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Dylan Fitzsimmons of the St. John's Red Storm runs the bases during an NCAA baseball game at Bainton Field in Piscataway, United States, on April 21, 2026. (Photo by Dan Squicciarini/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images
One week after their stunning Tallahassee Regional victory as a four-seed, St. John’s is hoping lightning can strike twice versus the seventh-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in the Tuscaloosa Super Regional, where the winner of the best-of-three series will punch their ticket to the College World Series. First pitch from Sewell-Thomas Stadium is scheduled for 9 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2. The full double-elimination bracket can be accessed here.
St. John’s and Alabama are both looking to snap decades-long College World Series droughts this weekend. The Red Storm haven’t returned to Omaha since 1980, while the Crimson Tide made their last trip in 1999.
This will be the Red Storm’s second-ever Super Regional appearance since the current seeding format was established in 1999. They’re hoping for a better result after they fell to eventual national champion Arizona in two games back in 2012.
St. John’s enters the weekend with a 36-24 record and winners of their last eight games. Following a 1-10 start to the 2026 season, the Red Storm have won 35 of their last 49 games.
The Johnnies swept through the Tallahassee Regional in three games last weekend, knocking off national 10-seed Florida State twice and routing Northern Illinois, while coming back from multi-run deficits in each game.
Liam O’Leary (8-4, 3.25 ERA) is projected to be the Red Storm’s Game 1 starter. The Souderton, Pennsylvania native was knocked around a bit by Florida State in the Tallahassee Regional opener last Friday, allowing five earned runs, a season-high four walks, and two home runs, but O’Leary’s 5.1 innings thrown on 100 pitches went a long way toward preserving the Red Storm’s bullpen through the weekend. The Johnnies would later mount an eighth-inning comeback and win, 6-5. He will need to weather the storm and go deep again on Saturday night.
Junior right-hander Tyler Fay (10-4, 4.70 ERA) is expected to take the mound for the Crimson Tide on Saturday night. While that ERA looks juicy, it’s important to note that those numbers were produced in the most difficult conference in college baseball, and the Nebraska native carries a few gems to his name.
Back on March 20, Fay threw a 13-strikeout no-hitter against future regional host Florida. Last month, he tossed seven innings, allowed fewer than three earned runs, and punched out ten or more batters in back-to-back starts versus South Carolina and Ole Miss.
In his last appearance, Fay allowed three earned runs and struck out eight hitters in the Tide’s 21-3 win over Alabama State in the Tuscaloosa Regional curtain-raiser on Friday.
Alabama (40-19, 18-12 in SEC) also swept through their regional, besting Alabama State, USC Upstate, and Oklahoma State in an extra-innings thriller. Under third-year head coach Rob Vaughn, the Crimson Tide have reached the NCAA Tournament every year, and have won 40 or more games in each of the last two seasons.
By the numbers
- #7 Alabama
- 40-19 record (18-12 in SEC)
- 6th in RPI
- 3rd in strength of schedule
- .253 batting average (273rd nationally)
- .800 on-base plus slugging (170th)
- 6.3 runs per game (170th)
- 4.28 ERA (12th)
- 1.335 walks and hits per innings pitched (11th)
- 8.91 strikeouts per nine innings (74th)
- 3.65 walks per nine innings (34th)
- St. John’s
- 36-24 record (15-6 in Big East)
- 86th in RPI
- 142nd in strength of schedule
- .278 BA (144th)
- .788 OPS (193rd)
- 6.2 runs per game (194th)
- 5.38 ERA (104th)
- 1.487 WHIP (83rd)
- 7.25 K/9 (243rd)
- 4.10 BB/9 (78th)
2026 Tuscaloosa Super Regional Schedule
Saturday, June 6
Game 1 – No. 7 Alabama vs. St. John’s – 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Sunday, June 7
Game 2 – St. John’s vs. No. 7 Alabama – 3 p.m. ET (Network TBD)
Monday, June 8
Game 3 (if necessary) – No. 7 Alabama vs. St. John’s – (Time and network TBD)
Tournament Links
- St. John’s and Alabama are two of only three Division I programs to reach the Sweet Sixteen in men’s basketball and the Super Regionals.
- Manalapan’s Cristian Bernardini in St. John’s College World Series push — Jerry Carino, Asbury Park Press
- St. John’s 1980 College World Series team thrilled about current group’s tourney run — Zach Braziller, New York Post
- Souderton grad Liam O’Leary helps St. John’s to NCAA Super Regionals — Tom Moore, Bucks County Courier Times
- St. John’s baseball, with 14 Long Island players, will face Alabama in NCAA Super Regional — Roger Rubin, Newsday
- Crimson Tide player statistics entering Super Regional play — Roger Myers, Roll Bama Roll
- Manager Rob Vaughn’s message to Alabama baseball ahead of Tuscaloosa Super Regional — Emilee Smarr, TuscaloosaNews.com
- Alabama baseball enters super regional in uncommon spot: ‘Going to be a war’ — Nick Kelly, AL.com
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