TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama softball team hopes home-field advantage helps its realize its goal of getting back to the College World Series.
No. 2 Alabama (53-7) will take the next step toward that goal at 7 tonight when it plays host to the University of Michigan (42-15) in the NCAA tournament’s Tuscaloosa Super Regional at Rhoads Stadium.
ESPN2 will broadcast game one of the best-of-three series. Game two will be at 3:30 p.m. (ESPNU). Game three, if necessary, will be at 6 p.m. Friday (ESPN2). The winner of the series will advance to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City. This is the fifth straight year Alabama has hosted a Super Regional.
“It’s awfully exciting this time of year,” Alabama coach Patrick Murphy said. “We are at the light at the end of the tunnel. I know we have a very tough opponent in Michigan. It’s always fun to play coach Hutchins and her team. We love their coaching staff. We have great respect for what they’ve done in the Big Ten.”
Murphy said he has developed a trusting relationship with Michigan coach Carl Hutchins. He said he calls often in the season to discuss a number of subjects. He said many programs in cold weather states look up to Michigan because it is the only program east of the Mississippi that has won a national championship. Michigan beat UCLA in 2005 to win the title. Oklahoma, which won the national crown in 2000, is the only other non-Pacific 12 Conference program to win a national title in the past 13 years.
Michigan enters the Super Regional after winning the Louisville Regional last weekend. It opened with a 3-2, walk-off victory against the University of Kentucky. Freshman Sara Driesenga’s two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the seventh inning won it. Michigan followed that up with another walk-off victory, a 2-1 victory against the host team and 15th seed Louisville in eight innings. Michigan beat Louisville 4-0 to advance to the Super Regionals.
“We’re delighted to be here in Tuscaloosa,” said Hutchins, who is 1,251-422-4 in 28 seasons. “It is one of the great softball environments in college softball. We know that we have a great opponent. We’re very excited about our opportunity.”
Senior infielder Amy Chidester leads the team with a .351 batting average with nine home runs and 45 RBIs. Junior Ashley Lane has hit 11 home runs and has 39 RBIs.
Freshman pitcher Haylie Wagner (32-5) earned all of the victories in the regionals. The 32 wins are a school record for a freshman. Wagner has posted a 1.46 ERA and has 153 strikeouts in 239 innings. The
Alabama went 3-0 in the Tuscaloosa Regional. On Friday, Amanda Locke pitched a three-hitter in a 5-1 win against UT Martin, 5-1. It also beat the University of South Alabama 5-2 and 6-0 to advance. Jackie Traina threw two two-hitters to lead the way. Alabama gave up just eight hits and struck out 27 in the three games.
Senior Jennifer Fenton and Cassie Reilly-Boccia will lead Alabama. In six postseason wins, Fenton leads the team with a .667 batting average, with four RBIs, nine runs scored, and eight stolen bases. Reilly-Boccia has batted .529 and has driven in four runs.
In the 41 games that Alabama has played NCAA tournament participants, Reilly-Boccia leads the team with a .359 batting average with five home runs and 29 RBIs. Fenton is second with a .336 average with 38 runs scored and 24 stolen bases.
“This team just has a special chemistry,” Fenton said of the 2012 Alabama squad. “We really love playing with and for each other. No one has any intent for doing it for themselves. We do it as a team. It’s just for the whole team, playing for our fans and playing for something much bigger than ourselves. We just have fun together.”
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