Jason Jackson reveals Alabama's mindset entering ninth inning vs. Troy

Alabama wasn’t in an ideal spot last night against Troy as they faced a one-run deficit entering the top of the ninth. However, thanks to some late work from their offense, they were able to come back and avoid a loss in the Tuscaloosa Regional.

From how Jason Jackson sees it, baseball just happens that way sometimes. Still, while they had some things break their way in the final inning, he also gave credit to the Crimson Tide for remaining positive as well as confident in their ability to somehow seal the deal.

“Nobody pouts, nobody feels sorry for themself,” Jackson said. “It’s just everybody keeps having good at-bats until that last out is made. And keep believing in each other, you know?

“If you’ve been in this game long enough, you’ve been on the bad side of some of those too. Baseball is kind of a funny game,” said Jackson. “The things went our way tonight.”

“In terms of the dugout? This is such a special group. And they never quit, they never stop,” said Jackson. “They always believe they’re going to pull it out no matter what.”

After going down 5-2 after three innings, ‘Bama first responded with a four-run inning in the fourth to take a one-run lead. Even so, the Trojans came right back with three in the fifth and sixth innings to put themselves in position to be three outs away from reaching the region’s final.

That’s when Jackson’s team came alive for one last go at it. Caden Rose and Will Hodo were both able to score at home after a throwing error by Troy. Then, after scoring William Hamiter with a triple of his own, Andrew Pinckney scored what ended up being the finishing touch after a single from Dominic Tamez.

You never know what can happen when it comes to this part of the season. All you have to do is be in a position to be in position. That’s what Alabama did and that’s why they’ll be one win away against either Troy or Boston College later on tonight for a spot in the Super Regionals.

Jackson reveals how SEC helped Alabama prep for NCAA Tournament

Jason Jackson credited Alabama baseball’s SEC schedule when the Crimson Tide scored a thrilling win over Nicholls to open the NCAA Tournament.

The interim head coach said it felt just like an SEC Friday night as Alabama earned the walk-off win 4-3 courtesy of Jim Jarvis hitting a single in the bottom of the ninth. That should certainly carry momentum into Saturday’s game against Troy.

But overall, the heart of the SEC schedule prepared Alabama and Jackson for this moment.

“That’s what it felt like tonight right,” Jackson said postgame. “It felt like you were facing…that was an SEC Friday night game. That’s an SEC Friday night arm. You know, it’s what it felt like. That’s kind of what we talked about before the game. Let’s make sure we prepare, let’s make sure we play this. And we wanted to play our game. We want to play like we play on Friday nights and play like an SEC Friday night. And that’s kind of the way it felt, you know?”

“So, yeah, I think that helps us a lot when you know, you get used to playing in those close games, right? When you’re playing off Friday nights in our league and you’re facing dudes every single Friday night,” Jackson said. “And we’ve got dudes, you know, you get a little bit more comfortable playing. We’re down one to nothing. Or it’s one to one or it’s two to two. And you’re like yeah, this is a typical Friday night.”