Surging ‘Bama Baseball Sweeps Missouri on the Road

The Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team got a much-needed sweep over the Missouri Tigers this weekend in a cold, windy Columbia, MO. The Tide improved to 29-12 overall and 9-9 in league play while the Tigers fell to 23-16 and 5-13 in the league.

Bama used strong pitching and the long ball (the team hit nine home runs), to take their second straight series of the season. Last week, the Tide took its homestand against Auburn without the aid of a single home run.

Game One: Won 6-4

Brad Bohannon has tinkered with his lineup all year, and he pulled a rabbit out of the hat this weekend. Little-used freshman catcher Jaxson West, had 11 at bats entering the weekend, was inserted at designated hitter on Friday and Saturday and the move paid off.

Luke Holman drew the Friday night starting spot with Ben Hess still on the shelf. Missouri countered with Chandler Murphy. The Tide got on the board on the first when Jim Jarvis led off and ended up on third base when Tiger centerfielder Ty Wilmsmeyer misplayed his fly ball. Tommy Seidl scored Jarvis with a ground out to second base.

Holman allowed a run in the bottom half after allowing a single, walking two, and allowing Luke Mann to score on a wild pitch. Both pitchers settled in from there and the next runs weren't scored until the bottom of the 5th. Cam Chick led off with a single and advanced to second when Holman threw the ball away on a pickoff attempt. A ground ball to Ed Johnson at second base was booted and Chick crossed the plate to take the lead. Hagan Banks came into pitch at that point. Wilmsmeyer stole second and continued to third when the throw from Dominic Tamez sailed into centerfield. Trevor Austin then singled to score the second run of the frame.

The Tide took over in the top of the 6th. Tamez lead off with a home run to dead center to close the margin. Andrew Pinckney then curled a shot around the right field foul pole to tie the game at 3-3. Colby Shelton lined sharply to right field and Murphy was then replaced by Austin Troesser. Johnson walked then West blasted his first career home run to put the Tide up 5-3.

Banks surrendered a one-out home run to Dylan Leach in the bottom of the 6th to make the score 5-4 in Bama’s favor. Tamez helped get that run back in the top of the 7th when he hit a one out double and scored on a two out double by Shelton. Banks got the first two batters out in the bottom of the 7th but with the Tigers best hitter, left-handed Luke Mann, up to bat Bohannon called on lefty reliever Alton Davis II. Davis forced a ground out to end the frame. Bama stranded Jarvis at second base in the 8th after he singled and stole second. Davis had a runner reach base on an error in the bottom half, but two strikeouts and a caught stealing closed the inning. The Tide stranded two runners in the top of the 9th, sending the game to the bottom of the 9th with a 6-4 Bama lead.

Davis struck out the leadoff man on three pitches then induced a ground out to Jarvis at shortstop. A two out single by Matt Garcia kept the Tigers alive, but a ground ball and force out at second ended the game.

The Tide hit 11-39 in the game with four walks, 10 strikeouts, 11 men left on base, made a very uncharacteristic four errors, hit two doubles, a sac bunt, three home runs, and stole two bases. Tamez was the big stick with a 4-5 game with a double, home run, two runs, and one driven in. Jarvis was 2-5 with a stolen base and run scored. West was big in his first start with his two run home run and a walk. Pinckney’s sixth home run, Shelton’s double, and Seidl’s ground out drove in the other runs in the game.

Missouri was 6-33 in the game with three walks, nine strikeouts, five men left on bases, one home run, one stolen base, and two errors. Banks earned the victory with his 2.2 innings of work and is 1-0 on the season. Davis earned his fourth save, and third in the last three SEC games, by pitching 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing one hit with no walks, and three strikeouts. Troesser was the loser and is now 3-3.

Game Two: Won 10-4

The Tide started right-hander Garrett McMillian against Rorik Maltrud for the Tigers in Saturday’s second game. Once again the Tide scored in the first inning. Jim Jarvis and Tommy Seidl both singled to start the inning. On a double steal Jarvis was safe at third but Seidl was out at second. Jarvis was able to scoot home on a wild pitch for the first tally of the game.

McMillian was strong through the first three innings, allowing only a walk while striking out four batters. In the 4th the Tide added three runs. Dominic Tamez walked to start the frame and trotted home on a long home run off the bat of Colby Shelton. Andrew Pinckney followed with a single and stole second base. Jaxson West singled to send Pinckney to third where he scored on a wild pitch. The Tide stranded the bases loaded, and held a 4-0 lead.

McMillian ran into trouble in the bottom of the 4th after a lead off walk. Trevor Austin blasted a ball to center field where Caden Rose took a home run away from him with a fantastic catch. A double and one out walk chased McMillian from the game with the bases loaded in favor of Zane Probst. Probst hit the first hitter he faced to force in a run, but then got a strikeout and ground out to leave the bases jammed.

In the 5th, the Tide got that run back on consecutive doubles by Tamez and Shelton, to make the score 5-1. The Tigers wasted little time in closing the gap. Propst walked Luke Mann with one out and hit Trevor Austin, bringing Hank Zeisler to the plate. Zeisler smoked a home run to right field to make the score 5-4 in the Tide’s favor. Bohannon called in Hunter Hoopes for his first appearance of the season. Hoopes has been out for a year with a shoulder issue. Dalton Brago struck out to end the uprising.

Bama clawed one run back in the top of the 6th. Jarvis doubled, advanced to third on a ground out by Tommy Seidl, and scored on a Drew Williamson groundout. Hoopes walked the lead off man in the bottom of the 6th, struck out the second man, and then allowed a single to put runners on first and third. A ground ball back to the mound was fielded cleanly by Hoopes, who whirled and threw to Jarvis covering second who then returned the ball to Hoopes covering first base for an inning ending double play.

In the top of the 7th, the Tide used two solo home runs — Shelton’s second of the game, and one from Rose — to make the score 8-4. Shelton’s blast tied him for the most home runs by a freshman in school history with 15. Jeremy Brown and Ross Wilson share the record with Shelton.

Hunter Furtado entered on the mound for Bama in the in the bottom of the 7th. Furtado retired the first two batters quickly, but then allowed a double and walked two batters to load the bases. Freshman Riley Quick replaced Furtado and on a ground ball to Jarvis ended the threat.

The Tide added a run in the 8th on a two out single from Drew Williamson and triple from Tamez. Quick walked one in the 8th but nothing else. Pinckney lead off the top of the 9th with his third home run in three games to end the scoring. Quick allowed two one out singles in the bottom of the 9th, but ended the game with two fly outs, and the Tide had secured the series with a 10-4 win.

Bama hit 15-41 in the game, drew five walks, struck out 10 times, hit three doubles, four home runs, stole two bases, and left nine men on base. Shelton led the way with a 3-5 night with two home runs, a double, four RBI, and two runs scored. Pinckney was 2-5 with two runs, and a home run. Tamez remained hot with his 2-4 day with a double, a triple, a walk, two runs scored, and one driven in. Jarvis finished 2-6 with a double and two runs scored. Bryce Eblin got the start at second base and had two hits in four attempts, and drew a walk. Hoopes was the winner and his now 1-0 while Quick earned his second save with 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing two hits, one walk, and two strikeouts.

Missouri hit 6-34 in the game, drew eight walks, had two hit batters, struck out 10 times, left 11 on base and had one home run. Maltrud fell to 1-2 with the loss.

Game Three: Won 3-2

Super senior Jacob McNairy started on the mound for the Tide against freshman Logan Lunceford for the Tigers. The two locked up in an old fashioned pitchers duel, with neither team scoring until the 6th inning.

The Tide let a golden chance slip away in the top of the 2nd. Dominic Tamez, Colby Shelton, and Andrew Pinckney all walked to start the inning, but two strikeouts and a force out ended the inning with a goose egg on the scoreboard.

Those three walks were the only Tide base runners until the top of the 6th. With one out Tommy Seidl hit a laser shot home run to left field for Bama’s first hit and run of the game. McNairy entered the bottom of the 6th only having allowed one hit. Ty Wilsmeyer singled with one out the stole second and went to third on a ground out, then sped home on a wild pitch on a 2-2 pitch to Trevor Austin. Kade Woods replaced McNairy and after a walk got Dylan Leach to fly out to end the inning.

