Alabama softball's seeding and opponent for the upcoming SEC Tournament is set.
The Crimson Tide enter the SEC Tournament as the No. 9 seed and are set to play No. 8 seed LSU in the first round of the tournament on Wednesday at 10 a.m. CT on SEC Network.
Alabama enters the SEC Tournament after finishing under .500 in SEC play for the first time in program history. It dropped its final conference series at Auburn, taking one of three games vs. the Tigers. The Crimson Tide's lone SEC series victory this season came in a sweep over Ole Miss in April.
Here are five things to know about Alabama softball heading into the SEC Tournament:
Alabama softball from the circle
As a whole, Alabama's pitching staff ranks third in the conference in ERA (2.06). However, we saw an Alabama pitching staff allow seven runs against an Auburn team that ranks last in the conference in runs scored (188), hits (283) and RBIs (171).
So far this season, Kayla Beaver has emerged as the No. 1 pitcher for the Crimson Tide, making 25 starts in 31 appearances and currently sitting at 16-8 with three saves. Beaver has been dominant from the circle this season, but we have seen a few shaky appearances from her as of late. Beaver has pitched 155⅓ innings allowing 52 runs, 39 earned, off of 116 hits with 156 strikeouts and 56 walks. She has a team-leading ERA of 1.76.
Jocelyn Briski has emerged as the No. 2 pitcher for Alabama after suffering from injury earlier in the season. Briski started two out of three of Alabama's games vs. Auburn last weekend, and has gone 7-4 from the circle through 70⅔ innings pitched. Briski has an ERA of 2.48 and has allowed 31 runs, 25 of them earned, off of 66 hits, striking out 58 batters and walking 22.
Pitching will be key for Alabama moving forward in the postseason, as will limiting walking batters, especially the leadoff. When pitching is on from the Crimson Tide, it is on; however, when Alabama struggles from the circle, it tends to struggle as a whole.
Struggles in the run column
Alabama ranks 12 out of 13 in the SEC in runs scored (202), hits (305) and RBIs (193). It has been shut out seven times this season, marking the most amount of games Alabama has been held scoreless in a season since 2017 when it was shut out eight times.
Since its Arkansas series April 19-21, Alabama has scored 11 runs while allowing 24 across those nine games. This doesn't mean the Crimson Tide have been without chances though, but their comeback efforts typically fall short and come too late in the game. They nearly pulled off a comeback vs. Auburn on Thursday night, scoring three runs in the top of the seventh inning, but they came up one run short of tying the game.
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AUBURN TAKEAWAYS:Alabama softball loses SEC series vs. Auburn to end regular season: Takeaways, observations
Alabama showing it can outlast opponents
Many of Alabama's games have come down to pitcher's duels, with one or two runs making the difference. This was the case in Saturday's 11-inning, 2-0 win over Auburn when Kenleigh Cahalan hit a clutch two-run single. It marked Alabama's longest game played this season.
Alabama has only played in five extra-inning games this season, dropping all of them except for Saturday's win at Auburn. The 11-inning win came at a good time for Alabama heading into the postseason.
Alabama batting leaders
Kenleigh Cahalan has started in all 49 of Alabama's games this season at shortstop. Cahalan, who has been in the leadoff spot for the Crimson Tide as of late, is batting .291 to go with a team-high 44 hits. Jenna Johnson has been in the one or two spot of the Alabama batting order for majority of the season, batting .270 to go with 31 hits and 24 RBIs. Abby Duchscherer has a team-leading 30 RBIs but has been out of the lineup as of late.
Kristen White has also come up clutch this season, hitting an RBI single in the 1-0 win vs. Tennessee last weekend to break Alabama's previous 27 inning scoreless streak. Overall, White is batting .313 with 21 hits and two RBIs. As a team, Alabama is batting .254, ranking 11th in the SEC.
Missing from the lineup
Catcher Marlie Giles has not been in the lineup since March 30, when she was hit by a pitch vs. Kentucky. Over the Auburn series, Giles made appearances as a defensive replacement at catcher in all three games but did not reenter the batting order.
Prior to her injury, Giles was batting .286 making 24 starts in 31 games played. She has 16 hits and 10 RBIs. Riley Valentine has entered the lineup in Giles' absence and is hitting .185 with 15 hits and 11 RBIs.
