Auburn has the momentum entering weekend baseball series

Series starts at 7 tonight in Tuscaloosa.

The two with a history of animosity enter today’s baseball series opener on different paths. Read about that here …

TUSCALOOSA — The first few months of SEC baseball made a mockery of preseason polls.

Auburn was supposed to finish last in the West Division and a third-place finish was penciled in for Alabama. Wrong and wrong, at least to this point in the spring.

The Tigers enter the 7 p.m. series opener in Tuscaloosa tied atop the West Division with LSU while the Crimson Tide went the opposite direction. A light-hitting lineup has Alabama (10-19, 1-8 SEC) last in the league facing its first losing season since 1994.

“We just about got dirt thrown on us in the grave, but at the same time, you’re at a point where a series win would certainly mean a lot to this club right now,” Alabama coach Mitch Gaspard said.

Auburn, meanwhile, won its first three SEC series for the first time in nine seasons and climbed to No. 23 nationally. Wins in seven of the last 10 games gave the Tigers momentum that’s eluded the Tide all season.

Losses in 10 of the last 12 games can play with the psyche of a team with a young pitching staff. But the troubles were spread through all aspects of the team.

Click here for the complete dispatch.

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Tide baseball looks to brush dirt off the grave

The baseball season hasn’t gone as planned for Alabama. At 10-19, the losses came in bunches. Tuesday’s 9-5 win at South Alabama broke a string of five straight setbacks.

Now No. 23 Auburn comes to Tuscaloosa for a three-game series with the Crimson Tide facing a crossroads.

And that win in Mobile on Tuesday went a long way toward lifting spirits in the Alabama clubhouse, coach Mitch Gaspard said.

“We just about got dirt thrown on us in the grave, but at the same time, you’re at a point where a series win would certainly mean a lot to this club right now,” Gaspard said.

Read more about this in tomorrow’s newspaper.

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Alabama pitcher to make history on opening day

What a weekend. Pitchers and catchers are reporting to spring training and the college players are opening the season. Take a look at what Alabama has in store this spring in today’s print story:

TUSCALOOSA — Forgive Jon Kelton if he’s sizing up the Alabama baseball pitching staff.

He’s a fifth-year senior and, well, the staff is mostly freshmen. It’s that dichotomy that sums up this year’s Crimson Tide: Experience in the field and youth on the mound.

The first pitch of today’s 6:05 p.m. opener with Florida Atlantic belongs to 18-year-old Taylor Guilbeau. The 39th-round draft pick of the New York Yankees is believed to be the first freshman opening-day starter in program history.

Fellow newcomer Justin Kamplain will get the Sunday start, while junior Charley Sullivan is penciled in for Saturday. It’s sink or swim time for the young pitching staff, so Kelton’s keeping an eye on the young guns.

“That’s kind of one of the things with baseball, it’s such a mental game that you always check people out and see what their mentality’s like and see what their demeanor is,” Kelton said. “That’s one thing I’m noticing about them. They’re very relaxed.”

And they’ll need to be for the Tide to return to a fifth straight NCAA tournament.

Returning arms accounted for just 30 percent of the innings pitched a year ago.

Third-year coach Mitch Gaspard said he tinkered with the idea of throwing three freshmen this weekend before settling on bookend appearances.

The plan calls for 50-60 pitches for each starter with the left-handed Guilbeau getting the first shot at competition.

The experience resides in the field and a batting lineup that struggled with production last spring. That team finished 35-28 and ranked 208th of 292 Division I teams by scoring five runs a game.

Click here to read the full story.

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A look at Ex-Alabama reps in All-Star Game

David Robertson (AP photo)

Here’s a quick look at the note I wrote for tomorrow’s print edition.

It was an all-Alabama battery for the American League All-Stars in the second inning.

Ex-Tide pitcher David Robertson replaced starter Jared Weaver throwing to former Alabama teammate Alex Avila who started behind the plate.

Robertson, representing the Yankees, lasted just the one inning. He went out in style, though.

After allowing a single to Lance Berkman, Avila and Robertson combined for a double play by striking out Matt Holliday and catching Berkman attempting to steal second.

The Detroit Tiger catcher became the first former Alabama player to start an All-Star Game and is the first in 50 years to play in one. Avila and Robertson played on the same 2006 Alabama team before the pitcher was drafted. Avila, taken in the 2008 draft, grounded out twice at the plate.

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David Robertson added to All-Star roster

It took 50 years for another former Alabama player to make the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Now there’s two.

David Robertson was added to the American League roster Sunday where he’ll join former Alabama teammate Alex Avila. Frank Lary was the last former Tide player to reach the midsummer classic in 1961.

