Alabama Crimson Tide news and notes from Monday and Tuesday, February 23rd and 24th:
Alabama softball run-rules another opponent to move to 14-0
Once again, it only took five innings for Alabama softball to get the job done on Tuesday night. For the seventh time in 14 games, the Crimson Tide won via run-rule.
Alabama might light-work of UAB, rolling to an 8-0 win in five innings.
Salen Hawkins powered a three-run homer in the 3rd inning that broke the game open to give Alabama a 5-0 lead. Ambrey Taylor finished the Blazers off with a two-run double to enact the run-rule.
Jocelyn Briski pitched four dominant innings, allowing just two hits and striking out seven.
The win moved Alabama to 14-0 with a run differential is 114-12.
Alabama will remain in Tuscaloosa this weekend for five games against three opponents: ST. Thomas, USF, and Kent State.
Alabama baseball gets routed on the road by No. 12 Southern Miss
Alabama traveled to face Southern Miss on the road mid-week with a little extra motivation to try and get some payback from last season. The Golden Eagles ended the Crimson Tide's season a year ago in the Hattiesburg Regional.
But if there was extra motivation, it was nowhere to be found in the Alabama dugout. No. 12 Southern Miss dominated Alabama, rolling to a 14-4 win and handing Rob Vaughn and his team their second loss of the season.
JT Blackwood got roughed up in two innings, allowing six hits and five earned runs. Connor Lehman and Evan Steckmesser didn't fare much better, allowing seven earned runs in just 1.1 innings of relief work.
Alabama's pitching staff is the biggest concern for this team and it reared its head again on Tuesday night. The Tide's offense couldn't compensate for it.
Luke Vaughn drove in three runs, including a two-run home run in the 4th inning that briefly cut the Southern Miss lead to just one. The Golden Eagles followed that up with a seven-run bottom of the inning to push the lead to eight.
Alabama will look to shake that performance off as it heads to Texas for the Frisco College Baseball Classic this weekend for games against Iowa, No. 19 Oregon State, and Houston.
Labaron Philon questionable for Alabama vs. Mississippi State
Labaron Philon was officially listed as questionable on Alabama's availability report on Tuesday night ahead of its matchup at home against Mississippi State on Wednesday in Tuscaloosa.
Philon was clearly hampered over the weekend in Baton Rouge, playing only 24 minutes and scoring a season-low eight points in the Crimson Tide's 90-83 win over LSU.
This could be an opportunity for Nate Oats to try and steal some extra rest for his star guard ahead of a massive game on Saturday on the road against Tennessee.
Alabama should be able to handle Mississippi State even without Philon.