Alabama

Ellie Armistead’s swing powers Georgia softball over Alabama 4-2

Published

2 years ago

March 16, 2024

Ellie Armistead’s swing powers Georgia softball over Alabama 4-2

The crack of the bat echoed throughout Jack-Turner Softball Stadium. The crowd watched as the ball carried, right into the construction taking place behind the left field wall.Â

The home run by senior Ellie Armistead made the difference in Georgiaâs 4-2 victory over Alabama Friday evening at Jack-Turner Softball Stadium.Â

Despite an electric crowd for Georgiaâs SEC opener, the Bulldogsâ offense started off slow, only mustering up three hits in the first three innings. However, senior Madison Kerpics also kept the Crimson Tide at bay, limiting them to one run over that stretch.Â

âShe didn’t have her ‘A’ stuff,â head coach Tony BaldwinÂ said. âBut she competed and got us through the lineup twice. She gave us a chance to win the game.â

In her four innings in the circle, Kerpics only allowed two hits and one run. Her performance was impressive, especially for a pitcher that was missing her best pitches. Kerpicsâ showing earned her win No. 8 on the season, tying junior Lilli Backes for the team lead.Â

Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth, senior Jayda Kearney got the hitting started with a single to right field on an 0-2 count. Baldwin then substituted Kearney for pinch-runner Hayley Eaton, in an attempt to get the tying run home.Â

However, speed did not matter, as four batters later, Armistead sent a pitch out of the park. The homer gave the Bulldogs a 3-1 lead with three innings left to play.Â

Alabamaâs lone remaining run came in the fifth, when Kali Heivilin homered off of graduate Shelby Walters to bring the Crimson Tideâs deficit to one. However, Georgia responded in the bottom of the inning, as a single by graduate Sara Mosley and speedy running from freshman Hannah Davila gave the Bulldogs a 4-2 lead.

Aside from the one homer, Walters had a flawless showing. In 2.1 innings, she allowed one hit, one run and no walks. Baldwin has liked what heâs seen from his ace recently, saying Walters is starting to look like her dominant self again.Â

Both teams were held scoreless over the final two innings, as Backes followed Walters to shut the door on the Crimson Tide and secure Georgiaâs 4-2 victory. The win took place on a beautiful day in front of a well-energized crowd, which is something Baldwin told the Bulldogs to cherish.

âI just talked to our team about taking a minute to take it all in,â Baldwin said. âUnbelievable environment it was. On a crazy weather kind of day where you kind of thought, ‘Man, we’re not going to get to play,’ it ends up being a nice night. And the crowd was crazy.â

Georgia has two games remaining in its series against Alabama, with both games being matinees. They will begin at 12 p.m. and take place at the Bulldogsâ home field, in front of what is expected to be another raucous crowd.Â

âI’m just so thankful for Dawg Nation coming out and supporting us,â Baldwin said. âIt made a difference. We could feel them tonight, and it’s just an awesome college softball game.”

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Alabama

Best Floor Rotation in Nation Propels No. 3 Alabama to Dominant Win Over Oregon State

Published

1 minute ago

January 30, 2026

Press Room

Best Floor Rotation in Nation Propels No. 3 Alabama to Dominant Win Over Oregon State

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— No team in the country has put together a better floor rotation than Alabama did during Friday night’s win over Oregon State inside Coleman Coliseum.

Behind a season high (and nationa’s best) 49.675 on the floor exercise, No. 3 Alabama beat No. 22 Oregon State 197.450-195.825.

Five of the Crimson Tide’s six floor routines scored a 9.925 or higher capped by back-to-backs 9.95s from Jamison Sears and Gabby Gladieux in the final two routines of the night. It marked the third straight week that at least one judge gave Gladieux a 10 on floor.

“I think we still have a lot of potential,” Gladieux said after the meet. “There’s still a lot of areas for us to grow, but I think what makes Jamison and I’s job so easy is the trust we have in the first half ot he lineup. They set us up perfectly tonight. There was really no pressure on our end. We just went in, had fun and did our job.”

In her routine of the season, senior Rachel Rybicki scored a 9.925 in the third spot after Chloe LaCoursiere and Azaraya Ra-Akbar started the rotation with the same score. Alabama’s depth on floor gives the Tide the potential to consistently be one of the highest-scoring teams in the nation on the apparatus.

Alabama continued its strong work on the uneven bars with its second-highest bars score of the season with a 49.475. Junior Chloe LaCoursiere came into the meet as the top-rated bars worker in the country and recorded her fourth straight score of the season higher than a 9.925 on the event with a 9.95 Friday night against Oregon State.

The vault and balance beam routines are both ones Alabama will want to leave in the past. There weren’t any major mistakes, but the rotations resulted in the Crimson Tide’s two lowest rotation scores of the season through four meets with a 49.125 on vault and 49.175 on the balance beam. Alabama did not stick any landings on vault, but head coach Ashley Johnston was still pleased with what her team learned on the event.

“I’m actually really excited about on through four on that lineup,” Johnston said of the vault rotation. “I thought Jasmine, Jordyn, Jamison and Gabby all had their best vaults tonight and just continuing to find what it is that helps them settle in to landings is going to be everything. I think because they all did, really a great job, I think Kylee and Aza, they like, really tried to go for the stick. And they over-tried on the stick, but they did big vaults.”

