NBA playoffs: Spurs sweep Grizzlies, advance to NBA Finals. 5C
Sports
T U E S D A Y , M A Y 28 , 2013
SECTION C
WWW.TUSCALOOSANEWS.COM
ALABAMA BASEBALL
ALABAMA GOLF
SWING AWAY Alabama won the stroke play of last year’s NCAA Championships, but lost the tournament in match p play. This time the Crimson Crims Tide is better prepared prepa to handle it.
PHOTO | ERIN NELSON
Alabama catcher Brett Booth speaks to the media in the C.M. Newton lounge at Coleman Coliseum after the NCAA tournament selection announcement Monday. Alabama is the No. 2 seed in the Tallahassee Regional.
Crimson Tide gets No. 2 seed for regional
By Chase Goodbread Sports Writer
By Aaron Suttles Sports Writer
They gathered as a team to watch the NCA A Selection Show, but there was no drama, no climatic build up for the University of Alabama baseball team Monday. The coaching staff and members of the team had unquestioned belief they were in the field of 64 by virtue of a high RPI, a strong strength of schedule and a good record within the conference. The only question was where and what seed the Crimson Tide would be slotted. Those queries were answered when the committee placed UA in the Tallahassee (Fla.) Regional as a No. 2 seed along with top-seed Florida State (44-14), three seed Troy (40-18) and four seed Savannah State (3321).
TALLAHASSEE REGIONAL ■ Where: Dick Howser Stadium, Tallahassee Fla. ■ Teams: No. 1 Florida State (44-14), No. 2 Alabama (3426), No. 3 Troy (40-18), No. 4 Savannah State (33-21) ■ Friday: Alabama vs. Troy at 11 a.m. CT (ESPNU) Florida State vs. Savannah State, 4 p.m. CT ■ Radio: 95.3 FM (Alabama only)
It marks the program’s 23rd regional appearance, including three in four years for UA head coach Mitch Gaspard. Alabama last appeared in a regional in 2011, also in Tallahassee, Fla. Alabama opens regional play Friday at 11 a.m. against Troy. Florida State plays Savannah State at 4 p.m. It’s a team operating on maximum confidence right now. Alabama is the only team in the nation to defeat Vanderbilt and LSU, the No. 1 and 2 ranked teams in the country, respectively. “We’re playing our best baseball right now,” senior third baseman Kenny Roberts said. “I feel like right now we’re hot and all the pieces are starting to come together. Anything is possible.” The at-large berth into the field didn’t come as a shock to UA (34-26), which played the nation’s 12th best schedule and currently has an RPI of 25. A total of nine Southeastern Conference teams made the tournament, including Vanderbilt, LSU, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Florida. Auburn was the lone conference bubble team that didn’t make the field. SEE R EGIONAL | 3C
CRIMSONTIDEPHOTOS.COM
Alabama’s Cory Whitsett and the Crimson Tide golf team finished second in last season’s NCAA Golf Championships, but are poised to take another shot at the title in Woodstock, Ga.
T TUSCA LOOSA | A year ago, the m match play portion of NCAA Champ pionship golf was new to the Univers of Alabama men. sity A And they weren’t particularly comfor t- able with it, either. This year, if the Crimson Tide manages to navigate the tournament’s stroke play rounds well enough to qualify for match play, which crowns an NCAA champion among finalists drawn from stroke play, it will be ready. The tournament begins today at the Crabapple Course in Woodstock, Ga. “It’s night and day. NCAA MEN’S GOLF Last year, that was the CHAMPIONSHIPS biggest thing. We’d When: Today through never made it to the ■ Sunday match play portion of it. ■ Where: Crabapple It’s only a four-year-old Course, Woodstock, Ga. thing,” UA coach Jay ■ Format: First four days Seawell said. “We got are stroke play; Final three done, win stroke play, days are match play went back out to driving range, and it’s a really different feel. Even though you’re at the same golf course doing the same things, it’s a different tournament. And you feel it. It’s a unique feeling, unlike anything I’ve ever done in coaching.” Match play calls for individual pairings of competitors whose goal is to simply score lower on more holes. After three rounds of stroke play, the field will be cut from 30 to eight teams before three rounds of match play. “Match play is more mano y mano. You’re playing your opponent, but you’re playing the golf course too. You’ve just got to stay focused and not get frustrated,” UA’s Bobby Wyatt said. “It’s certainly more intense. Golf’s fun either way for me. But I love it. I know a lot of the guys are embracing the challenge that it brings. It’s a totally different mindset. Every player does it a little differently.” Seawell said even the rules for match play are different than stroke play, something he’ll be sure to discuss with his players if necessary. “If we get that far, at dinner that night, we’ll talk about it, the rule changes, what you can and can’t do, the penalties,” Seawell said. “Penalties are different in match play from stroke play. There are all these little different things in the rule book. You have to get the rule book out. A two-stroke penalty is a loss of hole.” UA is one of nine Southeastern Conference teams that qualified for the NCAA Championships. Reach Chase Goodbread at chase@tidesports.com or at 205-722-0196.
