Weekend update: Around the Capstone

Very rarely does a weekend pass by in Tuscaloosa that the University of Alabama’s athletic teams don’t make the news. This past weekend was no different. The baseball team took on No. 7 Kentucky, the women’s tennis team began competition in the NCAA Tournament, the softball team won the Southeastern Conference Tournament and men’s basketball even made a bit of a splash. Let’s take a look at what happened.

Baseball swept by No. 7 Kentucky, finished season

The Alabama baseball team has had a quite difficult season. A young team that was poised to compete after a few promising seasons the past few years, Coach Mitch Gaspard’s squad just couldn’t piece together a consistent run of play to give the Tide a chance to make it to the 2012 SEC Baseball Tournament. The Tide entered the weekend series with a record of 18-30 overall and 7-17 in SEC play.

Kentucky didn’t make anything easy for the Crimson Tide, and the Wildcats were able to complete a three-game sweep in Lexington, Ky. With the sweep, the Tide is now mathematically eliminated from the 2012 SEC Baseball Tournament.

No. 8 Alabama women’s tennis team falls in second round of NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship

The Crimson Tide women’s tennis team knocked off Army in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship on Friday 4-0 to advance to the second round. Georgia Tech was the Tide’s next opponent at the Alabama Tennis Complex, and the winner would advance to the Round of 16 in Athens, Ga. At the end of the day, the Crimson Tide lost 4-3 to the Yellow Jackets, ending a phenomenal season that saw one of the best records in program history. The Tide finished the season with an overall record of 17-4 during the regular season.

Alabama did manage to have three members of the team make the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships. Mary Anne Mcfarlane and Alexa Guarachi will compete in the singles competition. Guarachi and Courtney McLane will compete in the double competition.

No. 1 seed Alabama softball wins SEC Tournament with 10-1 victory over  No. 3 seed Florida

Florida is a team that has plagued the Crimson Tide during any type of postseason play for many years recently. On Saturday, the Crimson Tide did its best to put an end to this trend. With sophomore Jackie Traina resting her arm after pitching the Tide’s previous 606 pitches, senior Amanda Locke received the pitching duties. Quite frankly, her performance was more than enough, but it helped to get four RBIs from sophomore Kaila Hunt and much more contribution from the rest of the roster.

The tournament title was the Tide’s fifth in program history, and now puts Alabama in a tie with LSU for the most in the entire conference.

The NCAA Selection Show airs tonight at 9 p.m. CT on ESPNU.

Alabama basketball lands commitment from major in-state prospect

In-state recruiting is always a huge issue in the high-profile sports such as football and basketball. If a coach can’t keep a state’s best players in state, then he needs to be able to pull in the same caliber athletes from other states. Otherwise, that coach may be in trouble.

This weekend, Coach Anthony Grant landed a commitment from a 2013 prospect from Greensboro, Alabama further exemplifying Grant’s commitment to keeping the state’s best players in Alabama. Power forward Jimmie Taylor committed to the Tide on Friday evening and only strengthens a 2013 recruiting class that seems to be heavy in the size department.

Taylor, a 6-foot-9, 225 pound monster chose the Crimson Tide over offers from Auburn, Georgetown, Georgia among others.

Tennessee native Shannon Hale, 6-foot-8, 200 pounds, is already committed to the Crimson Tide’s 2013 class.