Alabama Softball Splits Sunday Doubleheader
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Wins Weekend Series Over South Carolina
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
Alabama improves to 30-4, 7-2 SEC while South Carolina drops to 21-12, 2-7 SEC. The 14 runs scored by South Carolina in game two are the most runs ever scored against the Tide at Rhoads Stadium. Between the two contests, Demi Turner was three-for-six while Mari Cranek c was able to take advantage of her starting opportunity, blasting a pair of hits in game three of the series. Gabby Callaway started game three and went three-for-three with an RBI and a run scored.
Next up for Bama is a contest with Kent State (10-15) on Tuesday, March 28th at 6 p.m. CT. Then it's back on the road for a three-game series at Missouri (18-13, 1-4 SEC) in Columbia, Missouri, starting 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 Athletics |
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Alabama Women's Basketball Season Ends At 22-14
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Falls To Georgia Tech 76-66 In WNIT Quarterfinals
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| Alabama Women's Basketball Head Coach Kristy Curry Photo Credit: UA Athletics/Robert Sutton |
University of Alabama women's head basketball coach Kristy Curry said, "We just missed so many looks over and over again. Credit Georgia Tech. I thought they shot the ball extremely well from a lot of different people. It was one of those days where we couldn't make shots. It's 17-17 after the first and 17-17 after the third. We outscore them by seven in the fourth. It's that second quarter that jumped up and caught up with us. We have a lot to build on, a lot to be proud of and a lot to move forward with in the future."
UA had four student-athletes to finish in double figures on the day. Bama was led by sophomore Shaquera Wade pumping in 15 points for the Tide, followed by junior Ashley Williams with 13 points and 13 rebounds for her third double-double of the season and 12th of her career. Freshman Jordan Lewis contributed 13 points of her own, as well as game highs in assists with six and steals with a total of three. Junior Hannah Cook stepped up to fuel the Tide with another 11 points. Freshman Ashley Knight had three blocked shots in the contest, bringing her season total to 90.
The Yellow Jackets led by 17 points at the half and pretty much never looked back. Georgia Tech shot 50.0 percent (29-58) from the floor in the contest, while Alabama finished at 31.8 percent (21-66) on the day. The Yellow Jackets outrebounded the Tide by 37-36, and picked up 26 points from its bench compared to only eight for Alabama.
| Game Stats | UA | GT |
|---|---|---|
| FG% | .318 | .500 |
| 3FG% | .316 | .438 |
| FT% | .750 | .688 |
| RB | 36 | 37 |
| TO | 12 | 18 |
| STL | 9 | 3 |
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics/Robert Sutton |
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Vanderbilt Women's Tennis Defeats Crimson Tide
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
SINGLES
1. No. 5 Astra Sharma (Vanderbilt) defeated No. 38 Erin Routliffe (Alabama) 4-6, 6-2,
2. No. 12 Sydney Campbell (Vanderbilt) defeated Andie Daniell (Alabama) 5-7, 6-1, 7-5
3. Danielle Spielmann (Alabama) defeated No. 93 Christina Rosca (Vanderbilt) 6-3, 6-1
4. Emma Kurtz (Vanderbilt) defeated Smith Hinton (Alabama) 6-4, 6-4
5. Georgina Sellyn (Vanderbilt) defeated Juliana Valero (Alabama) 6-1, 6-2
6. Fernanda Contreras (Vanderbilt) defeated Kimberley Gintrand (Alabama) 6-1, 6-1
DOUBLES
1. No. 25 Erin Routliffe/Maddie Pothoff (Alabama) defeated No. 8 Emily Smith/Astra Sharma (Vanderbilt) 6-4
2. Sydney Campbell/Emma Kurtz (Alabama) defeated Andie Daniell/Joanna Savva (Alabama) 6-3
3. Fernanda Contreras/Christina Rosca (Vanderbilt) defeated Danielle Spielmann/Juliana Valero (Alabama) 7-5
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
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Alabama Baseball Falls To South Carolina
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
The game stayed close throughout. In fact, the game was tied up twice before Carolina was able to put two runs across home plate in the bottom of the seventh inning to take the victory for the day as well as the series win.
