Bama Baseball Beats Grambling
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Ahhh! Winning is starting to feel good again. Alabama baseball is starting to put it together. Fingers crossed.
The University of Alabama Crimson Tide blasted a pair of grand slams as well as 14 combined hits to blast the Grambling Tigers 12-2 on Wednesday evening at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa. The Tide now improves to an overall 19-29 record and closes out its 2017 non-conference schedule at 14-10.
Crimson Tide baseball head coach Greg Goff said, "I'm so happy our guys came out tonight, had a great approach and got off to a good start. We got a chance to get everybody in there tonight, so it was an awesome team victory."
A total of 12 of the 13 UA batters reached base safely last night, racking a total of 14 hits for the Bama offence. Eight Tide starters out of the nine recorded at least one hit on the evening. Alabama also recorded a pair of grand slams last night, coming from the bats of Hunter Alexander and John Trousdale. Alexander finished the night one-for-three with the home run, a pair of runs, two walks, as well as a season-high four RBIs. Trousdale's grand slam ended last night's game for the run-rule win, as the Bama freshman finished the evening going one-for-two, four RBIs and a run scored. Chandler Avant was three-for-five with two runs, Kyle Kaufman was two-for-five with one run and one RBI, Alex Webb was two-for-four with one RBI and Cobie Vance was one-for-three with two runs on the night.
Alabama's Deacon Medders (2-0) picked up his second win of the season, pitching a season-long 6.0 innings of scoreless baseball. Medders allowed only three hits. struck out four and issued two walks.
Goff said, "(Deacon Medders) has come a long way. As you guys know, after playing 33 innings this weekend, our pitching staff was depleted. For Deacon to go out tonight and throw six shutout innings; his effort gave us a chance. I was really concerned going into this game because Grambling has a good offense, but I was happy how Deacon came out and had great command tonight to help get us this win."
The Crimson Tide will close out its regular-season home schedule with a three-game series against seventh-ranked Florida this Friday through Sunday at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Friday's game begins at 6 p.m. CT, Saturday's game time is 6 p.m. CT and the series finale on Sunday set for a 3 p.m. Ct start. Sunday's contest will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
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Alabama-Grambling Postgame Press Conference
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| Click HERE to watch postgame press conference via Tide TV |
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Alabama Women's Golf Wins Athens Regional Tourney
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Secures 12th Consecutive NCAA Championship Appearance
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| Alabama Crimson Tide Women's Golf Team 2017 Athens Regional Champions Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
UA women's golf (289-284-284/857) finished the tournament shooting a 7-under par, 14 strokes ahead of second place Northwestern (293-295-283/871), which finished at 7-over par after a five-under par third round. Michigan State posted a third place finish at 8-over par (284-297-291/872). Baylor (295-282-299/877) came in fourth at 13-over par. Clemson (304-282-298/884) finished fifth at 20-over par and North Carolina (302-297-287/886) finished sixth at 22-over par. All six teams will now advance to the 2017 NCAA Women's Golf Championships.
This marks the 13th time that Bama has now qualified for the NCAA Championship in Tide women's golf history (1987, 2006-2017), and the 12th consecutive time under Alabama women's golf head coach Mic Potter. The Athens regional title is the third regional victory all-time for the Crimson Tide. Alabama previously won the East regional in 2011 at Daytona Beach, Florida as well as 2013 at Auburn.
Potter said, "I think we did great. I wasn't too worried going into today because everyone was playing really well. We are very familiar with the course since we play every year at the Liz Murphey, not to mention other tournaments. We are getting more and more comfortable with the speed of the greens and the breaks. I felt like we were trending in the right direction. All year we have started slow and played well in the last round so I thought we had another good round in us and sure enough we did."
Crimson Tide sophomore golfer Cheyenne Knight (71-71-69/211) was UA's low finisher in Wednesday's final round, carding a three-under par 69 to tie with Tide teammate Lauren Stephenson (59-70-72/211) for second place at 5-under par. Stephenson has finished under par in 8-of-10 tournaments this season to pace the team in that category. Knight isn't far behind, having come in under par in 7-of-10 outings in 2016-17.
