Georgia State at No. 5 Alabama
When: 6 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Rhoads Stadium
Records: Alabama 38-4, Georgia State 5-34
Radio: 93.3 FM
The Alabama softball team returns home after dropping a series to South Carolina this past weekend.
The Crimson Tide, ranked No. 5 in the latest USA Today/NFCA poll and No. 7 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball rankings, takes on Georgia State on Wednesday for a non-conference showdown.
Alabama’s offense was in control in the first game against South Carolina last Friday, winning 9-1, but fell flat in the final two games, losing 5-1 and 2-0. It’s the first time Alabama has suffered back-to-back losses this season and the game three loss was the first time it’s been shut out this season.
The return to Rhoads Stadium could be just what Alabama needs.
Alabama is 18-1 at home this season, sporting its highest home winning percentage (.947) since 2011 when the Tide went 25-1 (.962)
In 2019, Crimson Tide hitters have outscored the opponents 123-50 at home while 29 of the team’s 65 home runs have come at Rhoads Stadium, paced by nine from junior Bailey Hemphill.
The Crimson Tide pitching carries a 2.08 ERA at home, holding the opponent to two or fewer runs in 14 of the 19 games.
Junior Elissa Brown has come on strong for Alabama. She is second in the SEC with 30 stolen bases after going 5-for-5 against South Carolina. She needs nine more stolen bases to reach 100 for her career, which would put her seventh on the school’s all-time list. At the plate she hit .417 (5-for-12) vs. the Gamecocks.
Also leading the way for Alabama is Hemphill, who belted three home runs this past weekend to put her total at 19, which ranks third nationally and second in the SEC behind Georgia’s Alyssa DiCarlo (20).
