Catching Up with the Crimson Tide: Alabama prepares for postseason runs

The road to the postseason is a long one, but its destination is here for Alabama's diamond sports. The baseball team has one more day in the regular season before making the short trip to Hoover next week for the SEC Tournament. Meanwhile, the softball team has already started its postseason run and will host an NCAA regional this weekend. Here are some of the stories from this past week.

Baseball

What happened: The Alabama baseball team is on another hot streak, having won three straight games and ascending to the .500 mark in league play. In another SEC series win last weekend, the Crimson Tide (36-17) took the last two games against Texas A&M by a combined final score of 23-1. Alabama followed it up with a 4-1 victory over Ole Miss in a key series-opening win on Thursday night. The Jason Jackson era has started off with a bang, and the Crimson Tide is now in a good position heading into SEC Tournament play next week.

What’s on deck: Friday will bring both of the final two games of the Ole Miss series, starting at 2 p.m. CT. A sweep keeps Alabama in play to host NCAA Tournament games at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. It is still only an outside possibility, but after everything the team has been through, to be in contention for the right to host is in itself a major accomplishment. Alabama will also get to chance to improve its position next week as it looks for multiple wins in Hoover for the third straight campaign.

Names to know: Andrew Pinckney is leading Alabama at the plate. He has three straight games with a home run (with four home runs overall in that stretch). Pinckney getting hot at the dish was a key for Alabama to be competitive in Hoover and beyond, and some of baseball’s best runs have stemmed from getting hot at the right time. 2022 ace Garrett McMillan will take the ball in game two of the Ole Miss series with the chance to win it. Since returning from injury, he has proven to be an invaluable piece to a starting rotation that, while depleted, is coming into its own. Pitching matters in postseason baseball, and while Alabama isn’t at that point in the season for another few days, it helps for the hurlers to be in postseason form as those pivotal matchups draw closer.

Softball

What happened: The No. 11 Alabama softball team didn’t parlay its extra-inning rally against Arkansas last week into a conference tournament title, but there was still a lot to be happy about following the SEC Tournament. The Crimson Tide (40-18) was awarded the fifth overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and will host games at Rhoads Stadium starting Friday. Despite the narrow semifinal loss against Tennessee, in which a hot start was neutralized and a comeback fell short, Alabama is ready to go for more postseason action in Tuscaloosa. Much was made of the Crimson Tide’s draw, but the goal is still the same — an eventual berth in the Women’s College World Series.

What’s on deck: Joining Alabama in Tuscaloosa are Central Arkansas, Middle Tennessee and Long Island. The Crimson Tide will open up its slate with a 6 p.m. start against Long Island. The Sharks won four of five at the Northeast Conference Tournament and come to Alabama with a 32-24 overall mark and three consecutive victories. Middle Tennessee and Central Arkansas will play each other to open the action at 3:30 p.m.

Names to know: An injury update on Montana Fouts quelled some of fans’ worst fears. The star pitcher has a hyperextended knee, according to head coach Patrick Murphy. Some individuals speculated that the injury was more severe. She’s not pitching Friday, which was expected. In her absence, Alex Salter and Jaala Torrence will have to continue to step up. On the offensive side, Ashley Prange hit three home runs in Fayetteville, Arkansas at the SEC Tournament to extend her team lead. Kenleigh Cahalan still has the team high in hits, and this tournament is a big moment in her young career. Both sides of the ball will need to be firing on all cylinders to go far in this postseason, and the journey starts this weekend.