Brett Greenberg
The Tuscaloosa News
No. 3-ranked Alabama softball (32-5, 11-4 SEC) takes on the No. 4-ranked Florida Gators (30-5, 10-2 SEC) in an SEC series beginning Friday at Rhodes Stadium.
The two storied programs have played 78 times, with the Crimson Tide holding a four-game advantage.
Alabama coach Patrick Murphy and Florida coach Tim Walton have brought a combined 22 SEC championships to their schools: Murphy has six regular-season and four SEC Tournament titles; Walton has coached UF to seven regular-season and five tournament championships.
"The league is the most balanced it's ever been this year," Murphy said. "Everyone is good. You can't take a day off or you're going to get your butt kicked."
The Florida Gators won back-to-back national championships in 2014 and 2015, and the Crimson Tide became the first SEC team to win a national championship in 2012.
Here are five things to know about this rivalry:
SEC belongs to the Crimson Tide or Gators
Since the 2009 season, the regular-season champion in the SEC has come out of Tuscaloosa or Gainesville, Florida. Since Murphy took over in 1999, the Crimson Tide has won six regular-season championships and four tournament crowns, most recently in 2019.
"It was 2019 and we were down there (Gainesville) for a series and I was looking at the SEC championship wall they have and noticed we have every year they don't," Murphy said. "Tim (Walton) called me in 2019 and said we better win the league because it's either the Gators or the Crimson Tide."
ALABAMA SOFTBALL: NCAA to announce sites for regionals and super-regionals ahead of softball championships
ALABAMA SOFTBALL: Six things No. 4 Alabama softball needs to do to win the SEC starting this weekend
Longtime coaches, good friends
Murphy has been at the helm for 23 years, while Walton has coached the Gators for 15. The two have faced off against each other 50 times, with Florida holding a 28-22 advantage.
"Tim does an unbelievable job down there," Murphy said. "He recruits great kids and good students, and I try to do the same. This is a healthy rivalry, not a dirty one."
Familiar postseason foes
Since 1999, the two-storied programs have faced off six times in the Women's College World Series. Alabama holds a 1-5 record against the Gators in Oklahoma City. The most recent showdown resulted in a 15-3 run-rule victory for the Crimson Tide in 2019.
The programs also have faced off six times in the SEC Tournament in this time span, with the Gators holding a 6-1 overall advantage.
Eerily similar pitching staffs
The Crimson Tide rotation has a combined 1.59 earned run average. The Gators rotation has a 1.59 ERA as well. .
The staffs rank first and second for team ERA in the SEC and rank second and third in shutouts in the conference.
UF's Elizabeth Hightower (14-2, 1.40 ERA) and Alabama's Montana Fouts (13-2, 1.62 ERA) are tied for second in the SEC for shutouts (5).
Powerful offenses, speed everywhere
The Alabama offense ranks first in hits (123)runs scored (84), RBIs (78), walks (50) and stolen bases (14) in conference play. The Florida offense features four hitters hitting .350 or better and has stolen 39 bases.
What's next
Alabama begins the series against Florida at 6 p.m. Friday on the SEC+ Network. Saturday's game will be available on ESPN2, while Sunday's game will be live on the SEC Network. Both games will begin at 1 p.m. CT.
Comments