College football: Plenty of story lines as spring practice gets ready to start | 3C
Sports
RECRUITING ANALYSIS PREVIEWS MESSAGE BOARDS 30-DAY FREE TRIAL
F R I D A Y , M A R C H 6 , 2015
FREE 2015 CALENDARS AVAILABLE AT:
UNION FURNITURE CO. 758-3693
SECTION C
WWW.TUSCALOOSANEWS.COM
ALABAMA BASEBALL
Tide road show heads to Mobile By D.C. Reeves Sports Writer
Amid a season without its true home field, the University of Alabama baseball program is hoping to capitalize on its roaming 2015 season to build its brand around the state. The tour rolls into Mobile tonight for the fi rst of a three-game set against Lipscomb at Hank Aaron Stadium. Knowing his team would be faced with plenty of travel time already while Sewell-Thomas Stadium undergoes a $42 million renovation, UA coach Mitch Gaspard felt it was the perfect time to take home on the road. “I think that once we realized what it was going to be, (playing around the state) became pretty important to us,” Gaspard said. “Obviously we wanted a home base, which we were able to establish in Hoover.” Alabama has already made three of its 13 round trips — 100 miles apiece — for home games at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, with the team staying two nights in Hoover for each weekend series. Adding this weekend’s trip to Mobile and its home game at Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville on May 12 against Mercer, Alabama will travel about 2,000 miles for designated home games. SEE SHOW | 4C Alabama vs. Lipscomb
■ Where: Hank Aaron Stadium, Mobile ■ Today’s game: 7:05 p.m. ■ Saturday’s game: 7:05 p.m. ■ Sunday’s game: 2:05 p.m. ■ Records: Alabama 7-5, Lipscomb 7-2 ■ Radio: 99.1 FM ■ Note: Former Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron, a Mobile native, will throw out the first pitch prior to today’s game.
STAFF PHOTO | ERIN NELSON
Personal TOUCH UA softball team upgrades with customized gloves By Tommy Deas Executive Sports Editor
A softball player’s glove is always personal. It has creases and scratches and splotches of old dirt to tell its story. At the University of Alabama this season, the gloves aren’t just personal: they’re customized. Each Crimson Tide softball player designed her own glove, from color to webbing to stitching to embellishment on the thumb area. Ole Miss at No. 4 Alabama PHOTO | ALABAMA ATHLETICS
Mikey White and the Crimson Tide takes on Lipscomb in a three-game series starting today in Mobile.
■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Where: Rhoads Stadium Today’s game: 5 p.m. Saturday’s game: 2 p.m. Sunday’s game: 1:30 p.m. Records: Alabama 15-4, Ole Miss 13-5 ■ Radio: 95.3 FM today and Sunday, 99.1 FM on Saturday
ALABAMA GYMNASTICS
Tide tinkering with the lineup By Sean Landry Special to The Tuscaloosa News
When the University of Alabama gymnastics team takes the floor at Missouri tonight for its fourth road meet of the season, it will likely do so with a lineup fans won’t see again. The meet in Columbia, Mo., comes just two days before Alabama’s second meet of the season against rival Auburn, and coach Dana Duckworth plans to use the No. 6 Alabama at opportunit y to rotate her squad. No. 24 Missouri “I think it’s a wonderful ■ When: 6:30 p.m. preparation for the postseatonight son where we have to compete ■ Where: Mizzou Arena, Columbia, Mo. in the warmup, have a prac■ Records: Alabama tice day and turn around and 6-2, Missouri 5-6 compete,” Duckworth said. “I ■ Radio: 90.7 FM think being able to go on the road to Missouri, we may be in a position to be able to put some new faces in there, a little adding to our depth, trying a few things and then turning around and having a podium meet experience on Sunday, which will allow us to get experience prior to SECs and prior to the NCA A which is also on podium.” Tonight’s meet could see the return of all-arounder Katie Bailey, who posted a 39.625 in the home meet against Boise State before missing the next two weeks with back spasms. Duckworth said the sophomore has been improving, but stopped short of confi rming her return. SEE T INKER | 4C
The customized gloves came through UA’s contract with equipment manufacturer Easton. Former Florida player Francesca Enea, Alabama’s representative with Easton, came to campus last fall and, with help from a computer, sat down with each player to personalize each glove. “It’s almost like designing a pair of shoes or clothing,” UA coach Patrick Murphy said. “They could
write their hashtag, t heir na me, t heir number, whatever. “It’s like a Major L eag ue Baseball player: ever y thing they have is customized.” The gloves arrived in November. “It was like Christmas,” Murphy said. “It’s the fi rst time I’ve ever texted every player and they show up in 5 minutes.” The gloves all have UA’s script “A” logo on them, a decision made by the players. Otherwise, each one is different. “My glove is pretty simple,” said sophomore outfielder Chandler Dare. “It’s just black and white. It has my name and number. I didn’t want to get too fancy with it.” Pitcher Sydney Littlejohn’s is all white. “Sydney’s is pretty cool,” Dare said. “I did like the whole white look.” Infielder Peyton Grantham’s is white with red stitching, while fellow infielder Marissa Runyon’s is white and black with red stitching, with her last name and number and the inscription, “Believe.” Outfielder Danielle Richards has a black glove with what stitching SEE GLOVES | 4C
PHOTO | KIRSTEN FISCUS
TOP: Gloves from members of the Alabama softball team detail the customized stitching. Each Crimson Tide player designed their own glove, from color to webbing to stitching. Each glove has the script A logo on the side, but the overall design of the glove was left to the players.
PREP FOOTBALL
First-year Holt coach Beverly has been busy By Joey Chandler Sports Writer
Since his arrival in February, Holt High School’s new head football Jonathan Beverly has been hard at work. “I’ve loved every moment of being at Holt since taking over the program,” he said. Beverly has met with his players, and the group has been busy hitting the weights this offseason. The Ironmen fi nished 2-8 last year, and Beverly said he can tell his players are looking forward to a better outcome next season. “I’ve gotten a great feel for the kids in the offseason weight-lifting program,” he said. “The strength and conditioning is going really well. The kids are excited. Par-
ticipation is high right now, and they are working hard every day. They are eager to t ur n t hi ngs around. They are sick of losing and want to put in the work to have a quality program, and that is my Jonathan ultimate goal as well.” Beverly Beverly spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach at Shelby County and has been coaching high school football since 2007. Beverly is in his fi rst head coaching job. He’s had coaching stops in both Alabama and Kentucky, and worked as both an offensive and defensive coordinator. “It’s been something that when I fi rst got into coaching a number of years ago
that was my ultimate goal,” he said. “I knew I had to work my way up and put in quality work as an assistant.” The Birmingham native was also an offensive lineman at Samford University. Beverly teaches special education and physical education. Holt will host a spring jamboree game against Holy Spirit, Greensboro and Fultondale on May 15. “The kids have bought in and they’ve been great so far,” Beverly said. “I’m really impressed with the work ethic and how they gravitated towards my philosophy and towards what we are doing as a program.” Reach Joey Chandler at joey.chandler@ tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-722-0223.