Alabama Softball Will Rely on a Different Kind of Depth this Season

Versatility instead of overall numbers will key Crimson Tide's dugout as Alabama opens the 2020 campaign

Alabama Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — When the shock wore off, the reality of the situation quickly set in.

Claire Jenkins had been the University of Alabama softball team’s closest thing to automatic last season, meaning Patrick Murphy never had to give a second thought about who to write in at shortstop on his lineup card. The third-year starter was considered the captain of the infield, and key to the defense.

That is until she blew out a knee during fall practice, ending her 2020 season before it even began. Murphy was just beginning to consider his options, including sliding Skylar Wallace over from second back to the other mid-infielder spot, when graduate transfer Alexis Mack slipped up to her coach and said something that he might not have known.

“I’ve played second before. I’ll do it,” said Mack, who is still listed on the Crimson Tide roster as an outfielder, but probably won’t play much there this season.

“She’s literally out there 10 minutes later taking ground balls like she’d been out there for six months,” Murphy said.

When Alabama opens the season this weekend at the Joanne Graff Classic in Tallahassee, where it will play four games against Florida State and North Carolina, the Crimson Tide will be the marquee team. Coming off last year’s Women’s College World Series run, it’s ranked first in two of the four major polls, and No. 2 in the others.

All four of its top-notch pitchers will throw, plus Alabama’s speed and defense figure to be on display throughout the season.

But this team’s versatility may trump even those strengths.

For example, Wallace could play all four infield positions, all three outfield spots and even at catcher if necessary. The only place she’s never played is pitcher.

“I wouldn’t do that to her,” Murphy said.

“Just a lot of good, athletic kids.”

Among them, junior KB Sides came into the program having played pitcher, first base, second base, shortstop and in the outfield. Senior Taylor Clark can play just about anywhere as well, and slugger Bailey Hemphill could conceivably play at third base in addition to first, plus was her team’s shortstop in high school (St. Thomas More in Lafayette, La.)

However, Hemphill will begin the season as the Crimson Tide’s primary catcher while Alabama continues to await word from the NCAA regarding the status of incoming freshman Abby Doerr, the player of the year from Oregon who has yet to be cleared due to paperwork snafus.

Murphy loves having this kind of versatility, and this year it even extends to the hill. Senior Sarah Cornell, the 2019 SEC Pitcher of the Year, and freshman Lexi Kilfoyl are both going to hit this season.

“When she connects, her ball takes off like Bailey’s,” Murphy said about Kilfoyl, who was on the U.S. U-19 National Team. “It gets out of here in a hurry. She hits it really, really hard.”

Alabama’s ability to mix and match even extends the batting order, where like in baseball Murphy will play the percentages in turns of righty-lefty matchups. For example, in Game 1 (noon CT, Friday), UNC is expected to start its ace, senior Brittany Pickett, who went 23-14 last season with 228 strikeouts in 232 innings, and had a career-best 2.02 ERA.

She throws left-handed.

For those who don’t know, left-handed pitchers usually have better success against left-handed hitters, and right-handed pitchers fare better versus right-handed hitters because of the way the ball breaks. A breaking pitch going away from the batter is much harder to hit.

Regardless, Murphy likes to stagger his battering order and often uses left-handed slap hitters who can beat out ground balls for base hits at the top. But even there he has options.

Elissa Bown has started more than 150 games in center for the Crimson Tide, but Murphy has told the senior speedster that he’s looking for a .420 on-base percentage out of the leadoff spot. She had a .328 batting average last season, but .381 on-base percentage.

To help with that the coaches had her work with a blue pad along the chalk line to help her not step out of the batter’s box early – an issue for any slap-hitter, but particularly problematic for Brown. The idea was to get her so comfortable with the physical movements that she doesn’t even think about it anymore.

“It’s not as frustrating as it was,” Brown said. “I trust that I can stay in the box as best as I can. But the mat really did help. It’s all about where your foot lands and how your body turns. I’m thankful for that blue mat.”

Murphy’s other options atop the batting order include Mack and Wallace, who was on Team USA along with sophomore pitcher Montana Fouts and Kilfoyl.

“The person who benefitted the most from that summer was Skylar,” Murphy said. “She’s been a totally different kid. You’re going to see her in the leadoff spot, too. She led off for Team USA all summer and did a heck of a good job – obviously they won a gold medal.

“It doesn’t intimidate her at all.”

Through 5 games:
Montana Fouts - 9.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 19 K
Skylar Wallace - .615 (8-for-13), 13 R, 5-for-5 SB/SBA#RollTide #BamaSB https://t.co/ITFq1xdeVg

— Alabama Softball (@AlabamaSB) August 15, 2019

Meanwhile, Jenkins has been shadowing Wallace in the field, helping her with some of the nuances of shortstop, including angles, positioning and footwork. Just because she’s not out there this season doesn’t mean that Alabama won’t have a strong presence or defensive leader in the infield.

“Skylar, her communication has gone through the roof just because she moved one spot over,” Murphy said. “Now she’s kind of telling everyone what to do, where to go and how to do it, which is what you want out of a shortstop.”

Or wherever she may play. Alabama may not have the deepest dugout in terms of numbers, but it does have numerous options at nearly every position.

“It’s kind of a bonus this year,” Murphy summarized.