NCAA throws cold water on Rob Vaughn's pleas for Alabama fans to pack The Joe

Alabama baseball deserves a packed house at The Joe this weekend for its Super Regional series against St. John's. This is the first Tide baseball team to host the Supers since 2006, and they are looking to advance to the College World Series for the first time since 1999.

Rob Vaughn was practically on his knees begging for more fan support last weekend during Alabama's home regional series, with mixed results. The crowd was frequently rowdy, particularly in the Regional clinching win over Oklahoma State, but the stands were far from full.

Unfortunately, the start time of Alabama's opening game of the Tuscaloosa Super Regional on Saturday night against St. John's isn't all that conducive to a packed Sewell-Thomas Stadium:

Late first pitch for Supers vs. St. John's could lead to smaller than optimal crowd for Alabama

Alabama baseball earned home-field advantage through the Regional and Super Regional thanks to their performance in the regular season. A national seed at No. 7 overall, the Crimson Tide would be hosting Supers regardless of who advanced out of the Tallahassee Regional.

Getting home-field advantage is a big deal in the NCAA Tournament, and it's not something that Alabama has often had. This is the first time in 20 years that a Super Regional will happen in Tuscaloosa. The door is wide open for the Crimson Tide to break the drought and advance to the College World Series for the first time this millennium.

St. John's is a capable opponent who just won three games in a row, including two games over No. 10 Florida State to get here. But this is a golden opportunity for Vaughn and his team, and Alabama fans showing up in force this weekend would go a long way to aiding the effort.

The first start time will make that a challenge. With students having left town with the semester being over, you are relying on family attendance and on fans to drive over from nearby cities like Birmingham. For a game that won't be over until after 11 pm locally, that's a tough sell.

The Sunday afternoon start time for Game 2 is about as good as it gets, though. It's after church, and early enough in the day that it won't impact anyone getting to bed at a decent hour to get up for work on Monday morning.

Hopefully, Monday's game remains a hypothetical, and Vaughn and company are able to get the job done on Saturday and Sunday to clinch a spot in Omaha.

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