Friday, March 18, 2016

Bama Softball Ekes Out 2-1 Win; Tide In 28th After Day 2 Of NCAAs; Bama Baseball Battles LSU This Weekend; Men's Tennis Faces LSU & Texas A&M


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Alexis Osorio Tosses Tide Softball To 2-1 Victory


Alabama pitcher Alexis Osorio tosses Tide To 2-1 win
Photo Credit: RollTide.com




A low-scoring pitcher's duel yesterday between the Alabama Crimson Tide women's softball team and Cal State Fullerton brought a 2-1 win to Bama at the Easton Tournament in Fullerton, California.

The Tide (23-4) was only able to muster two runs on four hits against the tournament hosts but turned out to be enough to take the win. Tide starter ALEXIS OSORIO (8-2) pitched the complete game only allowing one run for CSF (20-9). Osorio  allowed just three hits with that one run, along with 11 strikeouts. It was her seventh complete game of the season.

It was HAYLIE McCLENEY scoring both of Alabama's runs on the night. She was driven in by LEONA LAFAELE on an RBI single through the right side in the first inning, and then REAGAN DYKES brought her home from second on a hard-hit ball up the middle later in the sixth.

Alabama plays a pair of games today at the Easton Tournament. Bama faces Grand Canyon (20-8) at 1 p.m. CT and then New Mexico (13-8) at 3:30 p.m. CT.



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Tide In 28th After 2nd Day Of NCAAs


Hannah Musser helping the Tide to a win
Photo Credit: RollTide.com



The Alabama Crimson Tide swimming and diving team got on the board in the finals of the 400 medley relay on the second day of competition of the Women's NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. The NCAAs are being held on the campus of Georgia Tech at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia this week.

Bama's gals advanced three places from the earlier preliminaries to take 13th place for the day. Juniors CAROLINE KORST and BRIDGET BLOOD, sophomore HANNAH MUSSER and senior EMMA SAUNDERS set a school-record with a time of 3:33.02 in the relay.

Alabama head coach DENNIS PURSLEY said, "We took a step forward as a team tonight (Thursday). Our ladies swam with confidence and that showed. It's good to be up on the scoreboard in the team race and to have broken some school records along the way. Now we just have to keep that momentum going in the right direction."

The Crimson Tide is now in 24th place with eight points in the standings after the second day of competition in the NCAA Championships.

The Bama belles have really worked together this season, now having broken the Alabama school record three times in the 400 medley relay. Korst, herself, bested her own school record in the 100 breaststroke in the leadoff leg of the medley with a time of 52.49. Korst is the first Tide swimmer ever to come in under 53 seconds in the event.

Pursley continued, "That's probably our swim of the meet so far. Caroline had a big swim and that got us off to a great start in the 400 medley relay."

Sophomore MIA NONNENBERG finished 39th in the 200 individual medley yesterday with a season-best time of 1:59:04 in the Tide's only individual swim of the day.

The Bama ladies are back in action today with the 200 medley relay, along with Nonnenberg in the 400 individual medley, Saunders in the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke and then Blood with freshman MARIAN YURCHISHIN in the 100 breaststroke.


Caroline Korst in the 400 medley relay
Photo Credit: RollTide.com



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Bama Baseball Battles LSU This Weekend


Photo Credit: RollTide.com




The Alabama baseball team opens Southeastern Conference play with weekend in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with the seventh-ranked LSU Tigers. The three-game series opens tonight with game one starting at 7 p.m. CT. Game two is Saturday and scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. CT start, and then the third and final game is Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.

The Tide and Tigers meet for the 364th time tonight. The series itself dates back to 1906. The Crimson Tide owns the all-time advantage, 199-161-3, but the Tigers lead in Baton Rouge, 79-83-3. Most recently, however, LSU swept Bama in the series held in Hoover, playing in a 16-inning game on Friday and a 13-inning game on Sunday and totaling 38.0 innings of baseball for the weekend. It was the most frames played across a three-game series in Alabama history.

Tonight's contest will air live on the SEC Network. The other two games can be seen on SECN+.

After the Tide closes out the weekend series with LSU they will head to Regions Field in Birmingham, Alabama to face the UAB Blazers on Tuesday. Then next weekend the Tide hosts the Tennessee Volunteers at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa.


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Men's Tennis Faces Southeastern Conference Foes

The Crimson Tide men's tennis team is back on the road this weekend in a daunting task, having to face two Southeastern Conference foes at their houses, one of which are highly ranked nationally. Alabama faces LSU tonight in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and then heads to Texas to take on No. 9 Texas A&M. Tonight's match begins at 5:30 p.m. CT, while Sunday's start time is set for noon CT.