision, with senior Alexis Osorio taking the loss in relief.

ALABAMA IN NCAA REGIONALS

Alabama has made 20-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, a streak that started in head coach Patrick Murphy 's first season at the helm in 1999. The Tide has hosted a regional round every year since 2005 and has won 13 straight, the longest active streak in Division-I softball.

's first season at the helm in 1999. The Tide has hosted a regional round every year since 2005 and has won 13 straight, the longest active streak in Division-I softball. The Tide is 89-38 (.701) in NCAA Tournament play, including a 53-9 (.855) mark in reigonal play and 46-3 (.939) mark at home in regionals. Alabama has not lost a game in the regional round since 2007, a streak of 34-straight.

Only seven other Division-I softball teams besides Alabama own an active NCAA Tournament appearance streak of at least 20 years: Arizona (32), Oklahoma (25), Washington (25), Michigan (23), UCLA (20), Louisiana (20) and Notre Dame (20).

ALABAMA PLACES FOUR ON 2018 POSTSEASON ALL-SEC TEAMS

Four Alabama softball standouts were among those voted to the 2018 Southeastern Conference postseason awards list. Freshman Kaylee Tow earned First Team All-SEC recognition and a spot on the SEC All-Freshman team, while senior Alexis Osorio and sophomores Elissa Brown and Bailey Hemphill made the All-SEC second team.

The four honorees are the most for the Crimson Tide since 2015 and brings the program's total to 97 in its 22-year history. Alabama has had at least one player selected to the league's postseason team every year since its inaugural 1997 season.

Tow was one of just two freshmen on the league's first team. She is the first Tide position player to earn first team recognition as a freshman since Kayla Braud in 2010. She is the 20th Alabama player to earn SEC All-Freshman accolades since its introduction in 2005, including six in the last four years.

This year's award is the third of Osorio's career, earning first team honors as a freshman in 2015 and second team accolades last season.

This is the first career All-SEC appearance for Brown and Hemphill, who both appeared on last year's SEC All-Freshman team.

ALABAMA IN THE NCAA RPI

Alabama is No. 16 in this week's NCAA RPI.

The Tide only has two losses outside the top 25, against Northwestern (37) and Ole Miss (40).

Alabama's lowest-ranked loss is Ole Miss at 40. Only Washington (Arizona State - 7) and Oregon (Ole Miss - 40) have their lowest-ranked loss at or better than 40.

The Tide has played 28 games against top-25 opponents this season. Of teams ranked in the top 20, this is tied with Tennessee and South Carolina for second-highest total behind Florida (33).

Averaging out the losses of teams in the top 20, Alabama scores the second-best average of 13.111, only trailing Washington (2.875) with LSU in third (13.714). The average for all the teams in the top 20 combined is 21.337.

ALABAMA BREAKS PREVIOUS ATTENDANCE AVERAGE RECORD

A crowd of 3,000-plus fans took in the regular season finale at Rhoads Stadium on Sunday, May 6 vs. Texas A&M, giving the Tide a season average attendance of 3,043. This marks a new NCAA record, breaking Alabama's previous best mark of 3,033 set in 2016. Nine of the 12 conference games at Rhoads Stadium this season saw crowds above 3,000, including an NCAA-best 3,940 in game one of the Tennessee series.

HEMPHILL HAMMERING IT FOLLOWING INJURY

Sophomore Bailey Hemphill sustained a foot injury in the series finale at Arkansas on April 15, forcing her to miss six games before returning to the starting lineup in the final game of the Georgia series two weeks later. Her first at-bat against the Bulldogs was a two-run home run, setting the stage for a power surge since her return. In the six games since returning from injury, Hemphill is 6-for-11 (.545) with four home runs, 10 RBIs, seven walks and five runs scored. Almost half of her team-leading 12 home runs have come over this stretch and nearly a quarter of her 41 RBIs.

TOW AMONG FRESHMAN HOME RUN LEADERS AT UA

Freshman Kaylee Tow's home run in game two of the Texas A&M series was her 11th of the season. This is the most home runs hit for a Crimson Tide freshman since Reagan Dykes in 2016 and is tied for the fourth-most from any UA freshman.

Most Home Runs as a Freshman at UA

25 - Kelly Kretschman (1998) 13 - Jaclyn Traina (2011) 12 - Reagan Dykes (2016), Stephanie VanBrakle (2003) 11 - Kaylee Tow (2018), Charlotte Morgan (2007)

OSORIO CLIMBS CAREER STRIKEOUTS LIST AT UA

With her 14th and final strikeout in game one against Tennessee, senior Alexis Osorio became the fourth player in program history to reach 1,000 career strikeouts. She is the first Tide pitcher to reach the milestone since Kelsi Dunne (2008-11). She moved to fourth all-time at Alabama following the road series at Arkansas, passing three-time All-American Jaclyn Traina (2011-14), and is now eight away from tying Shelley Laird's (1999-2002) third-place total.

Alabama Career Strikeout Leaders

Kelsi Dunne (2008-11): 1,219 Stephanie VanBrakle (2003-06): 1,113 Shelley Laird (1999-2002): 1,045 Alexis Osorio (2015-pres.): 1,037 Jaclyn Traina (2011-14): 976

UP NEXT

The winner of the Tuscaloosa regional will face off against the winner of the Seattle regional, which features fifth-seed Washington, Minnesota, Texas and Boise State.