Robertson, a Yankee relief pitcher, is having a career season setting up Mariano Rivera. His stat line includes a 1.27 ERA in 35 1/3 innings and 56 strikeouts. For perspective, he had 71 strikeouts in 61 1/3 innings last year. See all the numbers here on baseballreference.com.

He’s also giving back to his native Tuscaloosa with his foundation. Called High Socks for Hope, Robertson is donating money to tornado relief in Tuscaloosa for every strikeout he records. Click here for video of Robertson and wife Erin touring the tornado damage via the YES Network.

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Ex-Tider to start MLB All-Star game

Avila

The rise to the top hit a new milestone for former Alabama baseball player Alex Avila.

The Detroit Tigers’ catcher came back from a 400,000 vote deficit to pass Yankee Russell Martin to earn the start July 12 at Chase Field in Arizona. Read more about the voting here courtesy of the Detroit Free Press. This will be his first All-Star game appearance.

It’s also the first time a former Alabama player made the All-Star game since Frank Lary did so in 1961.

Avila is batting .299 — up from his career average of .261 — while belting 10 home runs. He was a fifth-round draft pick for the Tigers in 2008 after three seasons at Alabama. His MLB debut came in August of 2009.

Alabama players the the All-Star game
1937, Luke Sewell (White Sox)
1960, Frank Lary (Tigers)
1961, Frank Lary (Tigers)
2011, Alex Avila (Tigers)

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A third Bama baseball player drafted

The Major League Baseball draft is done for the day now that a third Alabama player heard his name called.

Nathan Kilcrease was drafted in the 30th round with the 916th pick overall.

Kilcrease was the ace of the Tide staff, but standing just 5-foot-6, his pro stock suffered. The Tide’s go-to starter finished with an 8-4 record and 3.12 ERA. He was named SEC pitcher of the week after the final regular-season series when he opened with a complete-game win over defending national champion South Carolina.

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Another Alabama baseball player drafted

The Major League Baseball draft is moving right along and a second Alabama player’s name has been called. Centerfielder Taylor Dugas was taken in the eighth round by the Chicago Cubs.

He was the 249th player selected overall. The centerfielder and leadoff batter was arguably the core of the light-hitting Crimson Tide order this season.

Pitcher Adam Morgan was taken in the third round with the 12oth pick earlier today. Stay tuned.

Alabama pitcher drafted in MLB third round

Morgan

The final selection of the third round in the Major League Baseball draft comes out of Tuscaloosa.

Pitcher Adam Morgan went to the Philadelphia Phillies with 120th overall selection of the draft. He’s the first Crimson Tide player taken in the draft not expected to be quite as depleting to Alabama as last season’s.

Seven signees and current players were selected in the 2010 draft leaving coach Mitch Gaspard to rebuild his entire infield.

Morgan had a 5-7 record and a 4.64 ERA as Alabama’s No. 2 starter in 2011.

Stay tuned to the blog for further draft updates if they relate to Alabama.

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Watch ending of Bama NCAA baseball game here

The weather-suspended NCAA regional baseball game between Alabama and Florida State resumes at 11 a.m. CST. Just as before, the game is airing live on the NCAA website.

Click here to for the live video feed. The Tide trails the Seminoles 8-1 in the top of the sixth inning.

Watch Alabama’s NCAA baseball game live right here

Just like last night, the Alabama/FSU baseball game in the NCAA regional is airing live online.

Click here to catch the game on your web browser. Remember, an Alabama loss ends the Tide season. A win forces a winner-take-all final.

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Watch Alabama’s NCAA baseball game with FSU right here

The Crimson Tide’s regional baseball game isn’t part of your cable package, but the moving pictures can still be seen.

Click here to watch Alabama and Florida State play live from Tallahassee on the NCAA website. The Noles lead 1-0 in the first as of this posting.

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Your printable NCAA baseball bracket

Here’s the view of the Tallahassee Regional bracket for the office pool. Note the times listed are eastern time zone.

Click to enlarge.

Alabama falls to Florida in SEC baseball tourney

Alabama fell flat in the SEC baseball tournament second round losing 6-0 to Florida on Thursday afternoon. The Tide lineup managed just five hits and had 12 straight batters retired at one point.

Alabama plays Arkansas at 3 p.m. Friday in an elimination game. The Tide beat the Hogs 7-4 in Wednesday’s opener.

Buy a newspaper and read more tomorrow.

Live updates from Alabama’s second-round SEC game

Hello there. Welcome back to Regions Park in Hoover. It’s time for SEC baseball yet again.

Alabama is getting set to play Florida for a spot in the semifinals of the tournament. We’ll be here to update you all the way.

Just click here to follow the updates on the official Twitter page of The Daily Bama Blog.