Photo Credit: rolltide.com
Alabama Crimson Tide baseball is indeed on a roll as the season winds down. Playing in a desginated home game at Joe W. Davis Stadium in Huntsville, Bama won their sixth straight game by a 5-3 score. Tuesday evenings victim was the visiting Mercer Bears in the Tide's final mid-week games of the season. This improves Alabama's record to 29-24.
Alex Watkins was starting pitcher for the Tide, but it was reliever Will Carter who displayed some impressive play in his very first appearance as a reliever for Bama. He pitched five scoreless innings, limited the Bears to two hits and walks, as well as striking out nine batters (a season high). This was his third win of the season.
Alabama head baseball coach Mitch Gaspard was pleased with the evening's effort, "We saw what we wanted to see tonight from our guys. We brought a lot of momentum and energy into the game, and Will Carter was dynamite in helping us to get the win. He was outstanding, with good velocity and control in his first relief appearance."
It was sophomore Casey Hughston who led Alabama's offense on Tuesday evening, going two-for-four with three RBIs and adding a stolen base.
Gaspard commented, "Offensively, we continued to have good at-bats throughout the ballgame. We had some key two-out hits that helped us bring home the win."
The seventh-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores come to the Hoover Met this weekend for a three-game series as Alabama closes out its regular season. The first meeting is scheduled for 7 PM CDT start on Thursday and Friday. Saturday's final game is scheduled for 3:30 PM CDT. The first two games can be seen on SECN+, with Saturday's game set to be broadcast on the SEC Network.
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Softball
Photo Credit: rolltide.com
The one-place drop in both polls no doubt was the result of suffering the early loss in the SEC Tournament this past week. The Tide is a No. 6 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
There is a split number one between the two polls. Oregon holds down the No. 1 slot in the NFCA poll with Florida holding the top spot in the USA Softball poll. Michigan and Auburn are numbers three and four in both polls. Alabama and Oklahoma are fifth in one poll and sixth in the other.
The Southeastern Conference eight ranked teams in the polls, including five in the top 10: Florida (2/1), Auburn (4/4), Alabama (5/6), LSU (8/7), Tennessee (10/9), Missouri (12/13), Georgia (14/16), and Texas A&M (24/25). The SEC has a record 11 teams in the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season, including five in the top eight. The Southeaster Conference also has a total of seven regional hosts in this year's tourney.
The Crimson Tide hosts one of the regionals in Tuscaloosa this year, marking the eleventh consecutive season they have done so. This year the Tide will welcome Washington, USC Upstate and Fairfield. Washington and USC Upstate play on Friday, May 15 at 12:30 PM CDT on ESPNU. The Alabama-Fairfield contest follows at 3 PM CDT and will be broadcaset on the SEC Network.
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Men's Golf
The University of Alabama men's golf team is set to defend it's two national championships at the NCAA Noblesville Regional in Indiana. The tourney gets started this Thursday at the par 72 Sagamore Club.
The tournament is scheduled for three days, and will be Alabama's 11th straight appearance in postseason play, and the 24th time overall in tourney action. The Tide has won four NCAA Regionals, and most recently three-in-a-row.
The Crimson Tide is ranked 20th in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index, and will face nine teams ranked in the top-50 in the regional. The top five finishers at the NCAA Noblesville Regional will advance to the 2015 NCAA Championships.
Bama will go with a proven formula. The Tide plans to use the same lineup as was used at the SEC Championships. Two-time SEC First Team honoree and 2015 Ben Hogan Award semifinalist Robby Shelton, who is ranked No. 6 in the nation, leads the team. All-Freshman SEC honoree Jonathan Hardee (ranked No. 117) and junior captain Tom Lovelady (ranked No. 55) will join Shelton, as well as sophomores Dru Love and Robby Prater.
The top five finishers at the NCAA Noblesville Regional will advance to the 2015 NCAA Championships being held at the Concession Golf Club on May 29-June 3 in Bradenton, Florida.
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Track & Field
The University of Alabama women's track and field team remains at its highest-ever ranking, 16th in the country according to this week's edition of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division I National Computer Rankings. The Crimson Tide men's team comes in at No. 12.
In the NCAA South Region rankings, the Bama women are ranked fourth, while the men's team remain ranked at No. 4.
It should be noted that rankings points do not equate with NCAA Championships team points.
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