What is Alabama’s Path to Hosting an NCAA Regional

No. 23 Alabama (37-12, 13-11 SEC) is nearing the end of its regular season, preparing to host No. 6 Georgia (39-11, 15-9 SEC) and then travel to Gainesville for the final weekend series against Florida (33-17, 11-13 SEC).

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The Alabama Crimson Tide, currently projected by D1Baseball to be a two seed in the Clemson regional, have a strong opportunity to host a regional tournament in June. This comes after their impressive performance against No. 19 Troy, who is also projected to be a two seed, but in the Tallahassee regional. On Tuesday, Alabama secured a series sweep against Troy, winning decisively with a score of 10-2.

The Crimson Tide needs a strong finish to its season to host an NCAA regional at Sewell-Thomas Stadium for the first time since the 2023 season. D1Baseball’s Mark Etheridge broke down what the Tide has to do to host regionals at the Joe in June, with Etheridge stating, “Going 3-3 would put them on the host border, and they would need some help around the country. A 4-2 finish earns Bama a host."

Winning 4 out of the next 6 games in these two series will likely secure Alabama as a regional host in June. The Tide's final series will be against two teams with top 15 RPIs: No. 1 Georgia and No. 15 Florida. Alabama is currently ranked 13th in RPI, which is a crucial factor in the selection process for regional hosts. If the Tide can finish these final two weekends with victories, they will be in an excellent position to host regionals as they head into the SEC tournament in Hoover.

As the season comes to a close, there is little room for error, a challenge the Tide has struggled with over the past month. During this period, Alabama has gone 1-4 in its last five SEC series. Last week, they suffered a heartbreaking loss to No. 11 Vanderbilt on the road in game three, where the Tide relinquished a five-run lead in the final two innings. The Commodores clinched the series with a walk-off victory.

Alabama aims to win game one on Friday as the Tide hosts the No. 6 Georgia Bulldogs at the Joe. The opening pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m., with the Tide hoping to kick off their final stretch of six games with a victory.

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