Preview: #5 Softball hosts #11 Tennessee in Final SEC Home Series

Alabama will play its last home series of the season this weekend, as they play host to  #11 Tennessee. Patrick Murphy's squad is in the final stages of the SEC schedule, as after this series and a trip to Arkansas next weekend, the SEC tournament will begin.

Alabama (36-10, 12-6) is coming off a very impressive performance on the road at Auburn last weekend. The Crimson Tide played very well both in pitching and batting, as they were the first team to shutout Auburn all season on Friday in a 6-0 win. The bats were the story in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday, as they paved the way to a 13-3 win. Alabama fell in the series finale Saturday afternoon, 13-12, but still escaped with a huge road series victory.

Tennessee (35-11, 11-7) comes to Tuscaloosa after sweeping Mississippi State in Starkville last weekend. The Lady Vols bats are led by Shaliyah Geathers, who is batting .363 on the year. Tennessee ranks second in the SEC in slugging percentage, but lands in the middle of the conference in every other major hitting statistic. Erin Gabriel leads the Tennessee pitching staff with a 13-5 record to match a 3.06 era.

After Alabama was able to control the Auburn bats that lead the SEC for most the series last weekend, the Crimson Tide should be able to handle the Tennessee bats. Picking up another series win against a ranked opponent would be great for momentum heading into the final series of the season. With this being the last home series for Alabama, you can expect them to come out in full force for the fans.

Alabama and Tennessee play the first game of a three game series Thursday, at 7 pm, at Rhoads Stadium.