ALABAMA RECRUITING
Alabama going after new prospects as well as ones already committed
T
he University of Alabama football coaching staff has seen all of its key targets this spring during the evaluation period. The coaches will welcome hundreds of prospects on campus this summer, including some committed to other schools. Alabama also added a new commitment last week when a prospect jumped on the opportunity as soon as he was offered a scholarship by Nick Saban. Most of Alabama’s top-ranked recruiting class of 2013 has arrived in Tuscaloosa to begin summer school and offseason workouts. The Crimson Tide coaches will continue to recruit the players who are already committed to Alabama. They continue because other schools also want these prospects. The Crimson Tide coaches are also recruiting players com-
m i t t e d t o o t he r schools. They took a closer look on Saturday at Dalvin Cook, a R ivals100 running back from Central High School in Miami, who is solid with his commitment to FlorA NDREW ida at this time. BONE Alabama is working on a few in-state prospects, including Joshua Casher, a four-star center and Auburn commitment from St. Paul’s Episcopal School in Mobile. C.J. Hampton, a four-star safety and Ole Miss commitment from Meridian, Miss., plans to visit Alabama this summer. Hampton’s interest in the defending national champions is high. “With Alabama it’s just seeing how
many guys go through their program and have awesome careers,” Hampton said. “They are also successful at the next level. Coach Saban talked to me about their graduation percentage, and that’s a big deal for me. I want to go to a school that will push you to get your degree. It’s really hard with Alabama because you have to respect their program.” Tashon Smallwood, a four-star defensive tackle and Southern California commitment from Central East High in Fresno, Calif., received an offer from Alabama last week. The Crimson Tide staff will continue to pursue committed players. Alabama landed commitment No. 8 last Friday from O.J. Smith, a defensive tackle from Airline High in Bossier City, La. The 6-foot-1.5, 330-pound nose tackle also held scholarship of-
fers from Texas and Mississippi State. Alabama offered Friday, and he committed within a few minutes. “As a player to be as big as he is and play that hard all the time is his greatest attribute,” Airline coach Bo Meeks said. “He plays with great hands. He has quick feet. He puts good pressure on the passer. He brings a lot of leadership to the team. He is just an outstanding young man. “I think he can improve his pass rush. He can continue to get better at that. That’s the biggest thing. He is a big guy. He will have to continue to stay in shape and conditioned. That’s something he will always have to work really hard at.” Alabama finished with the top ranked recruiting class in the country in February. Most of those players have arrived on campus. Alabama
signed four five-stars in tight end O.J. Howard, defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson, linebackers Reuben Foster and Jonathan Allen. These four are officially on campus. A few others have yet to arrive because of a later high school graduation or because of academics. Jonathan Cook, a cornerback from Spanish Fort and Darius Paige, a defensive tackle from Foley, continue to battle academic issues. Paige will retake the ACT in early June. TideSports.com has complete daily recruiting coverage for the busy summer schedule, including summer camps and the Rivals.com Five-Star Challenge in Chicago in June. Reach Andrew Bone at andrew@ tidesports.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewJBone