It will be a rivalry renewed this weekend when the No. 11 Lady Vols (35-11, 11-7 SEC) make the trip to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to take on the No. 5 Alabama Crimson Tide in another three-game SEC series.
This will be the first time since 2013 that these teams have met on the diamond. The Lady Vols took four of five against the Tide in 2013, including a two-game sweep of Alabama in the NCAA Super Regionals.
“Any win this time of the year is huge, and we’re going to finish our season playing two quality opponents in Alabama and Kentucky,” co-head coach Karen Weekly said. “(Alabama is) a great team, ranked really high and always a tough place to play.”
While the Tide rolled to a 2-1 series win over Auburn the past weekend, the Lady Vols enjoyed a three-game road sweep of Mississippi State in Starkville, Mississippi. Tennessee broke a few milestones while playing against the Bulldogs, including Ralph Weekly’s 1200th career victory and smacking the 86th team home run of the season, shattering the previous record of 81 set in 2014.
However, Weekly knows that her team can’t hold on to past glories if it’s going to get past the rolling Crimson Tide.
“What we’ve done in the past doesn’t play much of any factor in the series. It’s really about what we do down there,” Weekly continued. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to hit a few balls out of the park because that’s how we’ve won games to date.”
Weekly’s statement proves true, as the Lady Vols have smacked 86 home runs as a team this year, which is a program record and the fourth-highest total in the nation. 33 of those 82 homers have been in SEC play, which is also first in the conference. Tennessee has five players who have hit 10 or more long balls this year: Taylor Koenig (14), Annie Aldrete (12), Megan Geer (11), Meghan Gregg (10) and Scarlet McSwain (10).
“It really makes me feeling good going into the Alabama series knowing my pitching selection has been really good,” said Geer, who crushed the team’s record-breaking 82nd homer in the final game against the Bulldogs. “Hopefully, I can carry that over (from Mississippi State) and keep the hits coming.”
The Crimson Tide (36-10, 12-6 SEC) have one of the best pitching staffs in the SEC in its arsenal. Sophomore Sydney Littlejohn, freshman Alexis Osorio and senior Leslie Jury all anchor the mound, tossing a 295:110 strike-walk ratio and toss a combined ERA of 1.87. In SEC play, the trio is just as dangerous, tossing an SEC-low 2.26 ERA this year in conference play.
“(Osorio) has great movement on the ball … but what I see is her composure,” Weekly said. “She goes down into Auburn and faces a bases loaded situation in the first and then strikes out three to get out of a tough jam … Alabama’s a great team. They’re a well-coached team, and, year in and year out, they put a great product on the field.”
The first game against the Tide will take place on Thursday at 8 p.m. The game is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN.
The remaining two games will be broadcast on the SEC Network +. The second game of the series will take place Friday at 7:30 p.m., and the series will conclude Saturday at 3 p.m.
