Baseball Team Arrives in Atlanta
6/2/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 2, 2010
ATLANTA - The Alabama baseball team arrived in Atlanta today as the team continues preparations for the 2010 Atlanta Regional, which begins Friday at Russ Chandler Stadium.
Alabama (37-22) will face Elon (38-22) at 2 p.m. (CDT) Friday at the Atlanta Regional, hosted by Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets will player Mercer at 6 p.m. (CDT).
The team held a 90-minute practice this afternoon at Emory University. The Division III school is coached by former Tide All-SEC outfielder Mike Twardoski, who played two seasons at the Capstone (1985-86) and led the SEC in hitting with a .399 batting average as a senior.
The Crimson Tide's postseason roster has seven players from the state of Georgia, the most of any state other than Alabama. The list of Georgia natives includes junior catcher Brock Bennett (Tucker), senior LHP David Head (Ellenwood), sophomore left fielder Jon Kelton (LaGrange), sophomore LHP Adam Morgan (Marietta), freshman LHP Matt Taylor (Columbus), junior RHP Jason Townsend (Albany) and freshman LHP Taylor Wolfe (Columbus).
"It's nice to be an hour from home," Kelton said on Wednesday. "I have heard from a lot of family and friends that are planning on coming to Atlanta for the weekend. On the trip over from Tuscaloosa, we were making a lot of jokes with other guys from other states. We are all proud to be from Georgia and playing for the Crimson Tide.
"There isn't a better city than Atlanta. All the guys on the team from Georgia are excited about this weekend and have a lot of family and friends coming to watch us play. This is a great opportunity and we are playing well. I am really excited about this weekend."
All four teams will practice at Russ Chandler Stadium on Thursday, with Alabama scheduled to work out from 11:30 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. Following practice, Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard, junior shortstop Josh Rutledge, sophomore center fielder Taylor Dugas and junior pitcher Nathan Kilcrease will represent the Crimson Tide at the Atlanta Regional Media Day.
TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR ATLANTA REGIONAL: Single-session tickets for the 2010 NCAA Baseball Atlanta Regional will go on sale Thursday, June 3 at www.ramblinwreck.com/tickets. Phone orders will also be accepted beginning at 7:30 a.m. (CDT) by calling 404-894-5447 or 888-TECH-TIX.
Prices are $12 for reserved chair back seating, $10 for adult bench seats and $6 for youth/student bench seating. Each game of the regional is considered one session and a ticket is required for each session. The stadiums will be cleared between each game.
All-session tickets are still available, and can be ordered during normal business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.). All-session reserved chair backs are $72; all-session reserved benches are $60. Orders will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis and are subject to availability.
