Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Bama Baseball Blasts Alcorn State; Alabama Baseball Post-Game Press Conference; Annual Crimson Choice Awards Banquet Held; Alabama Football Spring Practice Report; Tide Women's Tennis Opens SEC Tournament With Vols; Bama Softball Hosts Southern Miss Tonight; Alabama Men's Tennis Student-Athlete Ritchie Kruunenberg Is Honored; Tide Football Extends Offer To QB Tyler Shough




Alabama Crimson Tide Baseball Rolls
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Defeats Alcorn State Braves 18-1


Photo Credit: UA Athletics


TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – The University of Alabama baseball team last night finally got the train on the track as the Bama offense smacked 13 hits and collected seven walks to defeat the Alcorn State Braves 18-1 in a seven-inning slugfest on Tuesday evening at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa. With the win, UA now improves to 15-22 overall on the season.

Following last night's contest, Alabama Crimson Tide baseball head coach Greg Goff said, "I just can't say enough about how excited I was to see our guys come out today and really put some great swings on the ball. We got a great outing from Deacon (Medders), and it was impressive to see him do what he did out there tonight as a freshman. Overall, this win was a tremendous team effort – great hitting, great pitching and great defense."

Bama's big bats brought in all 18 runs from the third through sixth innings, scoring six runners apiece in the third and sixth, along with three runs brought home in both the fourth and fifth innings. Twelve of the Tide's 14 offensive players collected at least one run with all but one batter reaching base in last night's contest. Leading the Tide offense last evening was Cody Henry finishing three-for-five with two home runs, including his first career grand slam. Henry added a team-high seven RBIs and two runs scored on the night. Chandler Avant also pounded a grand slam for his first career home run, finishing two-for-five with four RBIs and one run scored. Avant now extends his hitting streak to a team-long 11 games.

Deacon Medders (1-0) picked up his first career win with 5.0 innings of work. He only allowed one run on four hits and a walk while striking out four batters on 68 pitches. Coming in from the Bama bullpen was Sam Finnerty, Tyler Adams and Sonny Potter working the final 2.0 innings of the night.

Next up for Alabama is a three-game series in Starkville with the 11th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs on Thursday evening. Game time is set for 6 p.m. CT, and can be seen on the SEC Network. Friday's contest is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. CT start while the series finale is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT. The final two games of the series will stream live on SEC Network+.


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Bama Baseball Post-Game Press Conference


Click HERE to watch press conference via Tide TV

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Annual Crimson Choice Awards Banquet Held


Connor Oslin & Krystal Rivers
Paul W. Bryant Award
Photo Credit: UA Athletics


TUSCALOOSA, Alabama - Numerous awards were handed out last night during the Alabama Athletics Department's annual Crimson Choice Awards Banquet. The banquet, presented each year by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), was held Tuesday evening at the Bryant Conference Center in Tuscaloosa.

SAAC president and senior swimmer Caroline Korst opened the event last night by welcoming the gathered Alabama student-athletes, coaches, staff and UA administration. The event was one of reflection, as well as excitement and various honors given to whom honor was due.

The top male and female student-athletes of the year, and winners of this year's Paul W. Bryant Award, were senior All-American and Academic All-American Connor Oslin and senior All-American and Academic All-American volleyball player Krystal Rivers. The Paul W. Bryant Award is one that is given annually to the top male and female student-athlete at the University of Alabama. The Paul W. Bryant Student-Athlete Award was created by the Tuscaloosa County Chapter of the University of Alabama Alumni Association in 1985.

Numerous other UA student-athletes were chosen as finalists for the Bryant Award, including Mike Oczypok  (Baseball), Corban Collins  (Men's Basketball), Ashley Williams  (Women's Basketball), Ross Pierschbacher  (Football), Robby Prater  (Men's Golf), Lakareber Abe  (Women's Golf), Kiana Winston (Gymnastics), Jennifer Parker  (Rowing), Jordan Meier (Soccer), Chandler Dare (Softball), Bailey Scott  (Women's Swimming & Diving), Erin Routliffe  (Women's Tennis), Antibahs Kosgei  (Men's Track & Field) and Lakan Taylor  (Women's Track & Field).

Receiving the honor as the teams with the highest grade point averages were the Alabama women's tennis and the men's swimming and diving teams. The tennis earned the honor with an overall 3.774 team GPA while the men's swimming and diving team earned their accolades with a 3.462. This is the second-consecutive year for the men's team to receive this honor.

Also recognized during the Crimson Choice Awards Banquet was the Athletics Department's community outreach efforts this past year. Crimson Tide student-athletes gave almost 3,000 hours toward community service this year. Gymnastics was the women's squad with the most community outreach hours while basketball earned the honor for the men for the second-consecutive year.

Another special moment of recognition last night came at the end of the event. The gathered student-athletes, coaches and staff honored former Director of Athletics Bill Battle for his many contributions to the University of Alabama as a student-athlete and administrator.


Other Crimson Choice Awards handed out Tuesday night included:

Team of the Year -
Football and Women's Golf
Coach of the Year Award – Dennis Pursley, Men's Swimming and Diving and Patrick Murphy, Softball
Comeback Athlete of the Year – Bo Scarbrough, Football
Athlete of the Year – Jonathan Allen, Football and Haylie McCleney, Softball
Rookie of the Year – Jalen Hurts, Football and Cheyenne Knight, Women's Golf
Faculty Member of the Year - Dr. Ron Dulek, Professor of Management
Support Staff Member of the Year – Fern Hampton, Academics

Congratulations to each of the above-mentioned winners, as well as all student-athletes, coaches, support staff and administrators who have made this season's Alabama Crimson Tide athletics programs what they are.

Roll Tide!


Photo Credit: UA Athletics

Photo Credit: UA Athletics

Photo Credit: UA Athletics


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Alabama Football Spring Practice Report


Photo Credit: UA Athletics/Robert Sutton


TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – It's the final week of spring practice for the University of Alabama football team. The Crimson Tide practiced in full pads for two hours on Tuesday afternoon outdoors at the Thomas-Drew Practice Fields in Tuscaloosa in it's 13th practice session of the "spring season".

A good bit of the practice time yesterday was spent on working out the kinks, assignments, focusing on fixing mistakes from this past Saturday's second spring scrimmage and doing a little fine-tuning on all aspects of the game things before the A-Day contest. One practice session remains for Thursday prior to the contest in Bryant-Denny this weekend.

Running back Damien Harris was once again watching the warm ups from the sidelines. The youngster is slowly recovering from a foot sprain, and is in doubt for Saturday's A-Day game.

Alabama's 2017 Golden Flake A-Day Game is scheduled for this Saturday, April 22nd, at 2 p.m. CT at Bryant-Denny Stadium in beautiful Tuscaloosa Alabama. A big push is underway to house the largest spring game gathering ever at Bryant-Denny, shooting for a 100,000 fan day. The A-Day Game will be televised live on ESPN for the second-consecutive year and is once again free to the public. Joe Tessitore, Joey Galloway and Kirk Herbstreit will call the game from the sidelines. Also providing additional coverage will be Laura Rutledge roaming the sidelines.

In the interest of enhancing existing security measures at games, a clear bag policy will be in effect.
Fans are encouraged not to bring any types of bags inside SEC stadiums during football games; however, the following outlines bags that are permitted:

  • Bags that are clear plastic, vinyl or PVC and do not exceed 12" x 6" x 12";
  • One-gallon clear plastic freezer bags (Ziploc bag or similar); and
  • Small clutch bags, with or without a handle or strap, that do not exceed 4.5" x 6.5" (approximately the size of a hand).
  • An exception will be made for medically necessary items after proper inspection at a gate designated for this purpose.
  • An approved logo no larger than 4.5" x 3.4" may be displayed on one side of a permissible clear bag.
  • Fans will continue to be able to carry items allowed into the stadium in a permissible clear bag, such as binoculars and cameras.

Photo Credit: UA Athletics/Robert Sutton

Photo Credit: UA Athletics/Robert Sutton


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Tide Women's Tennis Opens With Tennessee
In Southeastern Conference Tournament


Photo Credit: UA Athletics


TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – The 2017 Southeastern Conference Women's Tennis Tournament is set to begin, and the 35th-ranked Alabama women's tennis team will open with the 23rd-ranked Tennessee Volunteers this morning 10 a.m. CT in Nashville, Tennessee in the first round. The tournament is being held on the campus of Vanderbilt University.

The Crimson Tide women's tennis team earned its No. 35 national ranking yesterday as announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Bama also has two singles players and a doubles tandem that are nationally ranked.

Alabama boasts 54 wins in singles play since beginning the dual match season, as well as 31 doubles' victories.


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Alabama Softball Hosts Southern Miss Tonight


Photo Credit: UA Athletics/Amelia B. Barton


TUSCALOOSA, Alabama - The University of Alabama Crimson Tide softball team will host the Southern Miss Golden Eagles tonight at Rhoads Stadium in a non-conference contest. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT. Bama is 36-9 overall on the year, while Southern sits at 24-22.

The Tide is 8-2 versus the Golden Eagles, and is currently riding a five-game winning streak. Alabama won the last matchup between the two teams 12-1 on April 1, 2015.




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Alabama's Ritchie Kruunenberg Is Honored


Ritchie Kruunenberg
Alabama Men's Tennis
Photo Credit: UA Athletics


Birmingham, Alabama - University of Alabama men's tennis student-athlete Ritchie Kruunenberg has been honored by the Southeastern Conference by being named to the Community Service Team for men's tennis for the 2016-17 season. This is a continuing effort by the SEC to recognize the accomplishments of student-athletes beyond the field of competition.

The senior is out of Nieuw-Vennup, Netherlands and has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity as well as Rock Quarry Elementary.

All league-sponsored sports have had a Community Service Team since 2004, with at-large teams for men's and women's sports being chosen from 1999-2003.



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Crimson Tide Football Extends Offer To QB Tyler Shough


Alabama QB Prospect Tyler Shough
Photo Credit: 247Sports


The University of Alabama Crimson Tide football program has offered another scholarship to another quarterback. Head coach Nick Saban and staff have offered 6' 5", 187-pound Tyler Shough out of Chandler, Arizona.

Shough is a three-star 247Sports Composite recruit with offers from not only Alabama, but also South Carolina, Missouri, Michigan and several other programs.  He threw for 2,079 yards and 29 touchdowns with nine interceptions last season for Hamilton High School. He is ranked as the No. 1 recruit in the state of Alabama.