Knight commented, "I thought I did pretty well. I kind of got off to a rough start on the first few holes, but Coach Potter just told me to stay calm and stay patient. I was hitting it well, and I just needed to wait for them to drop. Tying for second with my teammate is really awesome. I know you can go low on this course and I know I was not playing my best at first, but I know there are some birdie holes out here, and even though some people think the back nine are a little tougher, it's only as tough as you make it."
Tying for fifth place was Bama freshman Kristen Gillman (73-70-71/214). shooting a 2-under par. Gillman has now shot 20 rounds of par or better this season, just one less than Stephanie Meadow's single-season record of 21 rounds which was set in 2012-13. Senior Mia Landegren (76-73-72/221) tied for 24th place at 5-over par after shooting an even-par round on Wednesday. Junior Lakareber Abe (80-74-77/231) come in with a 15-over par, tying for 67th.
Next up for the Tide is the 2017 NCAA Women's Golf Championships, scheduled for May 19-24 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois. Northern Illinois University will serve as the host school. Alabama finished the 2016 NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon in 12th position, for its ninth-consecutive top-12 finish at the NCAA tournament. Bama will be going for its second national championship this year, having the it all in 2012 in Franklin, Tennessee.
Alabama Results
2t. Cheyenne Knight- 71-71-69/211 (-5)
2t. Lauren Stephenson- 69-70-72/211 (-5)
5t. Kristen Gillman- 73-70-71/214 (-2)
24t. Mia Landegren- 76-73-72/221 (+5)
67t. Lakareber Abe- 80-74-77/231 (+15)
Team Standings
Top Six Teams Qualify for NCAA Championships
1. ALABAMA- 289-284-284/857 (-7)
2. Northwestern- 293-295-283/871 (+7)
3. Michigan State- 284-297-291/872 (+8)
4. Baylor- 296-282-299/877 (+13)
5. Clemson- 304-282-298/884 (+20)
6. North Carolina- 302-297-287/886 (+22)
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Crimson Tide Softball Defeats Arkansas
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Set To Play Texas A&M Today In SEC Tournament
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| Sydney Littlejohn Winning UA Softball Pitcher Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
The Tide scored three of its four runs in the first inning before SEC All-Freshman Bailey Hemphill added an insurance run in the sixth inning blasting a solo home run. Hemphill went two-for-three on the day with two runs scored and two RBIs. It was fellow All-Freshman award-winner Elissa Brown with a two-for-three game at the lead-off spot. Brown has now hit safely in nine of her last 10 games. Both Chandler Dare and Melissa Runyon were one-for-three in the contest. Sydney Littlejohn (15-7) picked up the victory for the Tide allowing only one run over 5.0 innings, while Alexis Osorio earned her third save of the season pitching 2.0 shutout innings and allowing only one baserunner. The losing pitcher for the Razorbacks was Autumn Storms (16-15).
Alabama now advances to the next round to take on the fourth-seeded Texas A&M Aggies (42-9). The game is scheduled for an 11 a.m. CT first pitch, and will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
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30 Members Of The Alabama Rowing Squad
Make Academic All-Big 12 Rowing Team
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
A total of twenty of the 176 rowing honorees between the Big 12's eight affiliate schools posted perfect 4.0 GPAs and, for the second consecutive year, Alabama led the league with six of those 20 perfect GPA's. The second team consists of student-athletes with a GPA between 3.00-3.19, while the first team award winners hold GPAs of 3.20-plus.
To qualify, student-athletes must maintain a cumulative 3.00 GPA or higher and must have participated in 60 percent of their team's contests. Freshmen and transfers in their first year of academic residence are not eligible. Senior student-athletes who have participated for a minimum of two years and meet all criteria except percent of participation are also eligible.
2017 Academic All-Big 12 (Alabama)
- Abby Marks – Sr. – Germantown, Wisconsin
- Dani Mazer – Sr. – Woodbridge, Virginia
- Emily Navin – Jr. – Seattle, Washington
- Jennifer Parker – Sr. – Roswell, Georgia
- Katie Scott – Sr. – Indianapolis, Indiana
- Gabby Sprio – Sr. – Racine, Wisconsin
- Charlotte Adkins – Jr. – Vail, Colorado
- Vanessa Barone – Jr. – Baldwin, New York
- Lydia Blount – Jr. – Dothan, Alabama
- Tayla Cabana – Jr. – Homer, Alaska
- Claire Estep – Jr. – Sumter, South Carolina
- *Maggie Gillespie – Jr. – Longwood, Florida
- Jacqueline Guezille – Jr. – Studio City, California
- *Meghan Hampton – Jr. – Sarasota Springs, New York
- *Nicole Lane – Jr. – Johns Creek, Georgia
- Olivia Miller – Jr. – Madison, Alabama
- Maggie Schulz – Jr. – Rockville Centre, New York
- Shannon Sweatt – Jr. – Milton, Georgia
- *Lindsey Taylor – Jr. – Memphis, Tennessee
- Cheyenne Adams – So. – Sarasota, Florida
- Virginia Dodenhoff – So. – New Orleans, Louisiana
- *Raien Emery – So. – Sheridan, Wyoming
- Lauren Fehr – So. – Orlando, Florida
- Samantha James – So. – Cary, North Carolina
- *Danielle Kem – So. – Huntington, Indiana
- Monica McGraw – So. – Huntsville, Alabama
- Rachel Sowell – So. – Jacksonville, Florida
- Victoria Kacsits – So. – Rockford, Michigan
- Becca McGinn – Sr. – New City, New York
- Allie Pospisil – Sr. – Geneva, Illinois
First Team (*=4.00 GPA)
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
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ESPN Releases College Football Bowl Schedule
Here is a look at the complete schedule. Those with times listed are Central Time.
Saturday, Dec. 16
AFR Celebration Bowl, 11 a.m. (ABC)
R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, 12 p.m. (ABC)
Las Vegas Bowl, 2:30 p.m. (ABC)
AutoNation Cure Bowl, 2:30 p.m. (CBSSN)
Gildan New Mexico Bowl, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Tuesday, Dec. 19
Boca Raton Bowl, 6 p.m. (ESPN)
Thursday, Dec. 21
St. Petersburg Bowl, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Friday, Dec. 22
Bahamas Bowl, 11:30 a.m. (ESPN)
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, 3 p.m. (ESPN)
Saturday, Dec. 23
Birmingham Bowl, 11 a.m. (ESPN)
Lockheed Armed Forces Bowl, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Dollar General Bowl, 6 p.m. (ESPN)
Sunday, Dec. 24
Hawaii Bowl, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Tuesday, Dec. 26
Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl, TBD (ESPN)
Quick Lane Bowl, TBD (ESPN)
Cactus Bowl, TBD (ESPN)
Wednesday, Dec. 27
Independence Bowl, 12:30 p.m. (ESPN)
New Era Pinstripe Bowl, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Texas Bowl, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Thursday, Dec. 28
Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman, 12:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Camping World Bowl, 4:15 p.m. (ESPN)
Valero Alamo Bowl, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Friday, Dec. 29
Belk Bowl, 12 p.m. (ESPN)
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Saturday, Dec. 30
Taxslayer Bowl, 11 a.m. (ESPN)
Autozone Liberty Bowl, 11:30 a.m. (ABC)
Hyundai Sun Bowl, 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, 2 p.m. (ESPN)
Arizona Bowl, 4:30 p.m. (CBSSN)
Capital One Orange Bowl, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Monday, Jan. 1
Outback Bowl, 11 a.m. (ESPN2)
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, 11:30 a.m. (ESPN)
Citrus Bowl, 12 p.m. (ABC)
Rose Bowl, playoff semifinal 4 p.m. (ESPN)
Allstate Sugar Bowl, playoff semifinal, 7:45 p.m. (ESPN)
Monday, January 8, 2018
