| BSB/SB ⚾ Back-and-Forth Battle Favors Alabama, 7-4, for Series Sweep of Texas A&M

Ras’ Career-Long Start Leads Baseball to 5-3 Win at Texas A&M - University of Alabama Athletics

Tyler Ras gave Alabama 7.1 innings of three-run baseball to lead the Crimson Tide to a 5-3 win over Texas A&M on Friday evening at Blue Bell Park. The series-opening

rolltide.com

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Tyler Ras gave Alabama 7.1 innings of three-run baseball to lead the Crimson Tide to a 5-3 win over Texas A&M on Friday evening at Blue Bell Park. The series-opening win moved UA to 17-12 overall, including 3-7 in Southeastern Conference play.

Ras (5-1) picked up his team-high fifth win with Friday night's standout start. The junior tossed 7.1 frames, allowing three runs on eight hits and a walk with four strikeouts. Ras then handed the ball over to Chase Lee. Alabama's closer earned his third save of the season with 1.2 innings of scoreless baseball, striking out one in the process.

The Crimson Tide's offensive effort was led by Peyton Wilson and his 4-for-5 showing. