For the baseball fans here is the official release from UA about the postseason.

(UA) TUSCALOOSA – The University of Alabama baseball team has earned the No. 2 seed at the 2010 NCAA Atlanta Regional, the NCAA Division Baseball Committee revealed live on ESPN on Monday.

Joining Alabama (37-22) in the four-team field are No. 1 seed Georgia Tech (45-13), No. 3 seed Elon (38-22) and No. 4 seed Mercer (37-22). The Yellow Jackets are the No. 8 national seed in this year’s tournament. The winner of the Atlanta Regional will play the winner of the Auburn Regional in the Super Regionals next week.

The double-elimination regional begins Friday, June 4 at 2 p.m. (CDT), when Alabama plays Elon. Georgia Tech plays Mercer on Friday at 6 p.m. (CDT). The losers of Friday’s games will play Saturday at 2 p.m. (CDT) and the winners of Friday’s games will square off Saturday at 6 p.m. (CDT).

Alabama is one of eight SEC teams to receive an NCAA Tournament bid. The Pac-10 and Atlantic Coast Conference also had eight teams earn berths.

Arizona State is the NCAA Tournament’s overall No. 1 seed.

Alabama will be making its 21st NCAA Regional appearance this season and its 13th appearance in the last 16 years. The Crimson Tide was the No. 2 seed in the Conway Regional in 2008 and the No. 2 seed in the Clemson Regional last year.

First-year head coach Mitch Gaspard is making his second NCAA Regional appearance and first with the Crimson Tide. Gaspard took Northwestern (La.) State to the 2005 NCAA Baton Rouge Regional, where the Demons posted a 1-2 record with a win over Marist.

Alabama posted a 20-16 record against teams in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. The list of opponents to make this year’s tournament field includes Arkansas (0-3), Auburn (3-2), College of Charleston (2-1), Florida (2-2), Jacksonville State (2-0), LSU (0-4), Minnesota (2-0), Mississippi (3-1), South Carolina (1-2), Stony Brook (3-0) and Vanderbilt (2-1).

Alabama and Elon will be meeting for the first time this weekend at the Georgia Tech Regional. The Phoenix are one of three Southern Conference teams to receive an NCAA tournament bid along with The Citadel and College of Charleston. Alabama won a road series at Charleston on March 5-7 this season.

Alabama owns an 18-6-1 record against Mercer and then teams have not squared off on the diamond since 1998. Mercer earned an automatic bid to this year’s tournament by winning the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament last week in Nashville.

The Crimson Tide and Georgia Tech have a long athletic history. Alabama is 30-28-1 all-time against Georgia Tech and the two teams have not met since the 1996 Olive Garden Classic in Kissimmee, Fla. Alabama won that game 7-2. The two teams have not met in an NCAA Regional since 1991 when the Tide posted an 8-4 win at the NCAA Atlantic Regional in Tallahassee, Fla. Georgia Tech’s last win over Alabama came at the 1986 NCAA Atlantic Regional in Coral Gables, Fla.

For ticket information, contact the Georgia Tech Ticket Office at 404.894.5447 or 888-TECH-TIX.

Head Coach Mitch Gaspard
On playing in the Atlanta Regional:
“You’re busing over there so it’s a pretty easy trip for us. Secondly, it’s going to give our fan base the opportunity to come over and watch us play which could certainly help us in some of those ballgames. There’s a lot of advantages to when you’re just going four hours and not having to jump on a plane to go somewhere.”

On the pitching plans:
“We don’t know a lot about Elon right now. We’ll have to break them down and start getting scouting reports on all three teams. I think with our pitchers and the way they’re pitching right now, it’s really important for how we want to match up. Obviously you can’t look ahead to the next game, but at the same time, we’ve got some great options right now. I think that there’s not going to be a poor choice, but you’ve got to look at who can bounce back and come back later. It’s one game at a time. Right now, when I look at our guys, I think its 1 and 1A right now. I think it’s more of how the match up looks right now. You’ve got to win Game 1 to be in position for Game 2.”

On the team’s strong pitching late in the season:
“I think at this point in the season, it’s not about offense as much as it is about pitching. You win Regionals with good pitching, good defensive play and good timely hitting. You look at regional games and you don’t see many 12-10 scores. I think there’s a little more confidence and energy about us knowing that we’re pitching so well. Pitching is going to put you in a position to win and I think we’ve got a pitching staff that’s at the top of their game right now.”

Pitcher Adam Morgan
On playing in the Atlanta Regional:
“It’s always good to go home. We’re just going to take it game-by-game and give it all we’ve got.”

On being comfortable playing near his hometown:
“I’ve pitched at that field plenty of times. It’s a nice field with a good mound so I know what to expect from the field. Right now every team is tough and we can’t take a game off. I’m familiar with the field but not the teams.”

On the pitching staff’s strong performance lately:
“We’ve been working hard since the fall. We’ve stuck with the plan. Some guys will have good games, some will have a bad game and it’s just a matter of how you recover from those bad games and we’ve been recovering well and pitching well.”

Catcher Brock Bennett
On playing near his hometown and growing up a Georgia Tech fan:
“That was my favorite team growing up and I went to some of their games. My house is 10 minutes from there and it’s kind of weird playing them but it should be fun.”

On if Atlanta was the Regional he wanted to go to:
“I didn’t really think about it. I thought whatever would give us the best matchup to get us out of the Regional would be best but it’s nice that it’s not a bad drive.”

On the momentum the team is carrying into Regional play:
“Definitely the way our pitchers have been throwing has given us a lot of momentum and getting hits at the right time. Hopefully we can keep this going and have a successful end to the year.”

One thought on “Alabama Tabbed No. 2 Seed at Atlanta Regional”

  1. That’s fantastic. At #8 seed we get one of the weaker regionals. What a perfect opportunity to advance and get to whip the Awbies asses again. IF they can advance! RTR!

Comments are closed.