Eliminated from SEC Tournament, NCAA Tournament serves as last hope for Crimson Tide

After losing to the Florida Gators 11-6, the fate of the Alabama Crimson Tide this season rests in the hands of the NCAA tournament selection committee. Although that match marks the end of the Crimson Tide’s SEC Tournament, the team still has a few seasons left if it gets bids for the NCAA Tournament.

Both the Crimson Tide and the Gators started the game in high spirits. They scored four runs in the first inning, but only the Gators pulled out late with four runs in the 9th inning to seal the lead.

Therefore, Crimson Tide baseman Drew Williamson served as the team’s hope. He was able to finish the match 2-for-3 with a home run, two walks, a pair of RBIs, and two runs.

Brad Bohannon responds to Crimson Tide's defeat

According to Brad Bohannon, this loss was tough for his team since the Gators have very difficult formations, especially the top five or six hitters which are very challenging.

On the other hand, Bohannon also applauded the game displayed by his team. This was because the Gators were able to give up 4th place in the first set and came back to score. "Hats off to the Florida attack," he added.

"That's one thing that has been consistent about our team this year," he continued. Bohannon saw that his team had worked hard and did everything they could to put in their best performance.

He also praised several team members, including Jake Leger and Dylan Ray. Leger is thought to be capable of finishing the game well, which provides numerous opportunities for the Crimson Tide. Meanwhile, Ray is said to have some proper pitch execution.

Bohannon’s two cents on Crimson Tide's performance in SEC Tournament

Bohannon explained that his team continued to show maximum performance in the last few matches. "I think we showed that we were on a trend," he said.

The performance displayed by Crimson Tide is considered important by the coach to keep moving forward. In addition to that, he also revealed that the presence of his team, the Ole Miss Rebels, and the Kentucky Wildcats would be very "dangerous" for the next match.

"I think all three teams should come in," he concluded in his post-Crimson Tide press conference against the Gators.

Crimson Tide journey in SEC Tournament

As of last Saturday, the Crimson Tide was projected to be the final team in a 64-team tournament according to D1Baseball. Crimson Tide is ranked 43 on the RPI and has the fourth-best schedule strength in the nation. In addition, Crimson Tide is 7-16 ahead of the team ranked in the top 25 RPI and 6-1 ahead of the team ranked between 26-50.

Other than that, Crimson Tide's struggle against a highly ranked 51st in terms of RPI was a valuable experience with a score of 9-7. However, one thing that haunts the team is its failure in close range 7-12 in a one-round contest this season.

Before suffering back-to-back losses to Texas A&M and the Gators that saw Crimson Tide withdraw from the SEC Tournament, the team had recorded five straight wins. Crimson Tide had claimed a regular-season draw against the Arkansas Razorbacks at the end of last week. The team also won matches against the Georgia Bulldogs and Razorbacks this week at Hoover.

In early April, the Crimson Tide won back-to-back SEC series by beating Texas A&M in two of three games in Tuscaloosa. Furthermore, the Crimson Tide took the lead again by beating the Tennessee Volunteers in a clash on Friday night in Knoxville.