Though I can’t actually stand in the batter’s box, I am going to go to bat for the Arkansas-Monticello softball team and head coach Alvy Early.
With two wins on Thursday, the Cotton Blossoms continue their season quest of winning the inaugural Great American Conference Tournament title.
The Blossoms’ effort to reach the NCAA Division II Tournament out of the GAC, a non-automatic bid conference, seems to have become an uphill battle. UAM wasn’t even on the radar in last week’s polls after claiming the conference title by winning three of four against Southwestern Oklahoma State on the final weekend of the regular season.
If you look at overall records, UAM is currently 38-14 overall and finished with a 21-5 conference mark, the final loss a 10-1 setback to SWOSU after the Blossoms had already clinched the regular-season title Sunday afternoon.
The GAC is new and understandably needs time to prove itself to poll voters. But UAM has historically proven itself regardless of the conference name. Early continually puts out a quality product that deserves recognition. This marked the 15th winning season on his watch and the 14th with at least 30 wins. With a career record of 596-290-2, Early simply knows how to win games. And that is just what postseason play is all about. The voters should be looking at each prospective team and attempt to advance those who can play at the top level.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
While in Monticello for Saturday’s double dip against SWOSU, I spoke with someone close to the program that eluded to the fact that the poll voters were not favorable to UAM because of their personal feelings for Early. Early is a no-nonsense guy who emphasizes winning. It wouldn’t matter if it were a softball game for the national title or a game of darts in the recreation room just for fun, Early wants to win. I’m sure some find his straight-forward style a touch abrasive.
But this is not about personal preferences. This is about putting the best possible teams together at the end of the year for a winner-take-all event, one the Blossoms should be a part of.
But for now, UAM is on the outside looking in as it was not even in the top 10 of the South Central region, though Southeastern Oklahoma State was slated at seventh in the latest polls released April 22, a team the Blossoms handled three of four times this year. The final selections will be made April 29 with the selection show on April 30 on www.ncaa.com at 9 a.m.
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Chan Davis is a sports writer at The Commercial. Email him at cdavis@pbcommercial.com.