Alabama softball: Scouting report for the Tuscaloosa Regional in the NCAA Tournament
Alabama softball is dancing for the 25th straight season and hosting an NCAA regional for the 19th straight season.
The 14th-nationally seeded Crimson Tide welcome a field of Clemson (34-17), Southeastern Louisiana (45-13) and USC Upstate (30-21) in the Tuscaloosa Regional, with play scheduled to run from Friday-Sunday at Rhoads Stadium. Clemson and Southeastern Louisiana get the action started at 1 p.m. CT Friday, followed by Alabama vs. USC Upstate at 3:30 p.m. CT.
Despite finishing under .500 in the SEC for the first time in program history, Alabama (33-17) finished ranked No. 16 in the NCAA RPI rankings. Alabama is coming off a first round SEC Tournament exit, losing 3-2 to LSU in 14 innings. Kayla Beaver leads Alabama from the circle with an ERA of 1.78 and 162 strikeouts., while Kenleigh Cahalan leads the offense with a batting average of .293 to go with a team-high 46 hits and 24 RBIs.
Here is what to know about Alabama's regional opponents, as well as our prediction for the Tuscaloosa Regional:
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Alabama softball regional No. 2 seed: Clemson
Clemson is making its fourth-consecutive NCAA tournament appearance in its fifth year of existence. The Tigers are 19th in the NCAA RPI rankings and finished fourth in the ACC. It will be Clemson's second time at the Tuscaloosa Regional, first playing in the 2021 regional. The Tigers saw themselves make it to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament before falling to eventual champion Duke, 4-3, in 10 innings. They finished the season sitting at 34-17 overall winning six of their last 10 games.
Valerie Cagle leads the Clemson offense, batting .365 on the season with 50 hits and 42 RBIs. Regan Spencer has pitched the most innings for Clemson this season (107⅔) with an ERA of 1.95 with 59 strikeouts.
Clemson opens regional play on Friday against 3-seeded Southeastern Louisiana at 1 p.m. CT.
Alabama softball regional No. 3 seed: Southeastern Louisiana
Southeastern Louisiana, the Southland Conference Tournament champions, are competing in its first NCAA regional. Southeastern Louisiana ranks 60th in the NCAA RPI rankings and it sits at 45-13 overall. It has faced SEC opponents this season, defeating Ole Miss 9-4 on March 2 in the second meeting of the season between the programs, with Ole Miss winning the first.
Ka'Lyn Watson leads the Southeastern Louisiana offense batting .402 on the season with an on-base percentage of 1.050 to go with 70 hits and 37 RBIs. From the circle, Cera Blanchard has pitched the most innings for SLU thus far this season (132⅔) to go with 103 strikeouts.
Southeastern Louisiana faces Clemson in its opening round match-up on the Tuscaloosa Regional at 1 p.m. CT Friday.
Alabama softball regional No. 4 seed: USC Upstate
The Big South Conference regular season and tournament champions are making their sixth NCAA regional appearance and its first since 2017. It will be USC Upstate's fourth time coming to the Tuscaloosa Regional. The USC Upstate is the first in program history to win a Big South Tournament Championship. It finished the season at 30-21 overall and ranked 126th in the NCAA RPI rankings.
Denver Lauer leads the USC Upstate offense, batting .334 on the season with 54 hits and 29 RBIs. From the circle, Sierra Maness leads the USC Upstate pitching staff with a 2.33 ERA in 156⅓ innings pitched.
USC Upstate opens NCAA regional play on Friday vs. Alabama at 3:30 p.m. CT.
Alabama softball NCAA regional prediction
Tuscaloosa Regional Projected Winner: Alabama
Alabama may have finished under .500 in the SEC for the first time in program history, but it still finished the regular season 33-16 against high-caliber opponents and in a high-caliber conference. Alabama will be reliant on its pitching, as it has been all season, and timely hitting will be essential for the Crimson Tide. Couple that with getting to host at Rhoads Stadium, and the Crimson Tide may just have enough momentum to carry them into the super-regional round.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama softball: Scouting report, prediction for Tuscaloosa Regional
