Alabama baseball prepares for first postseason home game since 2006

By WVUA 23 Digital Reporter Sam Thornton

TUSCALOOSA-For the first time since 2006, post-season baseball is happening inside Sewell-Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa. Alabama was revealed as the No. 16 national seed over the weekend, earning the final No. 1 seed among the NCAA field.

“It means everything. As a coach and as a player, you work hard all year to get this opportunity, and certainly we’re very excited about it,” said Alabama baseball head coach Jason Jackson.

Projected as an 11-13 seed, it was to an extent, a surprise the Crimson Tide fell to the final hosting seed. No matter the case, Alabama has prompted themselves as being “back”, and the right to host a regional tournament is no feat to glance over despite off putting projections from the selection committee.

“Honestly, I don’t think our guys cared where our name popped up as long as it popped up on there somewhere,” Jackson said.

However, Alabama pulled a favorable regional field that includes Boston College, Troy and Nicholls State. The double elimination regional tournament will begin on Friday with one team advancing from the region on Monday. The winner of the Tuscaloosa region will travel to the super regional round in Winston-Salem, NC, to compete for a spot in the Men’s College World Series.

Alabama earned their way into the 64 team field for the second time since 2014. An encouraging season developed even further in the SEC tournament, where they made it to the fourth round in Hoover, AL, after being seeded ninth.

After the dismissal of former head coach Brad Bohannon, the program has elevated their game displaying a 10-4 record since the announcement of Bohannon’s gambling violation.

Alabama Athletics Director Greg Byrne has praised Jackson’s leadership since he stepped into the role in early May. Fans and Jackson alike always knew the program had the ability to perform to their ceiling, it was just a matter of timing and culture.

“This is a special place, and we’ve known this is a special place. I’ve always felt like we’ve had this great culture, chemistry, and department. I’ve always felt that, and then the way its felt the last month has even taken that to a different level,” Jackson said.

With the lifted confidence in the program’s culture, the message taken into this weekend’s regional round is to stay the course and not lack in preparation.

Alabama’s first contest against Southland Conference champion Nicholls State on Friday afternoon is one that Jackson is not overlooking despite their underdog mentality.

“We prepare for it like we prepare for everybody. That’s a really good team. Everybody this time of year is either one, playing their best baseball and they’ve gotten hot at the right time or two, they’ve been good all year and they’ve got a great body of work and that’s why they’re here. We know they have a great ball club,” Jackson said.

A veteran lineup that Nicholls State carries shouldn’t be overlooked. Freshman standout pitcher Jacob Mayers is someone the Tide are anticipating to face this weekend with a 9-1 record and 1.93 ERA.

Alabama will rely on their sustained success in the month of May to put on a show for the fans at the Joe this weekend in what should be a hard fought regional series. The Crimson Tide will play in the second scheduled game on Friday with the first pitch thrown at 6 p.m.