[Tuck4Bama]

Alabama Softball Achieves No. 1 Ranking for First Time in School History Release: 05/01/2007

Alabama Softball is No. 1 for the first time in school history
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama softball team was listed as the No. 1 team in the nation for the first time in school history on Tuesday when the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top-25 poll was released.
“It’s just really exciting for everybody,” said Crimson Tide head coach Patrick Murphy. “I wasn’t going to take it for granted that we were going to move up, but it’s pretty exciting. This is a great day for everybody in our program. It’s been a long, long work in progress, and a lot of hard work.”
Alabama received 17 of the 20 first place votes to claim the top spot. The Crimson Tide moved to No. 2 in the national rankings for the first time in school history earlier this season on March 13 before they played the University of Florida. It marked the first time an Alabama team had ever been ranked higher than third, despite a 27-0 start in 2001 that led to a No. 3 ranking.
“It is a great honor for each and every one of us and every one who is involved with the program,” said sophomore second baseman Lauren Parker. “It is a great way for us to represent the University of Alabama. To be a part of it is amazing.”
“We are really honored to have the No. 1 ranking and that we are a part of a team that accomplished that. It just goes to credit all the people who made it possible, the people who played in the years before us and made it possible to have softball at Alabama.”
Alabama is 50-4 on the year and one of only two teams with 50 wins nationally. They are 21-4 and in a tie for first place in the SEC heading into the final weekend of conference play. They are just the second SEC team to ever achieve a No. 1 ranking.
“We are very excited as a team because we have all worked hard for it,” said senior pitcher Blair Potter, who is the SEC Pitcher of the Week after throwing a no-hitter. “With all the hard work in the fall in the weight room, we knew it would pay off at the end.”
For the past six of seven weeks, Bama has held the No. 2 spot in either the USA Softball or NFCA Top-25. The Tide has now been ranked in the Top-10 for 29 consecutive weeks and in the Top-25 in the last 73 polls.
“It is a great thing to be No. 1 and I think it shows a lot about our program and what Coach Murphy has dome with it,” said junior pitcher Chrissy Owens. “Great things were bound to come for the program with all the hard work that everybody is putting into it.”
Despite all of the success this season for the Tide, Coach Murphy still can’t believe the team is No. 1 for the first time. Heading into the year, Alabama put an entire new infield together and also had a new starter in the outfield. What was thought by many to be a rebuilding season for the Tide has ended up being a record-breaking year. They have already set school records for stolen bases and home runs in a season and are on pace to set many more records before the year is over.
“I just have that chant in my head, ‘We’re No. 1,’” he said. “We’re definitely going to do something special today in practice.”
In fact when the players showed up at the Alabama Softball Complex for practice today, a white No. 1 was painted on the pitchers mound. Prior to the start of the workout, Coach Murphy mentioned to each player that they were No. 1.
Alabama will have a tough road ahead. The team they replaced in the top spot of the poll, Tennessee, held the longest streak ever at the top spot before the Tide moved ahead of them. The top two squads in the country will square off in Knoxville, Tenn. this weekend for the final series of the regular season. Both teams are tied with LSU for first in the conference heading into the final weekend of play.
“The thing that kept coming into my mind was we have one big series left and a lot of tough games ahead,” said Parker. “We don’t need to lose sight of that. We just need to go out there and play every game to the best of our ability.”
The Tennessee series will begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday with a doubleheader and conclude Sunday at 1 p.m.


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[Stoney]

They better get used to Alabama being ranked #1 in NCAA Football too.