Inside the Tide: What Up South Crack?!

Greetings from Tuscaloosa! It has been a quick three days at home since getting back from Knoxville and tomorrow morning we head back out on the road. And no, I have not unpacked yet! (Gotta do some laundry tonight)

The trip to Knoxville wasn’t exactly pleasant for the Tide. If you didn’t see the blown call from Friday night, you can here. Not to say that Alabama won the game, but that call obviously ended the opportunity to try in extra innings. The Tide had all the momentum at that point as well, coming back from three runs down to send it to the bottom of the seventh.

Another controversial call in the bottom of the sixth Saturday allowed Tennessee to score the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth on a catch that would’ve been the third out. Leslie Jury pitched a helluva game and deserved a win.

Sunday is just what the Crimson Tide needed and I’m not sure it would’ve happened without the three losses that preceded it. Sometimes things that only teammates can say need to be said and after three straight losses, including back-to-back heartbreakers, some of the ladies spoke up. It was a different look on Sunday and Tennessee didn’t stand a chance from the get go. UT dished out three different pitchers in the game and the Bama bats handled them all. Traina had her best outing of the season with a no-hitter into the sixth.

It was a great way to end the series and set the tone for the rest of the month.

Now on to South Carolina, or as I like to say “What up, South Crack?!” (If you get that reference, brownie points, if not check out this classic video)

The Gamecocks are 16-6 this season, but have played one of the weakest schedules in the country. The Cocks fell to Furman who ranked 205 in the final RPI last year, just to give some perspective to that record. Their best win of the season was a 7-2 victory over Georgia Southern in Statesboro (the same team that took Alabama to extras in Fort Myers). But I do have to point out that there were three errors in the game and the Eagles only gave up one EARNED-run.

Samie Garcia is the leadoff for South Carolina for the past few years and leads the team now in her senior season. She is hitting .464 which is fourth best in the SEC with seven doubles, five triples (best in the conference) and one homer.

The Cocks added a solid freshman to the lineup in the two-hole with left fielder Alaynie “Boo” Page. She is hitting a .404 clip with six doubles, three home runs and 21 runs batted in.

South Carolina is probably better than they have been in the past few years, but it is hard to judge with the schedule they’ve played. Still, even with it being a road series, it is a three-game set that any team looking to win the SEC has to break out the brooms for.

It should be a fun weekend with the grand opening (or kind of at least) of the new Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field. I say “kind of” because the stadium is not 100% complete. Only about 600 fans will be allowed in the new park, with some areas of the stadium being closed off.

Saturday’s game will be the first regionally televised game of the year, with CSS broadcasting the game. If you have satellite, you’ll be stuck with me again!

Look forward to bringing you all the action from the Palmetto State this weekend on the flagship for Bama Softball 99.1 WDGM. Happy St. Patrick’s Day and Roll Tide!