Alabama Softball Starts Season at Troy Tournament

The Alabama Softball team, ranked 6th in nation by ESPN in preseason polls, will begin its quest for a second national title at the Troy Subway Invitational Softball Tournament in Troy, AL this weekend.  The Tide will play Kennesaw State and North Florida on Friday, Northwestern State and Middle Tennessee State on Saturday and host Troy on Sunday.  This will be the first of four straight tournaments the Tide will participate in to start the season.

Alabama enters the season looking to bounce back from a disappointing end to the 2013 season.  The Tide were knocked out of contention in the Knoxville Super Regional by Tennessee, failing to reach Oklahoma City after winning the programs first national championship the year before.  The first step to getting back would be winning the SEC, which will not be an easy task.  Rivals Tennessee and Florida are ranked 1st and 3rd respectively, and Texas A&M, Kentucky, Missouri, LSU and Georgia are also ranked in the ESPN preseason poll.

Still, Alabama comes into the season with a lot of optimism. Part of that comes from returning stars: Kaila Hunt, Haylie McCleney and Jackie Traina were named to the preseason All-SEC team.  The Tide is also excited about its Freshmen class, which includes pitcher Sydney Littlejohn, who is expected to contribute immediately.  It also helps to have head coach Patrick Murphy, who was elected to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame during the off-season.

After the tournament in Troy, the Tide will travel to Tuscon, AZ for the Hillenbrand Invitational Tournament starting February 14th.  Alabama will open its home schedule on February 21st for the Easton Bama Bash Tournament.  They begin SEC play on March 7th with a series against South Carolina in Tuscaloosa.