Bailey Marie Hemphill (born February 17, 1998) is a former American All-American

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

player for the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a mem ...

. She currently holds the

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

record for the most career home runs hit with 64, as well as the SEC record for most career walks with 237.

Early life

Hemphill attended St. Thomas More High School in

Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette (, ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the most populous city and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, located along the Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's fourth largest incorporated municipality by population and the 234th- ...

, where she was a two time NFCA High School All-American and broke her school's all-time career home run record after two seasons. She was named Louisiana's Miss Softball her senior year in 2016.

College career

Freshman season

During her first career at-bat on February 10, 2017, Hemphill hit a three-run home run against Towson in her Alabama debut. She finished the 2017 season with a .309 batting average and 47 hits. In addition, Hemphill led the team with 9 home runs, 41 RBIs, and 57 walks and was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team. In the field, Hemphill mainly played

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and occasionally

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

, but for the majority of games she was used as a

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

. During a match against Ole Miss on May 5, 2017, Hemphill hit a solo home run and had an early celebration with her team. However, she was tagged and called out due to Hemphill not touching home plate (she had jumped over the plate to her team in her excitement at the home run). The game ended with an Ole Miss victory, 5–4.

Sophomore year

In the 2018 season, Hemphill had a .333 batting average with 41 hits, 48 RBIs, and 13 home runs. She missed two weeks of the season due to a foot injury, only starting 49 of 56 games. Hemphill primarily played first base her sophomore season.

Junior Year

During her junior year, Hemphill led Alabama with a .372 batting average and 72 hits and was either a first baseman or a designated hitter. She set a single-season school record with 26 home runs (tying the SEC record) and 84 RBIs (leading the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

). She helped Alabama reach their first Women's College World Series since 2016, where she hit her record-breaking 26th home run on June 1, 2019, in a 15–3 victory against

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

that kept them alive in the loser's bracket. Alabama eventually reached the tournament semi-finals and were eliminated by

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, and Hemphill made the 2019 Women's College World Series All-Tournament team. Following the 2019 season, Hemphill was named an NFCA Second Team All-American and First Team All-SEC.

Senior Year

In a 2020 season shortened by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Hemphill batted .280 and recorded 14 hits, 10 RBIs, and 4 homeruns in 22 games. She was nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award in July 2020.

Redshirt senior year

Hemphill chose to return for her fifth year of eligibility in 2021, and finished the season leading the team with a .419 batting average, 14 home runs, 57 RBIs, 57 walks, a .581 on-base percentage, and a .770 slugging percentage. Due to the departure of veteran catcher Reagan Dykes, Hemphill played most games as the starting catcher for Alabama. On May 14, she hit her 61st home run against

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

in the SEC tournament semi-finals to become the Alabama all-time career home run leader. Hemphill helped Alabama win their first SEC Tournament Championship since 2012 after the team defeated

on May 15, recording three home runs in the tournament. In the opening round of the

2021 Women's College World Series The 2021 NCAA Division I softball tournament was held from May 21 through June 10, 2021 as the final part of the 2021 NCAA Division I softball season. 31 teams were awarded automatic bids as champions of their conferences after the Ivy League op ...

on June 3, against

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, Hemphill hit a solo home run to help Alabama win 5–1 and advance to the second round of the tournament. On June 6, Hemphill recorded her 237th career walk in the first match of the Women's College World Series semi-finals, against

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

, making her the SEC record-holder for most career walks. A day later, she hit a two-run homer against Florida State in the second semi-final game, but Alabama eventually lost the game 8–5 and was thus eliminated. At the end of the tournament, Hemphill was named onto the 2021 Women's College World Series All-Tournament Team. Hemphill finished the 2021 season as an NFCA First-Team All American, First Team All-SEC player, the

SEC Player of the Year Southeastern Conference Player of the Year refers to the most outstanding player for the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in a given sport for a given season. For lists of individual sport SEC Players of the Year by year: *Southeastern Conference Bas ...

, and a finalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award.

Statistics

External links

*
Alabama Crimson Tide bio

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hemphill, Bailey 1998 births Softball players from Louisiana Alabama Crimson Tide softball players Softball players American softball players Living people Sportspeople from Lafayette, Louisiana