Alabama Crimson Tide
Overall Rank: #4
Conference Rank: #1 SEC
Alabama heads into the 2020 season primed to make a run at another national championship as the Crimson Tide got back to Semifinal Sunday at the Women’s College World Series in 2019. Alabama will bring back plenty of experience in their everyday lineup along with a deep pitching staff led by Montana Fouts that will set them as the preseason favorite to win the SEC title along with the conference tournament in Tuscaloosa.
2019: 60-10, 18-6
2019 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Patrick Murphy
Key Departed Players:
Reagan Dykes, C, .265 BA, 8 HR, 33 RBI, 4 SB
Merris Schroeder, OF, .237 BA, 13 HR, 39 RBI, 20 SB
Courtney Gettins, P, 3.80 ERA, 6-2 W/L, 59.0 IP, 16 BB, 43 SO
Key Returning Players:
Bailey Hemphill, UTIL, .375 BA, 26 HR, 84 RBI
Elissa Brown, OF, .328 BA, 0 HR, 13 RBI, 48 SB
Kaylee Tow, OF, .309 BA, 10 HR, 62 RBI
KB Sides, OF, .304 BA, 3 HR, 37 RBI, 22 SB
Skylar Wallace, INF, .295 BA, 7 HR, 32 RBI, 18 SB
Maddie Morgan, INF, .275 BA, 4 HR, 30 RBI
Claire Jenkins, INF, .221 BA, 13 HR, 31 RBI, 8 SB
Montana Fouts, P, 1.39 ERA, 21-6 W/L, 181.0 IP, 56 BB, 193 SO, 5 SV
Sarah Cornell, P, 2.50 ERA, 22-1 W/L, 126.0 IP, 49 BB, 88 SO
Krystal Goodman, P, 1.63 ERA, 11-1 W/L, 94.1 IP, 40 BB, 71 SO
Projection:
Bailey Hemphill will set the tone for this lineup once again in 2020 as she hit .375 with 26 homeruns and 64 runs batted in last season. Elissa Brown, KB Sides, and Skylar Wallace will provide a speed element that will put relentless pressure on opposing teams all year long. Brown had 48 stolen bases in 54 attempts while hitting .328 in 2019. Sides and Wallace will provide a little bit of power in addition to their speed as they combined for ten homeruns and should both hit over .300 in 2020. Kaylee Tow and Claire Jenkins are additional power threats in the lineup that combined for 23 homeruns and 93 runs batted in last season. The pitching staff will provide a nice mix of styles that will keep opposing batters off balance during weekend series in SEC play. Montana Fouts should be the number one starter once again as Fouts lived up to the hype as a freshman, striking out 193 batters in 181 innings while walking only 56 batters. Krystal Goodman was very effective as well as she won 11 games and did a nice job of keeping the ball in the ballpark, allowing just six homeruns. Sarah Cornell adjusted to the increased competition of the SEC after transferring over from Hofstra as she went 22-1 for the Crimson Tide in 2019. The schedule will be tough as always. Alabama will know right away what they have to work on after playing Florida State, Washington, South Florida, UCLA, and Oklahoma State in the first two weeks of the season. Arizona, BYU, Louisiana, and Texas will visit Tuscaloosa during the non-conference portion of the schedule as well and those will be great RPI boosting opportunities. The Crimson Tide will avoid Florida and Georgia during conference play but will have to deal with LSU and Tennessee this season. Look for Alabama to be a top four national seed and end up with a much better draw at the Women’s College World Series this time around.
Projected Postseason: NCAA Softball Tournament
Madness 2020 Draft Rankings:
#8 Bailey Hemphill
