NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional Play for Alabama Opens with Nicholls

NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional Play for Alabama Opens with Nicholls

6/1/2023 1:33:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes NCAA Regional Preview Live Stats

The Crimson Tide and Colonels will meet for the 10th time in series history on Friday

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Sewell-Thomas Stadium will host the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional from June 2-5, with Alabama baseball's postseason beginning on Friday at 6 p.m. CT. The Crimson Tide will square off with Nicholls. Fans who are unable to attend can catch the Tide's Regional opener on ESPN+ with the duo of Richard Cross and Lance Cormier on the call.

Follow the Tide

Fans can follow the Crimson Tide's Regional games via the below outlets:
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: 100.9 FM / CTSN / The Varsity App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com

Probable Starting Pitching Matchup

FRIDAY: UA – Luke Holman (So., RHP) vs. NSU – Jacob Mayers (Fr., RHP)

Leading Off

Alabama and Nicholls will meet for the 10th time in history when the two teams square off on Friday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide holds a 7-2 record in the previous meetings, all of which have come in Tuscaloosa.
The Crimson Tide and Colonels last met on Feb. 24, 2016 at The Joe with Alabama posting a dominant 13-1 win in the midweek pairing.

About Alabama

Alabama enters NCAA Regional action following a 2-2 showing at the SEC Tournament last week in Hoover.
The Crimson Tide began their run at the conference tournament by eliminating then-No. 25 Kentucky on Tuesday to advance to the double-elimination round. Next up was a walkoff loss to then-No. 2 Florida before a bounceback victory over then-No. 19 Auburn on Thursday, ending the Tigers' time at the Tournament. Alabama saw its week come to an end the next day with a loss to the eventual SEC Tournament Champions in then-No. 8 Vanderbilt.
Alabama was led in Hoover by Tommy Seidl and Andrew Pinckney, who both earned a spot on the SEC All-Tournament Team. Seidl batted a team-high .500 (6-12) with two doubles, a homer, five RBI, four runs and a hit-by-pitch, while Pinckney posted a .400 (6-15) showing that included two doubles, one home run, five RBI, three runs, two walks, a hit-by-pitch and one stolen base. Pinckney also made highlight-reel plays in the outfield against UK, throwing a runner out at the plate and making a sliding catch to keep the Wildcats off the board.
Alabama used an impressive start from Hunter Furtado to secure a 4-0 shutout victory over 25th-ranked Kentucky last Tuesday night at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
Furtado put together arguably his top outing in the crimson and white. The sophomore tossed 5.0 scoreless frames with only two hits and two walks to go with a pair of strikeouts. He turned the ball over to Kade Woods, who contributed 2.0 innings, with Alton Davis II closing out the final 2.0 frames for the shutout victory.
UA's offense against the Cats was led by Pinckney who got the Tide on the board in the fourth with a two-run opposite field home run. He finished 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs while adding a double to go with the homer.
Alabama suffered a 7-6 loss to second-ranked Florida last Wednesday night in Hoover.
Florida used a two-run homer in the first to take the early lead, but the Tide was able to chip away and gain the advantage with single tallies in the fourth, fifth and sixth to set the score at 3-2. The Gators evened things up with one in the eighth before both teams went scoreless in the ninth to send it to extras.
The Crimson Tide scored three in the top of the 11th on a two-out double from Seidl, but a walkoff home run in the bottom of the inning gave UF the 7-6 win.
Alabama claimed a 7-4 victory over 19th-ranked Auburn last Thursday afternoon at The Met.
The rivals traded runs through the first two frames before the Tide pulled ahead with one in the third and three in the fourth, setting the score at 5-1. Both teams plated two apiece in the sixth before AU got one in the ninth. The Tigers brought the tying run to the plate twice in that final frame, but a strikeout and a popup ended the game at 7-4.
Garrett McMillan posted a quality start against the Tigers on the way to earning his fourth win of the year and second against Auburn. The senior allowed three runs on five hits and three walks with a season-high eight strikeouts. The Tide bullpen then took over, giving up one run over the final 3.0 frames. Alabama's relief effort was highlighted by Hunter Hoopes, who recorded the game's final two outs for his first save of the year.
Alabama totaled 14 hits on the day with eight of the nine starters recording at least one hit against Auburn. The offense was led by Seidl, who finished 3-for-3 and a triple short of the cycle while adding two RBI and two runs scored. Drew Williamson and Pinckney each tied Seidl at two RBI while Caden Rose matched Seidl in hits with a 3-for-4 showing that included an RBI and one run scored.
The Tide suffered a 9-2 loss to eighth-ranked Vanderbilt last Friday evening to end the run in Hoover.
Vanderbilt struck early with a five-run first. The Tide was able to cut into the deficit thanks to a two-run homer from Colby Shelton in the third but would get no closer. Vandy added three in the fifth and one in the ninth for the 9-2 final.

About Nicholls

Mike Silva is in his second season at Nicholls in 2023. A first-time head coach, Silva led NSU to a 26-25 overall record in his first season. A graduate of Bellevue University, he is joined on staff by assistants Cody Livingston and Ladd Rhodes along with volunteer assistant Gabe Woods.
Nicholls finished the 2023 regular season at 34-22 overall, including a 15-9 mark in Southland Conference play. The Colonels' were crowned both regular season and Southland Conference Tournament champions.
NSU was selected to finish sixth in the Southland in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches and sports information directors.

NCAA Regional – Welcome to The Joe

Tuscaloosa will play host to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006 when Alabama opens NCAA Regional play on Friday at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
The Tide will be making its 26th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament. UA owns a 71-51 (.582) overall record in the Tournament, including a 57-37 (.606) mark in Regional play.
Alabama has claimed seven Regional Championships in program history including titles in 1950, 1983, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2006 and 2010.
The Crimson Tide is 28-12 all-time against Troy but trails 0-2 in matchups with the Trojans in the NCAA's postseason. Alabama also owns a 7-2 record against Nicholls but has never faced the Colonels in postseason play. The Tide has not squared off with Boston College in any capacity.

How We Got Here

The Crimson Tide earned a host spot in the NCAA Tournament thanks to a standout resume entering the postseason.
Alabama finished the 2023 regular season, in addition to four games in the SEC Tournament, with the 14th-ranked strength of schedule while sporting an RPI of 11 by all major sites.
The Tide.0 totaled nine wins against Top-20 RPI opponents, 17 victories against Top-50 RPI foes and finished with 18 combined victories against SEC competition, including 16 during the regular season for the first time since 2009.
Alabama squared off with 10 of the 63 teams in this season's NCAA Tournament field and came away with 16 wins against those opponents. Signature wins in that group of 16 includes three victories against Auburn along with two wins apiece against Kentucky, Samford, Texas A&M, Troy and Vanderbilt
What is even more impressive about the Tide's resume is that much of Alabama's success came without weekend starters Ben Hess and Grayson Hitt for nearly half the season. Hitt, a preseason All-American, made eight starts before having season-ending surgery while Hess totaled seven starts prior to a forearm injury that ended his season early.

On Deck

With a win, Alabama would advance to the 8 p.m. contest with the winner of the Boston College-Troy game. With a loss, the Crimson Tide would square off with the loser between the Eagles and Trojans at 2 p.m. Game two of the weekend for the Tide will air on ESPN+.