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Alabama Spring A-Day Game Festivities Announced
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
It will be here before you know it! Or perhaps knowing it both heightens the anticipation for Bama football as well as seemingly make time stand still until it gets here.
The Alabama Athletics Department has announced the scheduled activities for the 2016 Alabama Golden Flake A-Day game. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. CT kickoff at Bryant-Denny Stadium on April 16th, and will include a jam-packed day full of activities. The fans will once again be able to take to the field at the conclusion of the game for some photos and autographs.
The gates for the event are scheduled to open at 11 a.m. CT, and admission will once again be free to the public. For those never having attended the event before: line up early to get your choice seating in relation to taking to the field after the scrimmage.
Things get underway at 8 a.m. with the Mercedes-Benz Fan Fest. This event is open to the public outside the North end zone at the corner of University Boulevard and Wallace Wade Drive. Inflatables, giveaways and games will be available for the fans.
The Alumni Flag Football Game begins at 11:30 a.m. CT inside Bryant-Denny Stadium, featuring many of the former Alabama greats. There will be two 20-minutes halves and should conclude in the neighbohood of 12:15 p.m.
The annual Walk of Fame Ceremony at Denny Chimes, one of the great traditions at UA, is scheduled to begin at approximately 12:15 p.m. CT and is always open to the public. Alabama head football coach NICK SABAN along with the former captains of the 2015 National Championship football team, JAKE COKER, DERRICK HENRY, RYAN KELLY and REGGIE RAGLAND will speak to the crowd, then leave a print of their hands and cleats in the concrete as so many other Alabama greats have done in days gone by.
A Walk of Champions is scheduled for 12:50 p.m. CT when the team arrives at Bryant-Denny Stadium. 2015 Heisman Trophy winner DERRICK HENRY will be joined by 2009 Heisman winner MARK INGRAM for the festivities, as the Heisman Trophy Trust presents Alabama with the program's copy of Henry's 2015 Heisman Trophy and Ingram will receive his 2009 Heisman ring from the Trust.
Halftime entertainment will this year feature the Alabama Quarterback Challenge with former Crimson Tide QBs from the past 10 years. Participants will be announced today and the blog will be updated at that time. Participants will make nine throws from various distances to moving targets, all of which will be assigned points. A final throw for distance will be awarded two points for every yard the pass travels. Winner will be the QB with the most points tallied at the competition's conclusion.
Former captains of past Crimson Tide teams, former Bama stars, and current NFL players from Alabama will be on hand to help celebrate 10 years of Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban as head football coach at UA.
There will again be a free autograph session sponsored by BBVA Compass. This one will be with former Bama running back KENYAN DRAKE from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. CT at the Fan Photo tent outside of Gate 5. Former football players will be also available for pictures from 10 a.m-1 p.m. CT. Appearance times as well as the players' names will be released closer to the event.
A-Day posters featuring head coach Nick Saban as well as 10 of the Bama greats during the last 10 years, along with the 2016 schedule will be given away at the gates to the first 12,500 fans. Special commemorative A-Day programs highlighting Coach Saban's 10 A-Day Games will be available at a cost of $5 and will include a player poster, coupons from sponsors and a chance to win game tickets if the Golden Flake game program ad on the inside front cover is signed by Coach Saban.
At the conclusion of the A-Day Game coach Saban will present the spring awards to the team at midfield. Fance will once again have post-game field access once the team has cleared the field. Fans may enter through any of the four corner gates.
UA leads the country in spring game attendance over the last nine years with a total of 733,532 fans and an average of 81,503 fans per game during that period. The largest A-Day crowd in school history came in 2011 with 92,310 fans in attendance. In Saban's first year of 2007, the stadium was at full capacity prior to expansion (92,138).
Numerous and varied activities will be going on throughout Tuscaloosa and the Alabama campus on A-Day weekend. The Crimson Tide baseball team will host Ole Miss on April 15-17, with the series getting underway at 7 p.m. CT from Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Country music artist Chris Young will throw out the first pitch on April 15 prior to his 7:30 p.m. concert at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater. The men's tennis team will then play host to Vanderbilt in the regular-season finale on Sunday, April 17th at The University of Alabama Tennis Stadium.
Public parking for A-Day is once again free and is offered on a first-come/first-serve basis with Crimson Ride shuttles running from the east side of campus to the Quad. For more parking and A-Day information go to UAGameday.com.
The 2016 Golden Flake A-Day Game will be televised on ESPN, with Kirk Herbstreit, Joe Tessitore and Joey Galloway serving as hosts/reporters.
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Bama Baseball Prevails 10-7 Over Georgia In 13 Innings
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
In a marathon 13-inning contest, the Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team finally muzzled the Georgia Bulldogs 10-7 last night. Bama improves to 16-9 overall, 5-2 SEC after playing their second-longest game in Crimson Tide history at 5 hours, 12 minutes. It would take three runs in the 13th to secure the victory in the back-and-forth contest.
Concerning the Tide's late rally, Alabama head baseball coach MITCH GASPARD commented, "You got the big hit from (Chance) Vincent. Then TAYLOR POE came in and did a hell of a job for us. For a kid that has had limited
playing time this year, he really stepped up and delivered for us in a
key spot."
Though the Tide took an early 4-0 lead, it was the Dogs exploding for two runs in the fourth inning and another five in the fifth to take the lead 7-4 heading into the seventh inning. Bama then came back in the seventh putting two across the plate, then added another one in the eighth to even the score at 7-7. That's where it remained until the Tide picked up the three winning runs in the 13th and final inning of the night.
Alabama pitcher MATT FOSTER (2-2) picked up his second win of the season in a strong performance on the night. He pitched 4.0 scoreless innings of baseball, only gave up two hits while issuing only two walks in the contest. He struck out six batters in his reliever role.
THOMAS BURROWS was brought in to follow Foster picking up his fifth save of the season. He allowed three walks, but then struck out three consecutive batters to help in the win.
Gaspard commented, "This is one of those good team wins. We used about 20 of our 27 players on our roster, and they all contributed to the victory. Matt Foster was terrific on the mound, it was good to get Tommy (Burrows) back, and all the guys in between from the bullpen were good."
Leading Bama with hits were three Crimson Tiders with three apiece: CHANCE VINCENT, KEITH HOLCOMBE and WILL HAYNIE. Vincent had two RBIs and a team-leading three runs, Holcombe added two runs and Haynie added two RBIs and one run on the evening.
"This team has some really good qualities about them, and their resiliency is one of them," stated Gaspard. "They stay in the game. They've shown the ability to come from behind, and that's how you have to win games, particularly in the SEC and these tough environments."
The Tide and Dogs return to action tonight at 6 p.m. CT for game two of the three-game series. Bama will start sophomore right-hander JAKE WALTERS while Georgia calls on junior righty Robert Tyler to answer.
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Tide Track & Field Participates In Pepsi Florida Relays
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
The Pepsi Florida Relays got underway yesterday at the James G. Pressly Stadium at Percy Beard Track in Gainesville, Florida. Three women's distance runners competed in the 5,000 meters and a duo of men's throwers competed in the javelin competion for the Alabama Crimson Tide track & field teams.
Freshman KAITLIN YORK ran her first 5,000 meters at an outdoor collegiate meet finishing with a time of 17:48.40. It was redshirt junior KENDALL HOWEN right behind her clocking 17:55.33. ALISON RINGLE finished it off with 18:10.49.
Redshirt freshman WILL EDWARDS and senior KEVIN SHANNON had their problems in the men's javelin competition. Edwards failed to record a distance since he didn't reach the 55-meter mark on any of his three throws, and Shannon was short one time and then fouled on his other two tries.
Redshirt freshman WILL EDWARDS and senior KEVIN SHANNON had their problems in the men's javelin competition. Edwards failed to record a distance since he didn't reach the 55-meter mark on any of his three throws, and Shannon was short one time and then fouled on his other two tries.
Today's competition begins at 11 CT this morning, starting with the women's discus and hammer throw events. Shortly after, at 11:15 a.m. CT, the women's 100-meters will start the running events. Today's events are scheduled from 11 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. CT.