LaCoursiere’s beam routine lead to extended conversations between the judges and between the Alabama coaches and the judges. One of the judges gave LaCoursiere’s routine a starting value of 9.8 while the other gave it a 10.0 starting value. Her final score ended up being a 9.725 on the event, and head coach Ashley Johnston spent the entire transition period between the third and fourth rotation conferring with the head judge.

Johnston said it was the longest inquiry of her career. LaCoursiere’s connection series was questioned by one of the judges. The Alabama coaches originally did a routine inquiry with a video, which they lost. Then, they did a video review at the end of the competition and ultimately won the inquiry process to get LaCoursiere the proper start value.

“It was a long-fought battle,” Johnston said. “Very thankful for Ross Thompson who is ultra prepared for all situations, and he had his book of every single rule that has ever existed, so we were armed and ready to bring all the information forward to ultimately make the right decision.”

Despite not having its best meet on vault and beam, the meet was never in doubt for the Crimson Tide. Alabama held a sizable lead over Oregon State after each rotation and continued to build on the lead. The Beavers only scored above a 49 on one event: balance beam.

Alabama has now started the season with four straight scores in the 197 range and will likely stay in the top-five nationally after this meet.

Up next for the Crimson Tide is a road meet against the defending national champion and the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners next Friday.

“Depth is really going to be the determiner of how far we go, and so having the seventh, eighth, ninth, 10th person who is pushing everybody in the lineup, continuing to find their edge, is going to be a really important focus point for us right now,” Johnston said. “I think we did a good job of that tonight, but that’s absolutely a priority as we go into this next month because we’ve got a gauntlet of a season coming up.”

Final team scores in Alabama vs. Oregon State meet- Jan. 30, 2026 | UA Athletics

Alabama gymnastics event scores vs. Oregon State- Jan. 30, 2026 | UA Athletics

Another Arctic Blast Targets Alabama, Bringing Snow Flurries and a Bitter Weekend Chill

Published

12 hours ago

January 30, 2026

Press Room

Another Arctic Blast Targets Alabama, Bringing Snow Flurries and a Bitter Weekend Chill

FRIDAY FRONT: Another Arctic front will roll through Alabama this afternoon and tonight; ahead of the front temperatures will warm into the 50s over the southern 2/3 of the state, but the northern third of the state will likely hold in the 30s behind the front with an icy north wind.

As the cold air rushes into the state, a few snow flurries or snow showers are likely over the northern 2/3 of the state tonight and tomorrow morning. While many places won’t see a single snow flake, there could be a few heavier snow showers that bring some light accumulation to scattered places along with icy spots on roads.

But the main impact from snow will be east of Alabama, where winter warnings are in effect for eastern Georgia, the Carolinas, and southern Virginia. The Great Smoky mountains will also see some impactful snow as a surface low moves northeast just off the Atlantic coast.

WEEKEND CHILL: Highs will be in the 20s and 30s across Alabama tomorrow; even South Alabama communities will have a hard time getting above freezing. Sunday morning we expect lows in the teens deep into the southern part of the state with a clear sky and light wind. The day Sunday will feature a sunny sky with highs in the 30s and 40s.

NEXT WEEK: Monday and Tuesday will be dry with a warming trend. Rain returns to the state Wednesday ahead of a cold front, then cooler, drier air returns Thursday and Friday.

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Alabama

New Alabama parole board chairman sworn in

Published

1 day ago

January 29, 2026

Press Room

New Alabama parole board chairman sworn in

Hal Nash has been elected to the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles in a unanimous vote from the Alabama State Senate today, Jan. 29. Governor Kay Ivey appointed Nash as chairman of the board from a list of five qualified nominees back in July, 2025.

“I’m grateful to Governor Kay Ivey for her confidence in me and look forward to continuing to fulfill my duties to the people of Alabama,” Nash said. “As a law enforcement officer for more than three decades, I understand the importance of our role to serve and protect the people of Alabama. We will be detailed, diligent and strive to ensure a stronger, safer state through my work with fellow board members and our partnership with the Bureau and its officers in the field.”

Before this, Nash served as the Chief Corrections Deputy with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. He’s previously swerved at other law enforcement agencies such as the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office. Ivey reportedly picked Nash because she was seeking a candidate that was pro-law enforcement, fair and had a tough-on-crime stance with previous experience with leadership. Nash reportedly also has experience in leadership positions in civic organizations such as serving as the Chairman of the Chattanooga/Hamilton County Air Pollution Control Board and the Jackson County Hospital Authority.

Cam Ward, the current director of Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles, issued the following statement after Ivey’s appointment of Nash.

“Governor Ivey’s appointment and the Alabama Senate’s confirmation of Hal Nash to the Board is a fine choice. I know with Chairman Nash’s background that he will continue to represent our law enforcement community well,” Ward said. “The Bureau functions separately from the Board, but we enjoy cooperation with its members and work to promote the safety of our state’s citizens while providing meaningful paths to reentry into society for formerly incarcerated Alabamians.”

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The Board and Bureau are sepe3rate entities, with the Board serving on Alabama’s legislative branch of government. Its single legal authority under the law is to determine who receives parole and is comprised of three members, each serving a six-year term. The Bureau is part of the Executive Branch agency and provides legal and administrative support to the Board as needed. In addition, the Bureau Director has the power to perform duties assigned to the board by law except for the ability to adopt rules, guidelines or other policies and to grant or deny pardons, paroles, the restoration of political and civil rights, the remission of fines and forfeitures as well as the ability to revoke parole.

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