Weekend Preview: Alabama Softball Takes On Arkansas

After sweeping Texas A&M last weekend, No. 4 Alabama will head to Bogle Park in Fayetteville to take on No. 8 Arkansas.

“They’ve been really successful,” said head coach Patrick Murphy about this weekend's matchup. “To be 12-0 to start the SEC is pretty impressive.”

Alabama is 9-3 in SEC play and has a chance to hand the Razorbacks its first conference loss.

“We want to make a statement,” said outfielder Alexis Mack. “It’s really an opportunity for us.”

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Alabama will face a home run hitting Razorback team that includes two of the top five sluggers in the SEC, Braxton Burnside and Danielle Gibson.

“Basically, everyone can hit one out,” said Murphy. “It’s like facing the Yankees.”

This is especially true for Burnside, the current SEC home run leader, and her teammate Gibson who have 20 and 11 home runs on the season respectively.

Arkansas has hit a total of 69 home runs with about 30% of those coming solely from Burnside.

It is important for Alabama to keep the ball away from the middle of the plate during this series as accurate and controlled pitching will be the key for the Crimson Tide this weekend.

“It needs to be a little more strategic and accurate,” said Murphy on Alabama’s pitching. “But you can’t be afraid.”

It is not yet confirmed who will be the starting pitchers for either team this weekend as the lineup is usually released before game time.

Though Montana Fouts and Mary Haff will most likely start off the series pitching for their respective teams as neither have pitched recently.

Alabama's first of the three-game series at Arkansas will begin on Friday, April 9 at 6 p.m. CT.