In the top of the 7th Pinckney hit his third home run of the weekend, and fourth in the last four games, to retake the lead. Caden Rose followed with a double and scored on a Mac Guscette two out single. Jim Jarvis went opposite field for a double to put runners on second and third but a strikeout ended the inning with two men in scoring position.

Woods gave up a lead off single in the bottom of the 7th, and on an errant pick off throw, the runner advanced to second. With a 3-2 count on pinch hitter Dalton Bargo, Alton Davis II was brought in to pitch. Davis finished off Bargo for the strikeout before a fly ball to right field scored the Tigers second run.

‘Bama was not able to score any insurance runs in the 8th or 9th, but they had Davis on the mound, which has been money as of late. Davis retired the next five batters before a two out double by Matt Garcia in the bottom of the 9th. A pop up to Bryce Eblin at second base ended the game, giving the Tide the 3-2 nailbiter.

The Tide was held to 6-32 hitting in the game, with five walks, nine strikeouts, and seven left on base. Four of the six hits were for extra bases. Seidl was 1-4 with his fifth home run, while Pinckney was 1-3 with his eighth home run, and drew a walk. Guscette drove in the other run during his 1-4 game. Rose was 1-3 with a walk. Woods was the winner and is now 3-1 and Davis II earned his 5th save, and fourth in his last four appearances. Overall Bama hit 32-112 for a .285 average, with 14 walks, 29 strikeouts, two hit batters, five errors, 26 men left on base, nine home runs, six doubles, and a triple.

Missouri hit 5-30, had three walks, one hit batters struck out nine times, and left six men on base. Lunceford was the losing pitcher and is now 3-3 on the season. The Tigers hit only 17-95 for an average or .136 with 14 walks, 28 strikeouts, three hit batters, two home runs, two doubles, and 22 men left on base.

Analysis

This was a must-win series for the Tide, who earned a much-needed sweep. Winners of five of their last six, evening the conference mark at 9-9 after a 4-8 start could go a long way toward their postseason aspirations. After winning the series with Auburn last week two games to one while not hitting a single home run, the Tide broke out the big stick and blasted nine home runs in the series.

Getting Caden Rose back in the lineup after missing a dozen or more games is huge. Rose is an explosive athlete and having him in centerfield makes the teams outfield defense, with Tommy Seidl in left and Andrew Pinckney in right, second to none. Hunter Hoopes being back from his year long exile will be huge down the stretch. A hard throwing, strike-throwing, fresh arm will be invaluable over the last four series of the SEC season.

As normally happens, there are ebbs and flows for hitters during the season. Right now Pinckney, Jarvis and Dominic Tamez are on hot streaks. Earlier Seidl and Drew Williamson were on fire. The team needs to keep two or three guys red hot at any one time.

Lets speak of the freshman. Colby Shelton seems to have regained his early season form and tied the schools freshman home run record with 15 this season. Jaxson West earned his first two starts of the season and made them count with his big home run and several exceptional at bats. Riley Quick had his second straight outstanding appearance on the mound and earned a save, and Alton Davis II has been lights out over the last two weekends as his legend grows.

Who Did What?

*Dominic Tamez 7-12, home run, two doubles, triple, two RBI, two walks, four runs

*Jim Jarvis 5-16, three runs, two doubles, stolen base

*Andrew Pinckney 4-12, three home runs, three RBI, four runs, sac bunt, walk, stolen base

*Colby Shelton 4-12, two home runs, two doubles, five RBI, walk, two runs

*Alton Davis II 5.1 IP, 2 hits, 0 walks, 6 strikeouts, two saves (4, 5)

*Jacob McNairy 5.2 IP 3 hits, two walks, 6 strikeouts, 1 run

*Hagan Banks W (1-0) 2.2 IP, 2 hits, 0 Walks, 3 strikeouts, 1 run

*Riley Quick save (2) 2.1 IP 2 hits, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 0 runs

Whats next?

A Tuesday night home game with Samford at 6 p.m. (SEC Network Plus), and a weekend trip to the Bayou to take on the No. 1 ranked LSU Tigers. The games are scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 1 p.m. on Sunday. Friday night is an SEC Network affair and the Saturday and Sunday games can be found on the SEC Network Plus.

Roll Tide

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