Inside the Tide – Road Warriors Return Home

It’s been a long two weeks and it is hard to put into words how nice it is knowing that we don’t have to leave the state of Alabama for 17 days. Thanks to the rainout of the Samford game last week, we started the season with a 10-game road swing, both of which included commercial air travel, and with a group of 30 that is never a simple trip. Needless to say, it’s great to be back home in Tuscaloosa.

We had a good trip to Ft. Myers. The bats struggled at times this weekend, but that happens, and you would rather go through those struggles in the early tournaments than breeze through them now and then have the bats go cold in conference play.

It helps any team to learn how to win different ways and the Tide did this past weekend. The team could have easily given up in the Georgia Southern game after a blown call at home plate sent the game to the ninth inning, which ended up seeing the Eagles take the lead. Alabama persevered though and fought back from adversity with a “will not be denied attitude” that I think most Crimson Tide fans have grown accustomed to and scored two runs to win in the bottom of the ninth before even recording an out.

That was the third straight game that Alabama had only scored two runs, but thanks to the great pitching of Jackie Traina and Leslie Jury, two was good enough to win each time. Wins are wins and at the end of the day, and Alabama got them.

Having to turn around early the next morning for the earliest start that I can remember (9 a.m.), the team did a heck of a job coming out and putting up 10 runs and only allowing one unearned run to win it’s 11th consecutive tournament title.

It was really great to see Leslie Jury bounce back from a bit of a rough opening weekend to dominate this past week at FGCU. Jury pitched 14 innings this weekend while only allowing five hits and one unearned run and she struck out 16. L.J. also led the Bama pitchers in opponent batting average with her foes only hitting .104 against her this week.

After Coach Murphy announced to the team that L.J. had been named tournament MVP, the team went nuts for her and Danae Hays had an impromptu interview with her over the bus P.A. That is really one of the keys to success to this program. A lot of schools assemble great talent, but Coach Murphy and Aly bring in girls that make great teammates and care about the name on the front of the jersey more than the name on the back and support the other 18 members of the team more than they do themselves. They back each other up on and off the field and it shows.

Florida was beautiful and the quick tour of Naples on Sunday was fun. It would be nice to own one of the multi-million dollar houses they have on Gulf Shores Boulevard some day! I guess I’ll just have to settle for my condo in Tuscaloosa for now though.

Back at it tomorrow night with the first game of the annual home-and-home series against UAB. If you are coming to the game make sure you arrive early (they close the gates when it reaches capacity and it doesn’t hold more than 500) and make sure you wear layers, because it will be COLD. Wind chill expected to be around 38 degrees. Yikes!

Feel free to stop by before or after the game if you are going to be in Birmingham. If not, see you this weekend at the Rhoads House! Roll Tide!!

 P.S. - Music video director Kayla Braud is working on the next Alabama Softball music video, they were shooting on Naples Beach so watch for that in the near future.