Alabama Softball's Patrick Murphy 1,000th Career Wins
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Crimson Tide Defeats Kent State 5-3
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| Patrick Murphy taking a Gatorade shower in the victory Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
When asked about the impending milestone, UA softball head coach Patrick Murphy said, "I didn't think about it or talk about it. I know they've talked about it behind the scenes, but I didn't mention it at all over the weekend or today. It's about the team, not me. I think they realize that."
Murphy is only the 23rd coach in Division-I softball history to reach 1,000 wins and is only the 16th active coach to reach the milestone. Only six other Southeastern Conference coaches have hit the 1,000 mark, making him the seventh. He joins fellow-SEC coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly of Tennessee, Texas A&M's Jo Evans, Auburn's Clint Meyers, Georgia's Lu Harris-Champer and former South Carolina coach Joyce Compton in the 1,000 coaches circle.
Murphy was humble, yet exuberant reaching the milestone, saying "These players have been terrific to coach since day one. All of them through all 19 teams. Everyone on the team and all the support staff are tremendous role models. It's not just about one person."
With the victory, Alabama improves to 31-4 overall. Meanwhile Kent State drops to 10-16 on the season.
Sydney Booker was three-for-three with one RBI in last night's victory. Demi Turner was two-for-four with one run, one RBI. Chandler Dare hit one-for-three with one run and Mari Cranek was one-for-three with one run, one RBI.
The Crimson Tide hits the roach for a three-game Southeastern Conference road series at Missouri (18-13, 1-4 SEC) this weekend. The first game is Friday, March 31st at 6:30 p.m. CT.
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
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| Photo Credit: UA Athetics |
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Watch Patrick Murphy Celebrate 1,000th Career Win
Watch Patrick Murphy Celebrate 1,000th Career Win
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| Click HERE to watch Patrick Murphy celebrate |
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Bama Baseball Suffers Loss To Cross-State Rival
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Tide Falls To Tigers 4-3
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
MONTGOMERY, Alabama – Cross-state rival Auburn came out on top in this one. The University of Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team suffered a 4-3 loss to the Auburn Tigers last night at Riverwalk Stadium in the annual MAX Capital City Classic in front of 7,605 screaming fans. With the loss the Crimson Tide now drops to 12-13 overall on the season.
Following the contest, UA head baseball coach Greg Goff said, "I thought we came up just short tonight. We had guys in scoring position and we hit into a double play one time. We just need to play with a little more heart, a little more grit and a little more dirtiness to get those type of hits when we need them. Our guys need to bring a little more to table every day, and I need to do a better job coaching them up to help us gets wins in games like this."
Though the Tigers took the early lead with a three-run third inning, Bama was able to score singles in the third, fourth and fifth innings to tie it up at 3-3. But it was not to be, as a solo run in the top of the sixth inning by Auburn ended the scoring. The Tigers now have an 8-1 record against the Tide in the MAX Capital City Classic.
It was Garret Rukes starting for Alabama, working and allowing three earned runs on three hits and two walks while striking out five AU hitters before the bullpen stepped in. It was Sam Finnerty (1-2), Garrett Suchey, Mike Oczypok and Jake Walters coming on in relief for the final 6.0 innings, but Finnerty's lone run allowed would prove the difference in the game. The Tide foursome allowed just two hits and walked three batters while striking out six to keep Bama in the game.
Cobie Vance was two-for-three with one RBI on the evening, while Chandler Avant and Kyle Kaufman added the other two runs. Avant went one-for-five while Kaufman was one-for-three. Chandler Taylor hit one-for-three with one RBI.
Up next for the Crimson Tide is a three-game home series with the 21st-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Friday's contest will begin at 6 p.m. CT, followed by a 7 p.m. CT start on Saturday and the finale at 3 p.m. CT on Sunday. Game one can be seen on SEC Network+, with the final two games of the series will air nationally on the SEC Network.
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Alabama Football Dons Pads For First Time
During Spring Practices
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
Shaun Dion Hamilton was wearing a black non-contact jersey yesterday. He has been rehabbing his ACL since December, but was seen with the middle linebackers at practice.
Bama has 13 starters returning from last year's Southeastern Conference Championship team, consisting of six on offense, six on defense and All-American punter JK Scott. For the offense Jalen Hurts, Bradley Bozeman, Ross Pierschbacher, Jonah Williams and Calvin Ridley. For the defense it's Da'Ron Payne, Shaun Dion Hamilton, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Anthony Averett, Ronnie Harrison and Tony Brown coming back.
Alabama's 2017 A-Day Spring Football Game is scheduled for Saturday, April 22, at 2 p.m. CT inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. Once again the A-Day Game is free to the public and will be televised live on ESPN. The Crimson Tide's fifth practice session of the spring is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by three additional practices next week. Bama will hold its first scrimmage of the spring Saturday, April 8th, at Bryant-Denny Stadium, but will be closed to the public.
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
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Nick Saban Press Conference
Following First Spring Practice In Full Pads
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| Alabama Football head coach Nick Saban Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama - University of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban met with reporters following yesterday's first football spring practice in full pads. Here's what Saban had to say:
Saban spoke about the heat and full pads, saying, "It was a little a warmer outside today than what it has been, so I think
it was a little bit of a challenge for some of the players. Always is
the first day of pads. Always is when it's a little warmer outside. Been
really pleased with the progress that we made, especially with a lot
the young players."
As to his assessment of practice, today and the other sessions included, Saban said, "Wasn't necessarily pleased with the first day in pads, but I've been
pleased with the progress we have made the entire spring to this point."
Concerning defensive linemen Raekwon Davis and Jamar King, Saban commented, "I think both
guys have made a lot of progress in the course of last year in terms of
the improvement that they made. I think they both had really good
offseasons. They both, I think so far this spring, they have shown some
of that improvement, and I think the biggest thing with them would be
consistency. ... I think both guys can contribute to the team."
Saban spoke about one of the veteran's on the team, Robert Foster, saying, "I think he's playing better than he did a year ago, and hopefully he
will continue to improve and have a role on the team. I think we need
for him to do that."
Coach Saban was complimentary of incoming freshman receiver Jerry Jeudy as well as returning receiver Calvin Ridley. He gave both good marks in their first four spring practice efforts.
Saban said he's pleased with the progress of outside linebacker Christian Miller, in that he has put on "a little weight" and also has "gotten stronger." The head man says he is pleased with Miller's progress.
Concerning new offensive analyst Chris Weinke, Saban commented, "We've always had a lot of
respect for Chris Weinke. The guy was a great player. He played a long
time in the league. He's very knowledgeable. He's very smart. He was a
great high school coach at IMG. He went to the NFL and got a couple good
years of experience in the NFL. So we thought he'd bring some knowledge
and experience and certainty be helpful to us off the field and helping
us with game plan."
Commenting on new offensive analyst Dan Werner, who was previously a co-offensive
coordinator at Ole Miss, Saban said, "Do I need to tell our fans or anybody on our
staff the issues that we've had with their offense the last couple of
years? I've always had a tremendous amount of respect for what they do,
how they coach it. I think it'll help us on offense and defense to have a
guy around here that can add some knowledge and experience to the way
they do RPOs, some of the things they did in the passing game. So I've
always had a lot of respect for Dan and we're glad to have them here to
help."
Saban is pleased with the progress of all of Alabama's running backs thus far. He likes the fact that the position has the depth that was previously lacking. He specifically named Najee Harris and Brian Robinson.
Concerning the return of Bo Scarbrough, Saban said, "He did quite a bit today in practice, non-contact stuff, but he's sort
of gaining confidence. Our goal for Bo is, by the end of spring, he's
fully confident that he can do everything he needs to do. Whether he
ever scrimmages or not is really something that we're not that concerned
about."
Saban did mention an injury to Damien Harris as well. He said that Harris injured his foot on Saturday and didn't participate in the Tuesday practice, but is expected to practice on Thursday.
Saban spoke on Ben Davis' move to outside linebacker and is pleased with the progress of the young man. Saban also mentioned the possibility of using him on special teams.
The Crimson Tide will return to practice tomorrow.
