Troy and Alabama Heading To The College World Series

The State of Alabama is going to be well represented at the Men's College World Series this year. As the baseball team for Troy University is headed to the College World Series for the first time, ever. They beat Little Rock over the weekend to secure their entry into the College World Series and now all roads lead to Omaha as they face West Virginia in the first round of the College World Series on Friday. Friday will also mark West Virginia's first appearance in the Men's College World Series in their program history. So Friday's game between Troy and West Virginia will be a game between two teams making their first appearance in Omaha.

The Troy University baseball team is currently coached by Skylar Meade, who is in his fifth season as head coach of the Trojans. He has excelled as head coach of the baseball team since taking the helm at Troy, with the Trojans accumulating the most wins in the first four seasons by a head coach in the program's history. He previously pitched in the College World Series while a player for Louisville. He and his wife, Jesse, have two children.

The University of Alabama is also vying in the College World Series as they defeated St. John's to secure their first trip to Omaha since 1999. With The Crimson Tide baseball team breaking attendance records over the weekend at Sewell-Thomas Stadium as 7,573 fans showed up to cheer The Crimson Tide in-person on Saturday. The Alabama baseball team is currently being coached by Rob Vaughn who, thankfully, took the helm of Alabama's baseball team after a gambling controversy involving the former coach for The Crimson Tide, Brad Bohannon.

Vaughn has kept Alabama in the postseason each year since becoming the head coach of Alabama. He was previously a catcher for his college baseball team, Kansas State. After which he played in the minor leagues from 2009 through 2010. Coach Vaughn expressed his appreciation for all of the fans who showed up at Thomas-Sewell stadium over the weekend with the following statement: "I said, man, take a second and look around and see what you built, seventy-five hundred people rocking, and in it and fighting and scratching and clawing and shirts off, all sorts of crazy stuff. It's what college baseball's all about. Those guys created a home-field advantage for us tonight."

Alabama baseball will face the winner of the Lawrence regional between the Kansas Jayhawks and the Oklahoma Sooners in Omaha.

May both the Trojans and the Crimson Tide win as they represent the State of Alabama well in Omaha. As both teams get to play ball!

Luisa Reyes is a Tuscaloosa attorney, piano instructor, vocalist, poet, reporter, and columnist who writes on politics, current events, and the arts.