Alabama starting pitcher Nick Eicholtz did a good job for the Tide. Even though he was able only to strike out two Gamecocks batters, he was able to help produce three double plays on the day and picked up 14 of his 17 outs via ground balls. Eicholtz threw a total of 104 pitches, his longest start of the season and the second-most pitches in a game for his career. South Carolina's John Parke (1-1) picked up the win and Colie Bowers got his third save of the season.
The Crimson Tide scoring came via a pair of solo home runs from Gene Wood and Cody Henry, with Henry finishing the day two-for-three while adding an RBI and a run scored. Connor Short continued his hitting streak, now nine games with at least one hit, while going one-for-three on the day. Incidentally, this is the longest hitting streak by any member of the Crimson Tide this season. Tanner DeVinny contributed a one-for-four day for Bama on the day.
Bama next takes on the Auburn Tigers in a non-conference matchup at the MAX Capital City Classic at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Alabama. Game time is set for 7 p.m. CT, and can be seen on ESPNU.
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4-Star QB Prospect Emory Jones Visits The Capstone
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| Quarterback Prospect Emory Jones Photo Credit: 247Sports |
Four-star quarterback recruit Emory Jones (Heard County High School in Franklin, Georgia) paid a visit to the University of Alabama to speak with head coach Nick Saban and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll for the first time. Jones recently received an offer from the UA football program.
An Ohio State commitment, Jones is considered the nation's No. 27 overall recruit as well as No. 1 dual-threat quarterback. He committed to the Buckeyes last July.
While competing at the Atlanta Opening Regional on Sunday, Jones said it was a "pretty good visit" and that it wasn't a personal visit. His seven-on-seven team made the trip to The Capstone after competing in Birmingham.
Despite the visit and the offer from the Tide, Jones said his is still "solid with Ohio State."
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Alabama Men's Basketball Head Coach Avery Johnson
Announces Two Transfers From Program
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| Alabama Men's Basketball Head Coach Avery Johnson Photo Credit: UA Athletics/Daniel Melograno |
Austin only participated in six games during the 2016-17 season. During the course of his career at The Capstone, he played at least a few minutes in a total of 36 games. He averaged 1.4 points and 8.7 minutes per game during his two-years with the Tide.
In a statement, Austin said, "I would like to thank all of the Alabama fans who supported me the past two seasons. I would also like to thank our coaching staff for giving me the opportunity to play, as well as my teammates. I felt like it was in my best interest to move on and play elsewhere."
Johnson commented, "Brandon and I met on Wednesday and he informed me of his plans to transfer to another school. He talked about the experience he had at the University of Alabama and what a privilege it was to work with our staff and playing alongside his teammates. After talking it over with his family, he felt it was in his best interest to pursue his education and basketball career at another school. We enjoyed working with Brandon. He is a person of great character, is very coachable and he has the desire to continue to get better. He will be an asset at whatever school he decides to go and we wish him and his family all the best."
This won't be Nick King's first transfer, coming to the University of Alabama after transferring from Memphis Tigers' basketball. He is scheduled to graduate this May with an undergraduate degree in business management after playing in only seven games during the 2016-17 season. King averaged only 3.3 points and 2.9 rebounds in 12.7 minutes per contest in this one season with the Crimson Tide. He will be immediately eligible to play for another team next season as a graduate transfer according to NCAA transfer rules.
King said in a statement, "I want to take thank the University of Alabama for helping complete my goals of becoming a better player and also a better person. The university took a kid leaving his hometown for the first time and taught me ways on to handle myself as a young adult. I want to give a special thanks to the men’s basketball staff who put in extra time to work on my physical and mental strengths. I felt like I made a great decision by coming here. I’ve become a much better player since I’ve stepped foot on campus and I have made a decision I thought was best for my future as a graduating senior."
Johnson said, "After meeting with Nick on Wednesday, he informed me that after graduation he intends to transfer as a postgraduate player. This is a similar situation to Michael Kessens last season and we hope Nick’s transfer will be as smooth and successful. Nick sat out a season in our redshirt program and he significantly improved on and off the floor. This past year, his season was unfortunately cut short due to a health situation. We really enjoyed working with Nick and getting to know his family. We wish him nothing but the best moving forward."
