Alabama advances to super regionals in NCAA baseball tournament
On Sunday, the University of Alabama baseball team defeated Boston College in a rain-delayed game in the NCAA regional tournament in Tuscaloosa 8 to 0. This dominating victory followed a come-from-behind win Saturday night over Troy University. The Tide scored four runs in the first inning, one in the second, one in the third, and two runs in the eighth inning. Five Tide players combined for eight hits, while seven Tide players scored runs in the game. Dominic Tamez had 2 hits, 2 runs, and a run batted in from 3 at-bats. Mac Guscette had 3 hits in 4 at-bats, 1 run, and 4 runs batted in. While the Tide scored 8 runs, there were no home runs hit. Jacob McNairy was the Tide’s starting pitcher. He pitched 7.2 innings, giving up only 3 hits, 3 bases on balls, no runs, and a 3.7 ERA. McNairy had a career-high 11 strikeouts. He was followed by two relievers who only gave up 1 hit. Boston College, on the other hand, played eight different pitchers. “What an awesome night for our baseball program, for our fanbase, and the players,” said Alabama interim Coach Jason Jackson. “I couldn’t be prouder of everybody that’s been involved and has worked hard to get to this point. We’re not done yet, but I’m just so excited that we got to do this on our field in front of our fans and move on to the next round.” The Tide is making a deep playoff run despite the mid-season firing of head baseball Coach Brad Bohannon who was the subject of an Ohio sports gambling probe. Jackson has won 13 of 17 games since taking over for Bohannon. 5,800 fans were on hand, a sell-out to watch the Tide advance. The Crimson Tide is 43 and 19 this season. Alabama baseball is now in the super regionals for the first time since 2010. The Tide will play the Wake Forest Demon Deacons next. Wake Forest (50 and 10) is the number-one seed in the tournament. The winner of the Wake Forest Alabama three-game series will advance to be one of eight teams to earn a berth in the Baseball College World Series at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, beginning on June 16. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Will gambling case at Alabama ripple across college sports?
Alabama fired its baseball coach this week amid an investigation into suspicious bets involving a Crimson Tide game at LSU. The school did not give details about why Brad Bohannon was let go, saying only that he violated “the standards, duties, and responsibilities expected of university employees.” This appears to be the first major gambling scandal in college sports since a Supreme Court decision five years ago paved the way for states to legalize wagering on sporting events. How were potential improprieties spotted? And what have schools and conferences been doing to safeguard competition since legal sports betting has become widespread in the United States? RED FLAG Alabama lost 8-6 at top-ranked LSU on April 28 in a game in which the Crimson Tide’s top starting pitcher was a late scratch with an injury. A Louisiana gambling official who received a report from a sports integrity monitor said two bets were placed in Ohio at a sportsbook located in the Cincinnati Reds stadium, Great American Ball Park. Matthew Holt, the president of U.S. Integrity, said the operators of the sportsbook alerted his company to “abnormal activity.” U.S. Integrity alerted state gambling and gaming associations. After collecting information from other states, U.S. Integrity reported back to Ohio regulators, who opened an investigation. Sporting events all over the world are monitored for potential issues. Holt said U.S. Integrity sends out about 15 alerts per month to sportsbook operators, sports leagues, and organizing bodies it has as clients. Its client list includes the Southeastern Conference, home to both Alabama and LSU. WHY DID OTHER STATES SUSPEND WAGERING ON ALABAMA BASEBALL? New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Indiana also pulled Alabama baseball off their boards. “You have to remember this is really new in a lot of these states, and they’re still figuring out how they want to handle it,” Holt said. “You know, not surprisingly, the more experienced states, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, they know that the safest bet when there’s a potential issue is to take that event off the board.” HOW IS SPORTS WAGERING MONITORED? U.S. Integrity, for example, analyzes data that includes real-time odds and wagering at sportsbooks to try to spot irregular activity. The company also monitors online chatter on social media and other websites. “All kinds of information, some of which human beings are looking through, some of which the machines are identifying using algorithms,” he said. “The second way alerts are catalyzed, which is what happened in this instance, is operators identify some type of abnormal, nefarious, suspicious activity.” In most states, sportsbooks are required to work with independent monitors. SCANDALS College sports has had its share of gambling-related scandals through the years, including point-shaving in basketball and football where the final scores of games were improperly impacted. Initial indications are what happened with Alabama baseball was not point-shaving. A person familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press on Thursday that no evidence indicates athletes were involved. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of an ongoing investigation by the school. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
