Bama looking for 15th straight win in visit to Troy

TUSCALOOSA | The second-ranked University of Alabama softball team will carry a lot of accolades into tonight’s non-conference game at Troy.

The Crimson Tide (35-3) has the reigning consensus national player of the week in sophomore pitcher/first baseman Charlotte Morgan, and two of the 25 players who have been named finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award.

Morgan and junior outfielder Brittany Rogers made the cut as finalists for the national award.

Morgan was named national player of the week by both USA Softball and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association for her play last week. The sophomore from Moreno Valley, Calif., batted .538 (7-for-13) for the week with two home runs, three doubles, six RBIs and three runs scored. She also pitched a pair of complete-game victories over No. 10 LSU to improve to 9-0 on the season.

“It’ is really an honor,” Morgan told USA Softball. ‘Every time our team takes the field our goal is to find a way to win, and I will do whatever it takes to help us accomplish that goal.

“I love being able to contribute both at the plate and in the circle, just anything that will help us win.”

Morgan allowed just one run in 12 innings as a pitcher with eight strikeouts. LSU batted just .140 against her in two outings.

The player of the year list will be cut to 10 on May 7, just before the start of the postseason, and cut down again to three finalists on May 21. The national player of the year will be named at the Women’s College World Series on May 27.

All of that is a long way off for Alabama, which is riding a 14-game winning streak and is coming off a weekend sweep of then-No. 10 LSU. Tide head coach Patrick Murphy reached a personal milestone in that series by winning his 500th game at UA after earlier reaching the overall 500-win mark in his career. Murphy’s win total at Alabama now stands at 502, with 530 career victories on his resume.

Troy (24-17) has two victories over Florida State this season and lost 7-6 at LSU.

Alabama holds a 10-0 all-time lead in the series, including a 5-0 victory in Tuscaloosa last season in the most recent meeting between the schools.

Alabama has produced more than 40 percent of its RBIs with two outs this season. Lauren Parker and Rogers lead Alabama hitters with runners in scoring position, with Rogers batting .435 and Parker hitting .500.

As a team, the Tide is ranked in the top 11 in seven categories in the latest NCAA rankings. Alabama leads the nation in stolen bases at 2.84 per game and in slugging percentage at .585. Alabama is second in both batting average (.350) and doubles (2.08 per game) and third in scoring (7.47 runs per game) and won-loss percentage (.921). Alabama is eighth in home runs (1.18 per game) and 11th in fielding percentage (.977).