For the first time in 13 years, Alabama baseball is still practicing well into June.

An unlikely, yet thrilling run continued for the Crimson Tide last weekend in the Tuscaloosa regional with a trio of late-night wins. Interim coach Jason Jackson said on Tuesday he’s still readjusting his sleep schedule after couple of nights ended at 3 a.m., but the tradeoff is worth it. Alabama is two wins away from its first College World Series this century (1999).

Before the team started its NCAA tournament super regional prep, Jackson met with the media to preview the 16-seed’s matchup against one-seed Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons (50-10) won each of its regional games after losing the Atlantic Coast Championship to Miami.

“They play in a ballpark that really is known as one of the more offensive ballparks in the country and for them to put up those kind of numbers speaks volumes in what they’ve done,” Jackson said. “… They’ve been a really consistent team and a really dominant team all year.”

Junior Rhett Lowder leads the strongest pitching staff in the country — its team ERA is nearly a full run better than second-place Tennessee. Lowder is second nationally with a 1.77 ERA and one of three Demon Deacons with at least 100 strikeouts.

Alabama, which has rallied around a veteran group of arms in the postseason, ranked seventh with a 3.96 ERA. Jackson wouldn’t reveal his pitching plan but said it would be “pretty close to normal.” Last weekend, the Tide threw Luke Holman in Game 1, Garrett McMillan in Game 2 and Jacob McNairy to close out Boston College on Sunday.

“You look at their numbers and they all jump off the page at you. You look at our numbers and you’re like our numbers are pretty dang good, too. I love my guys. I ain’t trading them for anybody, I can tell you that,” Jackson said.

If the Tide has an advantage over Wake Forest, it’s Alabama’s experience in one-run games. Redshirt junior Andrew Pinckney mentioned UA’s comfortability after a frustrating 7-12 in one-run games last year. That’s improved to 4-5 in 2023. Wake Forest, meanwhile, has made a habit of blowing out opponents and is 2-1 in close games.

“Feel like you’re in a super regional every single weekend. You get comfortable playing in those games,” Jackson said. “You get kind of used to it. You’re not tired, you’re not pressing. Yeah, of course it’s 3-3 in the sixth. It’s what it always is. You wait for somebody to get that big hit or make that big pitch and that can kind of push you on top.”

Game 1 is set for Saturday at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].