University of Alabama fires baseball coach Brad Bohannon
The University of Alabama has fired head baseball coach Brad Bohannon Thursday amidst bizarre allegations of ties to gambling interests and improper conduct that may have involved fixing one or more Alabama baseball games. The University said in a statement that Bohannon was fired for “among other things, violating the standards, duties, and responsibilities expected of University employees.” This followed an ESPN report on Friday of “alleged suspicious activity” last Friday at the sportsbook at The Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Ohio Casino Commission is reportedly investigating alleged suspicious wagering on a game that Alabama lost to LSU on April 28. Bohannon’s team lost 8-6. The Ohio Casino Commission has suspended placing any bets on Alabama Baseball due to these allegations. New Jersey and Pennsylvania’s gaming commission have also suspended wagering on University of Alabama baseball. None of the ESPN reports about the suspicious bets being tied to Bohannon have been officially confirmed as of press time, Media reports claim that authorities believe that Bohannon may have somehow fixed the game. One casino customer made multiple bets on LSU to win the game. The casino commission was reportedly alerted to the alleged suspicious activity on Friday. “We are aware of reports related to the suspension of wagering Alabama baseball games,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. “We will continue to monitor available information and any regulatory activity. This incident, if true, confirms the worst fears of critics of the proliferation of legalized sports wagering. “As many states have acted to legalize sports gambling, we are reminded of the threats gambling may pose on competitive integrity,” Sankey said. “Together with our member universities, we will continue to emphasize the importance of regulating, overseeing, and providing education related to sports gambling activity.” In 2021 gambling proponents brought a plan for a legalized sports book along with a lottery and the legalization of Class I and Class II gambling at up to a dozen sites in the state to the Alabama Legislature. The controversial gambling bill passed the Alabama Senate but was thwarted in the House of Representatives largely because of divisions between legislators on what to do with the money. The Alabama Citizens Action Program (ALCAP) led efforts to defeat that bill – as well as when gambling proponents brought the proposal back in 2022. The ALCAP President/CEO at the time, Joe Godfrey, said on Facebook following Bohannon’s firing over alleged gambling, “I hope the gambling lobbyists and state legislators that are considering introducing sports betting legalization in Alabama will consider the corruption and dangers associated with sports gambling!” Commissioner Sankey said Thursday that the University of Alabama took “swift action after information about baseball sports wagering activity was questioned by industry regulators.” Bohannon has been the head coach since June 2017. He has a 166-124 record, including a 30-15 record this season. He even made one NCAA tournament appearance two years ago. He previously was an assistant coach with the Auburn Tigers baseball team. The allegation is that the person who made the suspicious bets was communicating with Bohannon then. Again, this is very fresh reporting, and all of these allegations are unconfirmed at this time. In the game, star Alabama pitcher Luke Holman was replaced as the pitcher at the last minute and replaced with Hagan Banks, who had not started a game since March 17. Bohannon has been fired, and there is an ongoing investigation by the University, the SEC, and the Ohio Casino Commission. Jason Jackson has been appointed interim coach at the University of Alabama. A source familiar with the investigation told ESPN’s Pete Thamel that there’s “no reason to believe any student-athletes are involved.” Alabama defeated Number 5 Vanderbilt Thursday night in Tuscaloosa 11-2. This was the first time that Alabama baseball had defeated Vanderbilt since 2015. “There must be zero tolerance for activity that puts into question the integrity of competition,” Sankey said. “We will remain in communication with the University throughout its ongoing review and will have no further comment at this time.” Gambling proponents were expected to introduce another gaming bill in the 2023 Alabama Regular Legislative Session. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
