Bama Baseball Blasts Bulldogs

Alabama continued their winning ways, beating Samford by a score of 19-3 on Tuesday. This followed the Tide sweeping Texas A&M this past weekend. Bama used 15 hits, 16 walks, two hit batters, and three Bulldog errors to blow the boys from Homewood out. The Tide improved to 20-12 while the Dogs fell to 21-12 on the season.

Freshman left hander Grayson Hitt started for the Tide on the mound and threw a predetermined four innings and got the victory, making his record 2-3 on the season. Things didn't start off great for Hitt when Samford used a walk and two singles to take an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Hitt finished by allowing only the two hits and one run while striking out two. The performance was his best of the season.

The Tide tied the game in the third without the benefit of a hit, using two walks, an error, and an RBI hit by pitch from Sam Praytor. In the fourth Bama poured in seven runs when 12 batters came to the plate. The Bulldogs used three of their 11 pitchers of the night in the inning. Alabama had seven walks and one hit batter in the frame. The big blows were a two run home run by Jackson Tate and a two run single by Zane Denton. The other runs came in on bases loaded walks and a wild pitch.

Bama added six runs in the sixth with Praytor and Caden Rose both hitting home runs. Bryce Eblin drove in two with a double, Tate and Peyton Wilson had RBI’s off of sacrifice fly’s. Jake Eddington followed Hitt on the mound and tossed two scoreless frames, allowing one hit and striking out two. Samford added a single run off of Eli Giles in the seventh, aided by a single and two walks. Giles recovered to strike out the side with his nasty curveball. The Tide got their last five runs in the seventh when Rose doubled in two, Johnny Hawk drove in one, and two Dog errors led to the rest.

Hunter Ruth took over on the mound in the eighth and allowed a run on a pop fly double and a single, but finished the eighth and ninth without allowing any more runs. The four Tide pitchers combined to allow eight hits, walk two, strikeout nine, and strand eight runners. The Tide tied a program record for walks in a game with 16 off of the 11 Samford pitchers, while also having 15 hits, striking out eight times. and stranding 13 runners on base. Alabama played 13 different position players in the game and all but one recorded a hit, and all but two scored at least one run.

Individually, Tate led the way with 2-4 with four runs driven in, two runs, and his second home run of the year. Rose entered in the sixth and finished 2-3 with four RBI, his third home run, a double and two runs. Denton was 2-3 with three walks and drove in two, and Praytor drove in two with his eighth home run and a hit by pitch. Eblin was 1-2 with two RBI, four walks, and a double. Wilson waited until his last at bat to extend his season long hitting streak with an eighth inning double.

A much needed breather of a game with Auburn coming to town for a three game series starting on Thursday. Hopefully the Tide is hitting it’s stride as some players are returning from injury. All American left handed pitcher Connor Prielipp is set to return to the rotation this weekend for the first time since opening day. The pitching staff has been stretched thin with several others having joined Prielipp on the shelf at various times during the season. This will likely as healthy that the team has been so far this year. TJ Reeves did miss tonight’s game after rolling his ankle Sunday in College Station, but that seems to be a precaution, and I would expect him in the line up this weekend.

Thursday and Friday’s games will both start at 6 p.m. and Saturday’s is set for a 4 p.m. first pitch. The Barn sits in dead last in the SEC with an 1-11 record. The Tide needs to add to their misery this weekend.

Roll Tide Roll

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