Bama Baseball Blasts Bulldogs

The Crimson Tide wasted no time in putting away the Alabama A&M Bulldogs on Tuesday night, sending 14 men to the plate in the bottom of the first inning and scoring eight runs. The Tide added six more in the fifth and one in the sixth inning to mercy rule the visitors from Huntsville. ‘Bama improved to 14-3 on the year while AAM fell to 5-11.

Mason Duke pitched six crisp innings, allowing four hits with one walk and five strikeouts. The junior college transfer improved his record to 2-0 and maintained a 0.00 ERA for the season. Freshman left hander Brock Guffey pitched the final inning and faced three batters with one strikeout.

The Bulldogs had to know it wasn't going to be their night from the start. In the bottom of the first, Cobie Vance popped up in front of the plate but three A&M players pulled an Alphonse and Gaston routine to watch the ball fall between them for a single. Cody Henry followed with a double before Chandler Taylor hit a deep sacrifice fly to score Vance. Chandler Avant then hit an RBI single and John Trousdale doubled. The next run scored on an error and Connor Stutts knocked one in with a single. Vance drove in two more with his second hit of the inning and Taylor plated two more with a double. With a quick 8-0 lead Duke was on cruise control, never finding trouble throughout his outing.

The Tide went three innings without scoring before exploding for six more runs in the fifth. Vance and Henry led off the inning with doubles, and Taylor drew a walk. Avant delivered a two run single and Connor Stutts slammed a three run home run into the right field plaza. The long ball was the first of Stutts’ Alabama career. The last tally of the night crossed on a long blast by Taylor in to the visitors’ bullpen. The home run was Taylor’s fifth of the season and 30th of his career.

‘Bama finished with 14 hits, two hits batters, four walks, with 10 runners left on base. The Bulldogs had four hits, one walk, six strikeouts and five runners left on base.

The teams will play again on Wednesday night at 6 p.m., again at The Joe. Look for another mercy rule game, as this A&M team has the look of one of the worst teams in college baseball. The Tide did what they were supposed to do, pounding an overmatched opponent into submission, all the while giving some seldom used players some time in the lineup. Vance played shortstop for the first time, Connor Short got a start at third base, and Stutts received the first start of his Alabama career.

Who Did What ?

Well, pretty much everyone did, especially players with names that start with a C

• Cobie Vance 3-4, three runs, two RBI, double
• Cody Henry 2-4, two doubles, two runs
• Chandler Taylor 2-3, home run, double, four RBI, SF, two runs
• Chandler Avant 2-3, three RBI, BB, two runs
• Connor Stutts 2-5, four RBI, two runs, home run
• Mason Duke (W) 2-0 on the season with 0.00 ERA 6 IP 4 Hits 1 BB 5 Strikeouts

After the Wednesday night game, the Tide will host Georgia over the weekend for their first SEC series of the year. Game times are Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. All games will be on the SEC Network.

Bama Baseball Fever, Catch it!