Crimson Tide softball again earns home regional

May 12, 2009

By Ken Rogers

Alabama’s softball team earned a No. 4 national seed and will host an NCAA regional this weekend.

The Crimson Tide, which is 47-9 overall and was 21-6 and finished second in the SEC Tournament, will be joined in Tuscaloosa by Texas (38-18), Chattanooga (30-22) and Mississippi Valley State (37-14). It will try to extend a period of home-field dominance.

This will be Alabama’s 11th straight NCAA Tournament appearance under coach Pat Murphy and the fifth straight year the school has hosted a regional. In each of the past four seasons, the Tide has won the regional. The team is 26-1 at home this season.

Charlotte Morgan, the SEC Player of the Year, is batting .508 at home with five home runs and 22 RBI. Pitcher Kelsi Dunne is a perfect 14-0 at home with a 0.16 ERA with 103 strikeouts in 85 innings.

An 8-5 loss to Florida in the single-elimination SEC tourney snapped Alabama’s 14-game winning streak.

The Tide plays against Mississippi Valley State at 6 p.m. Friday, after Texas and Chattanooga open the double-elimination regional at 3:30 p.m.