Bama Baseball Suffers Another Loss
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
Alabama Crimson Tide baseball head coach Greg Goff said, "Our guys really competed tonight. I thought Chandler Taylor had a tremendous night with the left-on-left matchup; he had some big hits. Our whole team just really competed against some really good arms. Give LSU credit, once we scored, they continued to score. We just ran out of innings."
Leading the Alabama offense was Chandler Taylor, finishing the evening with a season-high tying three hits in four-at-bats, one home run, one RBI and a two runs. Sam Finnerty was one-for-four with an RBI, Connor Short added an RBI while picking up his fourth home run of the season. Both Chandler Avant and Cobie Vance were one-for-four on the night.
The series finale is scheduled for today at 2 p.m. CT at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Alabama will start junior righty Jake Walters, while LSU starts freshman right-hander Eric Walker.
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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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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
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Alabama-LSU Postgame Press Conference
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| Click HERE for Postgame Press Conference via Tide TV |
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University Of Alabama Boasts Record Nine Selections
In First Three Rounds Of 2017 NFL Draft
Alabama's nine selections through three rounds leads not only all Southeastern Conference schools, but all schools at the 2017 National Football League Draft. The seven Crimson Tide players selected in the first 55 picks on Thursday and Friday is a new National Football League Draft record. The nine Alabama draftees in the first 80 picks is also a first in NFL Draft history.
The four Bama players taken in round one were defensive back Marlon Humphrey, defensive lineman Jonathan Allen, tight end O.J. Howard and linebacker Reuben Foster. Humphrey was the 16th selection and went to the Baltimore Ravens, with Allen going one pick later to the Washington Redskins at 17th. Not far behind, at 19th, was Howard going to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and finally, Foster went to the San Francisco 49s as the 31st overall selection.
The first player taken off the board on Friday, going in the second round, was offensive tackle Cam Robinson, going to the Jacksonville Jaguars with the second pick of the second round, and 34th overall. The 17th player chosen in the second round was linebacker Ryan Anderson, going to the Washington Redskins with the 49th overall selection. Defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson went six picks later to the New York Giants as the 23rd selection of the round and 55th pick overall.
Moving to the third round, linebacker Tim Williams was the 14th pick of the round and 78th overall, going to the Baltimore Ravens. One selection later at 15th pick of the round and 79th overall was wide receiver ArDarius Stewart, on his way to the New York Jets.
Alabama now boasts 37 selections overall in the first or second rounds of the NFL Draft since 2009. The Crimson Tide has placed 22 players in the first, as well as 15 in the second round of the draft in that time frame.
Robinson was indeed a bull for the Tide, the 2016 Outland Trophy winner as well as one of Bama's permanent team captains for the 2016 season. He started every game at left tackle for UA during his tenure at The Capstone (43 games) and was one of the Tide's three unanimous All-America selections in 2016. Robinson was also the winner of the SEC Jacobs Blocking Trophy, the second for the Tide in as many years. He was also a first team All-SEC selection by the conference coaches and the Associated Press.
Anderson earned first team All-SEC honors from the Associated Press, was named to the Butkus and Lombardi Award Watch Lists and was also a semifinalist for the Butkus Award. He finished with 61 total tackles, including a team-high 19.0 tackles for loss (-100 yards), 9.0 sacks (-68 yards) along with 10 quarterback hurries, four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
One might say that Tomlinson was indeed a dominating player on the Tide's defensive front. He was responsible for 62 total tackles and added three sacks (-28 yards), seven quarterback hurries and four pass breakups. Robinson also had 5.5 tackles for loss (-32 yards) as well as one forced fumble. A total of 55 of Tomlinson's tackles were against the run. He was a Lombardi Watch List selection, and was also chosen as one of the UA coaching staff's defensive players of the week five times in 2016.
Williams earned second team All-America honors from the Associated Press and Sports Illustrated in 2016. He collected 31 total tackles, added nine sacks (-97 yards) and 16 tackles for loss (-125 yards). Williams also recorded 12 quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and two pass breakups. He also added one fumble recovery that he returned 23 yards for his first career touchdown.
Stewart has a very impressive junior season, leading Bama in touchdown catches (8), receiving yards (864), yards per game (72.0) and yards per reception (16.0). He was second on the team in receptions with 54 despite only playing in 12 games in 2016. Stewart also rushed eight times for a total of 68 yards and completed two passes for 12 and 24 yards and a pair of first downs.
Rounds four through seven will take place this afternoon from the Philadelphia Museum of Art to conclude the 2017 NFL Draft.
ALABAMA in the 2017 NFL Draft:
Round 1
Marlon Humphrey
Jonathan Allen
O.J. Howard
Reuben Foster
Round 2
Cam Robinson
Ryan Anderson
Dalvin Tomlinson
Round 3
Tim Williams
ArDarius Stewart
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| Photo courtesy profootballspot.com |
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Alabama Crimson Tide To Face Ole Miss Rebels
In Three-Game Softball Series
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| UA Softball pitcher Alexis Osorio Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
OXFORD, Mississippi - The No. 13/14 University of Alabama Crimson Tide is in Oxford, Mississippi today to take on the No. 20/21 Ole Miss Rebels in a three-game Southeastern Conference series at the Ole Miss Softball Complex. Bama is 38-11 overall, 10-7 SEC while the Rebs are 32-16 overall, 6-12 in the conference.
The first game is slated for this afternoon at 2 p.m. CT, followed by another game approximately 30 minutes after the finish of game one (about 6 p.m. CT if the game is finished by then). The Sunday game previously scheduled for 6 p.m. CT has been moved up due to the expectation of inclement weather. The finale is still scheduled to be played at 6 p.m. CT on Monday, May 1st. Game three of the series will be broadcast live on the SEC Network.
In its last regular-season non-conference game, Alabama defeated Samford 8-1 on Tuesday of this week. Just two SEC series remain for the Tide in the regular season.
The Crimson Tide is currently second in the Southeastern Conference in strikes with 411 total, with league-leading Florida being the only other team with over 300 this season. Bama also ranks second in opposing batting average (.166) and hits allowed (189) and is third in walks drawn (216), earned run average (1.54) and fielding percentage (.978).
UA softball ace pitcher Alexis Osorio currently leads the SEC, and is seventh nationally, with 233 strikeouts, just one of two pitchers in the Southeastern Conference with over 200 strikeouts. Sydney Littlejohn is fourth in the SEC with 152 strikeouts, making Alabama and Florida the only SEC schools to have over 300 strikeouts between two starters. Littlejohn also ranks fifth in the SEC with a 1.05 ERA.
Alabama is 57-2 versus Ole Miss, boasting a .966 winning percentage, its highest against any SEC opponent, winning 57 of the 59 games between the teams. The Crimson Tide has an identical 28-1 (.966) record both at home and on the road against Ole Miss. The lone neutral-site contest between the teams came in the 2006 SEC Tournament, which the Tide won, 6-0.
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - University of Alabama swimmer Anton McKee as well as Texas A&M University swimmer Sarah Gibson have been named the 2016-17 Southeastern Conference H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athletes of the Year. The announcement was made by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey.
The two student-athletes were chosen by a committee of Faculty Athletics Representatives from Southeastern Conference universities and each will receive a $15,000 post-graduate scholarship, provided by AT&T, one of the SEC Corporate Sponsors. McKee and Gibson will be honored at the annual SEC Awards Dinner during the SEC Spring Meetings in Sandestin, Florida in early June.
Sankey stated, "Anton and Sarah are amazing young people who are an inspiration for their commitment to the complete student-athlete experience of success in competition and excellence in the classroom. Each of them are All-Americans in the pool and 4.0 students in the classroom, making them the ideal recipients of the H. Boyd McWhorter Award, the highest individual honor a student-athlete can achieve in the Southeastern Conference. Anton and Sarah personify the highest of standards in the SEC for their combination of academics and athletics and I congratulate them and the institutions they proudly represent."
McKee is a Management Information Systems major at the University of Alabama boasting a perfect 4.0 GPA, is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, and the 2016 CoSIDA At-Large Team Academic All-American of the Year.
Get this...McKee is an 11-time All-American for UA, was the 2017 Southeastern Conference champion in the 200 breaststroke as well as the NCAA runner-up in the same event. He helped lead Alabama to three consecutive NCAA top-10 finishes, marking the first time Alabama has posted a trio of top-10 finishes in a row since 1981-83.
McKee is a record-setter. He set the SEC record on the way to capturing the 2014 SEC 200 breaststroke title and is the Alabama record holder in the 100 and 200 breaststroke as well. He also boasts the record in the 200 individual medley and as part of the 400 medley relay.
The Bama senior also competed for Iceland at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, and at the 2016 Rio Olympics, he finished in the top-20 in the 200 breaststroke. At the 2015 FINA World Championships, McKee picked up top-20 finishes in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, which set the Icelandic national record in both events.
In all there were 13 male finalists as well as 13 female finalists for the honor. For Alabama, in addition to McKee for the University of Alabama, Krystal Rivers represented UA as a member of the volleyball team.
Past recipients of the H. Boyd McWhorter Award:
1986 - John Young, Tennessee (track) and Virginia Diederich, Georgia (swimming)
1987 - Jeff Noblin, Ole Miss (football) and Julie Estin, Alabama (gymnastics)
1988 - Danny Hoskins, Ole Miss (football) and Linda Leith, Georgia (swimming)
1989 - Mikael Olander, LSU (track) and Deanne Burnett, Georgia (swimming)
1990 - Burke Masters, Mississippi State (baseball) and Janice Kerr, Florida (gymnastics)
1991 - Al Parker, Georgia (tennis) and Patty Wiegand, Tennessee (track and cross country)
1992 - Jeff Laubenthal, Alabama (baseball) and Jenifer Kleyn, Auburn (volleyball)
1993 - Lang Wiseman, Tennessee (basketball) and Aimee York, Mississippi State (volleyball)
1994 - Peter Duitsman, South Carolina (soccer) and Tammy Newlon, Mississippi State (basketball)
1995 - Michael Blanchard, LSU (football) and April Ecke, Mississippi State (cross country)
1996 - Martin Nyberg, LSU (swimming) and Michelle Palmisano, Vanderbilt (basketball)
1997 - Andrew DeVooght, Georgia (swimming) and Meredith Willard, Alabama (gymnastics)
1998 - Jeremy Jackson, Mississippi State (baseball) and Shani Abshier, South Carolina (volleyball)
1999 - Jeff Zurcher, Kentucky (football) and Jessica Field, Arkansas (volleyball)
2000 - Joey Pitts, Georgia (tennis) and Lisette Lee, LSU (golf)
2001 - Scott Westerfield, Mississippi State (football) and Kim Black, Georgia (swimming)
2002 - Trey Dyson, South Carolina (baseball) and Tiffany Woolley, Arkansas (softball)
2003 - Matt Bonner, Florida (basketball) and Kristin Sterner, Alabama (gymnastics)
2004 - Caesar Garcia, Auburn (swimming & diving) and Lauren Imwalle, Alabama (soccer)
2005 - Rob Robertson, Ole Miss (football) and Lauryn McCalley, Tennessee (swimming & diving)
2006 - Rudy Niswanger, LSU (football) and Sarah Lowe, Florida (basketball)
2007 - Emeel Salem, Alabama (baseball) and Erika Schneble, Vanderbilt (track & field)
2008 - Joseph Sykora, Alabama (golf) and Kristen Hastrup, Auburn (swimming & diving)
2009 - Bram ten Berge, Ole Miss (tennis) and Christine Magnuson, Tennessee (swimming & diving)
2010 - Jordan Anderson, Auburn (swimming & diving) and Phoebe Wright, Tennessee (track & field)
2011 - Dan Mazzaferro, Auburn (swimming & diving) and Erica Meissner, Auburn (swimming & diving)
2012 - Michael Roth, South Carolina (baseball) and Wendy Trott, Georgia (swimming & diving)
2013 - Barrett Jones, Alabama (football) and Chelsea Oswald, Kentucky (track & field/cross country)
2014 - Cory Whitsett, Alabama (golf) and Shannon Vreeland, Georgia (swimming)
2015 - Nathanael Franks, Arkansas (track & field) and Maddie Locus, Georgia (swimming)
2016 - Forrest Gamble, Ole Miss (golf) and Haylie McCleney, Alabama (softball)
In its last regular-season non-conference game, Alabama defeated Samford 8-1 on Tuesday of this week. Just two SEC series remain for the Tide in the regular season.
The Crimson Tide is currently second in the Southeastern Conference in strikes with 411 total, with league-leading Florida being the only other team with over 300 this season. Bama also ranks second in opposing batting average (.166) and hits allowed (189) and is third in walks drawn (216), earned run average (1.54) and fielding percentage (.978).
UA softball ace pitcher Alexis Osorio currently leads the SEC, and is seventh nationally, with 233 strikeouts, just one of two pitchers in the Southeastern Conference with over 200 strikeouts. Sydney Littlejohn is fourth in the SEC with 152 strikeouts, making Alabama and Florida the only SEC schools to have over 300 strikeouts between two starters. Littlejohn also ranks fifth in the SEC with a 1.05 ERA.
Alabama is 57-2 versus Ole Miss, boasting a .966 winning percentage, its highest against any SEC opponent, winning 57 of the 59 games between the teams. The Crimson Tide has an identical 28-1 (.966) record both at home and on the road against Ole Miss. The lone neutral-site contest between the teams came in the 2006 SEC Tournament, which the Tide won, 6-0.
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| UA softball pitcher Sydney Littlejohn Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
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University of Alabama Swimmer Anton McKee Named
2016-17 SEC H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Of The Year
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| Alabama Swim & Dive's Anton McKee Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - University of Alabama swimmer Anton McKee as well as Texas A&M University swimmer Sarah Gibson have been named the 2016-17 Southeastern Conference H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athletes of the Year. The announcement was made by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey.
The two student-athletes were chosen by a committee of Faculty Athletics Representatives from Southeastern Conference universities and each will receive a $15,000 post-graduate scholarship, provided by AT&T, one of the SEC Corporate Sponsors. McKee and Gibson will be honored at the annual SEC Awards Dinner during the SEC Spring Meetings in Sandestin, Florida in early June.
Sankey stated, "Anton and Sarah are amazing young people who are an inspiration for their commitment to the complete student-athlete experience of success in competition and excellence in the classroom. Each of them are All-Americans in the pool and 4.0 students in the classroom, making them the ideal recipients of the H. Boyd McWhorter Award, the highest individual honor a student-athlete can achieve in the Southeastern Conference. Anton and Sarah personify the highest of standards in the SEC for their combination of academics and athletics and I congratulate them and the institutions they proudly represent."
McKee is a Management Information Systems major at the University of Alabama boasting a perfect 4.0 GPA, is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, and the 2016 CoSIDA At-Large Team Academic All-American of the Year.
Get this...McKee is an 11-time All-American for UA, was the 2017 Southeastern Conference champion in the 200 breaststroke as well as the NCAA runner-up in the same event. He helped lead Alabama to three consecutive NCAA top-10 finishes, marking the first time Alabama has posted a trio of top-10 finishes in a row since 1981-83.
McKee is a record-setter. He set the SEC record on the way to capturing the 2014 SEC 200 breaststroke title and is the Alabama record holder in the 100 and 200 breaststroke as well. He also boasts the record in the 200 individual medley and as part of the 400 medley relay.
The Bama senior also competed for Iceland at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, and at the 2016 Rio Olympics, he finished in the top-20 in the 200 breaststroke. At the 2015 FINA World Championships, McKee picked up top-20 finishes in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, which set the Icelandic national record in both events.
In all there were 13 male finalists as well as 13 female finalists for the honor. For Alabama, in addition to McKee for the University of Alabama, Krystal Rivers represented UA as a member of the volleyball team.
Past recipients of the H. Boyd McWhorter Award:
1986 - John Young, Tennessee (track) and Virginia Diederich, Georgia (swimming)
1987 - Jeff Noblin, Ole Miss (football) and Julie Estin, Alabama (gymnastics)
1988 - Danny Hoskins, Ole Miss (football) and Linda Leith, Georgia (swimming)
1989 - Mikael Olander, LSU (track) and Deanne Burnett, Georgia (swimming)
1990 - Burke Masters, Mississippi State (baseball) and Janice Kerr, Florida (gymnastics)
1991 - Al Parker, Georgia (tennis) and Patty Wiegand, Tennessee (track and cross country)
1992 - Jeff Laubenthal, Alabama (baseball) and Jenifer Kleyn, Auburn (volleyball)
1993 - Lang Wiseman, Tennessee (basketball) and Aimee York, Mississippi State (volleyball)
1994 - Peter Duitsman, South Carolina (soccer) and Tammy Newlon, Mississippi State (basketball)
1995 - Michael Blanchard, LSU (football) and April Ecke, Mississippi State (cross country)
1996 - Martin Nyberg, LSU (swimming) and Michelle Palmisano, Vanderbilt (basketball)
1997 - Andrew DeVooght, Georgia (swimming) and Meredith Willard, Alabama (gymnastics)
1998 - Jeremy Jackson, Mississippi State (baseball) and Shani Abshier, South Carolina (volleyball)
1999 - Jeff Zurcher, Kentucky (football) and Jessica Field, Arkansas (volleyball)
2000 - Joey Pitts, Georgia (tennis) and Lisette Lee, LSU (golf)
2001 - Scott Westerfield, Mississippi State (football) and Kim Black, Georgia (swimming)
2002 - Trey Dyson, South Carolina (baseball) and Tiffany Woolley, Arkansas (softball)
2003 - Matt Bonner, Florida (basketball) and Kristin Sterner, Alabama (gymnastics)
2004 - Caesar Garcia, Auburn (swimming & diving) and Lauren Imwalle, Alabama (soccer)
2005 - Rob Robertson, Ole Miss (football) and Lauryn McCalley, Tennessee (swimming & diving)
2006 - Rudy Niswanger, LSU (football) and Sarah Lowe, Florida (basketball)
2007 - Emeel Salem, Alabama (baseball) and Erika Schneble, Vanderbilt (track & field)
2008 - Joseph Sykora, Alabama (golf) and Kristen Hastrup, Auburn (swimming & diving)
2009 - Bram ten Berge, Ole Miss (tennis) and Christine Magnuson, Tennessee (swimming & diving)
2010 - Jordan Anderson, Auburn (swimming & diving) and Phoebe Wright, Tennessee (track & field)
2011 - Dan Mazzaferro, Auburn (swimming & diving) and Erica Meissner, Auburn (swimming & diving)
2012 - Michael Roth, South Carolina (baseball) and Wendy Trott, Georgia (swimming & diving)
2013 - Barrett Jones, Alabama (football) and Chelsea Oswald, Kentucky (track & field/cross country)
2014 - Cory Whitsett, Alabama (golf) and Shannon Vreeland, Georgia (swimming)
2015 - Nathanael Franks, Arkansas (track & field) and Maddie Locus, Georgia (swimming)
2016 - Forrest Gamble, Ole Miss (golf) and Haylie McCleney, Alabama (softball)
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