The Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team defeated Jacksonville State 6-5 on Tuesday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Tide improved to 10-3 on the season and the Gamecocks fell to 10-3. Bama started graduate student Bobby Alcock on the mound against sophomore Fisher Cantrell for the visitors.
Alcock had a perfect first inning with a strikeout on only 10 pitches. The Tide took an early lead. Bryce Fowler walked to lead off the bottom of the first. After Justin LeBron lined out to left field, Brady
Neal blasted his third home run of the season for a 2-0 Bama lead. Luke Vaughn walked and moved to third on a single by Johnny Lemm. Jason Torres laid down a bunt to score Vaughn, and beat it out for an RBI single. The Tide missed an opportunity to pile on by leaving the bases loaded.
JSU got on the board in the top of the second. Grayson Ashe singled to lead off the frame. Alcock hit Jaxon Pate with a pitch. After a ground out advance the runners Luke Williams shot a single through the left side, beating the shift, to plate two runs. Williams is a Tuscaloosa native and a former Alabama player. The Tide went down 1-2-3 in the bottom half. Alcock finished his night after three innings allowing no more damage. Alabama added to their lead in the bottom half of the third. Neal walked to start the inning and raced home on a two out double by Torres to make the score 4-2.
Sam Mitchell took over for Alcock in the fourth and after a lead off walk retired the next three men on ground ball outs. In the top of the fifth the ‘Cocks used a one out double by Orland Pena and an RBI ground out by Cooper Blauser. Blauser is the son of former Atlanta Braves shortstop Jeff Blauser. With two outs Mitchell was replaced by Kaden Humphrey. After two pitches Humphrey had to leave the game with an arm injury, and will have an MRI today. Left hander Ashton Crowther inherited a 2-0 count but came back and struck out Brady Thomas to end the inning. Bama went down in order in the bottom half of the fifth.
Crowther tossed a perfect sixth inning and the Tide added two runs in the bottom half. Justin Osterhouse led off with a walk and stole second base. Peyton Steele followed with a walk before Brennan Holt lined an RBI single to score Osterhouse. Osterhouse scored on a head first slide at the plate, but suffered a leg injury in the process. On the next pitch new JSU pitcher Chase Horst plunked Fowler in the head, forcing the Bama centerfielder out of the game. LeBron hit the next pitch to left field for a sacrifice fly RBI, making the score 6-3. Bama stranded runners on first and third to end the inning.
Crowther had another perfect inning in the seventh and was replaced by Hagan Banks to begin the eighth. Banks walked one and struck out two in the top of the eighth. Bama went down in order in the bottoms half. The Gamecocks made things interesting in the of the ninth. Pate led off with a double. Banks struck out the next man for the first out of the inning. Williams laid down a bunt and beat it out to put runners on first and third. Pinch runner Ace Williamson then stole second base. Pinch hitter Sam Richardson struck out for the second out. Down to their last strike, Matthew Cash drilled a double to score two runs and close the margin to one run at 6-5. With the tying run on base Trey King lifted a fly ball to left center field that was gathered in by Chase Kroeberger has he collided with left fielder Eric Hines. Kroeberger had replaced Fowler and Hines was in for the injured Osterhouse.
The Tide hit 6-28 in the game with five walks, three hit batters, left seven men on base, and struck out eight times. Torres was 2-3 with a double and two RBI. Neal was 2-3 with a home run, two RBI, two runs, and a walk. Holt, Fowler, and Lemm had the other Tide hits. LeBron had the other RBI. Crowther was the winning pitcher, facing seven batters and retiring them all with two strikeouts and his 1-0 on the season. Banks earned his third save of the year.
Jacksonville hit 7-33 with two walks, two hit batters, seven strikeouts, and left five men on base. Williams and Cash had two hits each. Cantrell lasted 1/3 of an inning and fell to 0-1 with the loss. The Tide plays again tonight as they travel to play Alabama State in Montgomery at 6 p.m. CT.
Roll Tide
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