The 42-19 Alabama Crimson Tide has reached the College World Series for the first time since 1999, earning their way in by defeating St. John’s in the Tuscaloosa Super Regional as the 7th overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Let’s take a look at why the Tide could hoist the trophy at the end of the World Series, and why not.
For the Tide to be the last team standing. the team will have to continue to do the things that got them this far.
Excellent starting pitching
Tyler Fay, Zane Adams, and Myles Upchurch have consistently pitched deep into games for the Tide. Considering the need to win five games, that trend needs to continue. Bama was the only team in the SEC and one of the few in the country that used the same three weekend starters for every series, and in the same order, all season.
Continue to play good defense
Alabama was statistically the worst fielding team in the SEC, plagued by careless errors throughout the season. However there has been improvement over the last several weeks.
Get timely hits
Alabama was near the bottom in the SEC with a .258 average overall, but was able to get clutch hits when needed and pull out many wins late. The Tide finished 11-2 in one run games, including 6-2 in the SEC.
In short, Alabama needs to continue to do the things they do well: avoid mistakes, and get timely hits. There have been times throughout the season when the Tide looked unbeatable, followed by periods of wondering if they would ever win another game. Each time the team would bounce back, showing the toughness and grit that head coach Rob Vaughn preaches over and over.
If the Tide bows out early what went wrong?
They run into a pitcher like Dylan Volantis of the Texas Longhorns
Volantis carved the Tide up to the tune of 17 strikeouts when the teams played back in April. The tall left-hander with an elite arm was virtually untouchable for Alabama.
The defensive woes rear their ugly head
Bama had two games were they committed six errors and a pair of games with five miscues. When the team plays clean their chances of winning increase exponentially. Injuries forced the team to play several players out of position during the season and it has taken most of the year to straighten out the errors, both physically and mentally.
One or more of the starting pitchers have a rare off day
First game starter Tyler Fay has been on point all year and has an 11-4 record. The former walk-on hurled a no-hitter against Florida on March 20th, the first by an Alabama pitcher since 1942. Fay has excellent control and has only walked 22 hitters in 105 inning pitched, but does give up long balls, with 20 home runs allowed during the season. With a low batting average against and walk rate, the home runs are mostly solo shots which the team can overcome. Adams and Upchurch have followed Fay with excellent seasons of their own, the latter named a Freshman All-American for his performance. The Tide basically used three relievers to back up the starters, with Matthew Heiberger, Ashton Crowther, and Hagan Banks carrying the load during SEC and tournament play. If Bama has to go much deeper into the pen, that’s where they could run into trouble.
All in all Alabama has had a great season to get this far, and even if they were to bow out early, that can never be taken away from them. If Alabama continues doing the things that got them here they definitely can make some noise in Omaha.
The Crimson Tide faces Oklahoma on Saturday, June 13 at 2:00 PM CT, airing on ESPN.
Roll Tide
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