Patrick Murphy talks with pride about the new addition behind the Rhodes Stadium left field wall. After years of advocacy, the Alabama softball coach got his new scoreboard as the program celebrates its 20th birthday.

Murphy also lights up discussing the team with plans to give the new equipment a workout. Coming off a College World Series appearance, Alabama is ranked No. 5 in the preseason polls. Returning the heart of the lineup, the top two pitchers and a few highly-regarded freshmen will do that.

The quest for a third straight trip to Oklahoma City begins Friday in Orlando. The Tide will play five games in the next three days at the UCF Knights Invitational, two against ranked teams. After opening at 1 p.m. CT Friday against Fordham, Alabama gets No. 17 UCF at 5:30 p.m. and No. 19 James Madison at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

All-American Haylie McCleney is back for her senior season in centerfield while breakout pitching star Alexis Osorio (22-9, 1.75 ERA) returns for her sophomore year. After struggling at times at the plate as a team, Murphy likes the balance and versatility of the lineups available this spring.

"We talked about it in the fall being like the ocean coming at you like wave after wave after wave," Murphy said. "You might get the first six out but you have three more -- seven, eight, nine -- that are ready to get you. We had too many lulls last year. We'd go 0-for-7, 0-for-8 and then somebody would walk and then we'd get the third out. This year, we want to push the envelope and get people on base any way possible ... just put pressure on the defense."

He's also looking at being more aggressive on the base path. After ranking 43rd last season in stolen bases per game (1.4), Murphy said nine different players have the permanent green light on the base path.

"I told them, it's like I'm like coaching Derrick Henry," he said. "Just give him the ball. I have a bunch of fast kids. When you get on base, you're going to steal. It would be silly of me not to use their athleticism and their speed. The nine people who have a green light, they know it. We'll just see how far it takes us."

Getting those runners on base is the first priority. The Tide ranked 33rd last season with a .321 batting average and the core of that group is back. McCleney hit .436 followed by Demi Turner (.423), Chandler Dare (.347) and Marisa Runyon (.327).

"Our downfall last year was our power game," Murphy said. "We basically had one kid that did it all and that was Runyon and she set the record for RBIs. But we have to have help for her. We've got to have four, five and six back her up."

Runyon tagged 19 home runs, including the grand slam that effectively sent Alabama to the Women's College World Series. McCleney's eight were the next highest total.

What Murphy likes most is the versatility this year's group brings to the plate. Of the 15 batters, nine are left handed. That creates potential match-up problems and Murphy isn't afraid to completely shift the lineup to exploit those strengths.

"If we face a right-handed curveball, I'll put eight lefties in the lineup and see if she can get them out because that's a hard thing to do in softball," he said. "The curve goes right into your wheel house. And if you don't get it in, it goes out."

The return of Peyton Grantham and addition of a few newcomers should help. A starter in 2014 at third base, an ACL injury kept her out last spring.

Murphy also has big plans for Sydney Booker, a transfer from Southwestern Louisiana who was a national freshman of the year candidate last year. She set a program record with 49 RBIs and eight triples last season. Murphy also listed freshman Reagan Dykes as a name to watch. She was one of the top high school hitters in the country coming out of Collins, Miss.

On the pitching side, Winfield (Ala.) product Madi Moore could add to the rotation of Osorio and Sydney Littlejohn (16-2, 1,71 ERA). Moore was Alabama's Miss Softball after winning a state title in 2014.