The 17th ranked Crimson Tide wrapped up their midweek schedule with a road trip to Troy and took a 6-1 loss. Alabama is now 32-17 and Troy improved to 24-25 on the season. After a 25-0 record in out of conference last season, this year’s Tide team finished 19-6, including 9-4 in midweek. Of the 13 midweek games Alabama played eight on the road-finishing 5-3 in those contests, and only five at home. The team was 4-1 in the games at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. In a schedule that would make Bingo Long and his Traveling
All-Stars proud, the Tide crisscrossed the state of Alabama, and dipped into Mississippi, playing games in Birmingham twice, Montgomery, Mobile, Jacksonville (AL), Huntsville, Troy, and Hattiesburg, MS. Bama logged approximately 2,100 miles in midweek games alone. Throw in the early season tournament in Frisco, TX and conference series’s in Lexington, Norman, OK, Austin, Knoxville, and Columbia, SC and this team truly were road warriors, with 5,000 more miles for a total of 7,100 miles traveled.
Alabama started JT Blackwood on the mound Tuesday night and he was lights out. Blackwood tossed 4 innings and faced the minimum of 12 hitters, allowing only one hit, a single to Steven Meir. Tide catcher Johnny Lemm threw out Meir trying to steal. Blackwood struck out two, walked none, and didn’t allow a run. Cooper Ellingworth was his counterpart for the Trojans. The Tide threatened in the 1st when Justin LeBron just missed a home run with a one out double of the high fence in right field. Bryce Fowler followed with a blast to deep left that was hauled in by Gavin Schrader on a nice play at the fence. A strikeout ended the inning.
Blackwood had a quick bottom half of the first with a strikeout to end the inning. Bama got their only run in the top of the 2nd when Jason Torres smashed a long, high, drive that cleared the fence in left field for a solo home run. The long ball was Torres’s 7th of the season. Meir lined his single to centerfield in the second with one out, but was gunned down by Lemm while trying to pilfer second base.
Both teams went down in order in the third. In the top of the 4th Eric Hines singled with one out for Alabama. Lemm hit a long drive to center that was grabbed by Meir, and then a strikeout ended the frame. Blackwood finished his stellar night after another perfect inning in the bottom half, and came out having tossed 46 pitches. The low total should have the senior right hander available this weekend when the Tide travels to Columbia, SC to take on the Gamecocks.
The third Troy pitcher of the night was Dylan Alonso and he struck out the side in the top of the fifth. Austin Morris took over for Blackwood in the bottom half and ran into trouble with two walks. With two outs and runners in second and third after a passed ball, Evan Steckmesser entered for the Tide. Steckmesser induced a ground ball to Brennan Holt at second base to end the threat with Bama still clinging to the 1-0 lead. Alonso put the Tide down in order in the top half of the sixth. Steckmesser struck out two and walked two in the bottom of the frame before Connor Lehman replaced him. Jimmy Janicki ripped a ground ball that Torres made a diving play on at third base and got the third out with a force at second base.
Hines led off the 7th for the Tide with a single and moved to second on a wild pitch. However a strikeout, pop out, and ground out stranded Hines where he was. Trouble came for Bama in the bottom half. Lehman allowed a single on a chopper to Meir leading off, then walked Drew Nelson. Sam Mitchell was called in to replace Lehman. Holt made a great play at second base for the first out with both runners advancing. A nice play by Mitchell on a hot shot back to the mound was out two, and held the runners. A passed ball scored the tying run on a ball that Tide catcher Lemm argued had hit the batter. After a review the play stood and the score was tied. Ironically Mitchell hit the batter with the next pitch. Aaron Piasecki then drilled a two run double for a 3-1 lead for the Trojans. A ground ball to first base ended the inning.
Peyton Steele drew the Tide’s only walk of the game in the top of the 8th, but was left standing on first. Owen Sarna took over on the mound in the bottom of the 8th for Bama. Janicki hit a one out double off the right field wall and scored on a single by Meir. Meir advanced to second on the throw to the plate. Nelson then walked. A double steal attempt ended in a run down with the trail runner out at second and the lead runner safe at third. Nolan Book then singled for one run and stole second. Bobby Alcock replaced Sarna to face Houston Markham. Markham hit a ball up the middle that LeBron made a nice play on, but threw the ball away allowing Book to score. A ground out finally ended the inning with Bama down 6-1. The Tide went down quietly in the 9th to end the game.
Alabama played the game without their leading hitter Brady Neal, who missed the game along with outfielders Justin Osterhouse and Chase Kroeberger, apparently with an illness. Bama hit only 4-31 in the game with one walk, 11 strikeouts, and left four on base. Torres was 1-3 with a home run, LeBron 1-4 with a double, Hines finished 2-4 for the other Tide safeties in the game. Lehman was the losing pitcher and is 1-1 on the season.
Troy finished 6-29 with seven walks, one hit batter, two doubles, two stolen bases, five strikeouts, seven left of base, and were 3-11 with runners in scoring position. Meir was 3-3 with a walk, a run, and a run driven in. Matt Dill was the winning pitcher and is 3-2 on the year.
The Tide travels to Columbia, SC to play South Carolina this weekend with games Friday at 4:30 CT, Saturday at 12 noon CT, and Sunday at 12:30 CT. Friday and Saturday are scheduled for SEC Network and a Sunday will be on SEC Network Plus. Alabama needs to win this series, and a sweep would go far in helping the Tide secure a hosting spot in the NCAA Tournament.
