While Alabama baseball was disappointed not to get one of the 16 hosting spots for the NCAA Tournament's Regional round, Rob Vaughn and company have to be pretty happy with the draw they received.
The Crimson Tide will be the No. 2 seed in the Hattiesburg Regional, with Southern Miss being the host team. They are joined in the regional by Miami and Columbia.
Southern Miss is the 16-seed, meaning the Crimson Tide most likely missed hosting the Regional in Tuscaloosa by a single spot.
Alabama heads into the NCAA Tournament with a 41-16 overall record. They have a potent offense that is more than capable of carrying them through the Regional and to a deep run in the tournament.
Alabama and Southern Miss matched up for one mid-week meeting during the regular season in Tuscaloosa. Alabama won the game 10-6. The Golden Eagles had a dominant run in the Sun Belt, nonetheless, going 24-6 in conference play before ultimately falling to Coastal Carolina in the conference tournament.
The 3-seeded 'Canes went 31-24 overall and are coming off a run-rule loss in the first round of the ACC Tournament to Cal.
Columbia went 29-17 on the year and won the Ivy League.
Alabama's path to Omaha will run through Nashville
While Alabama got a favorable draw in the Regional round and will likely be the favorite to get out of Hattiesburg, getting to Omaha will be a major challenge.
The Hattiesburg Regional is paired with the Nashville Regional for the Supers, meaning the Crimson Tide, if they get out of the Regional, will most likely face No. 1 seed Vanderbilt for a spot in Omaha.
Vanderbilt won the SEC Tournament and seems to have peaked at the right time. They certainly didn't get an easy draw, however, with Louisville joining them in Nashville.
The Crimson Tide and Commodores faced off for a three-game series in the regular season in Nashville. Vanderbilt took two of three, but it was a competitive final two games that could have gone either way following a Vanderbilt run-rule victory to open the series.
For Alabama, it will all come down to starting pitching on whether they can make a run. They have the bats, but outside of Riley Quick, the starters have been hit-or-miss, and the bullpen has been shaky.
The full schedule has not been released, but the Regionals will begin on Friday, May 30th. Alabama will open the round against Miami. With a bigger break following the NCAA Tournament, I would expect Quick to get the ball to open the tournament.
You can view the full bracket for the NCAA Tournament here.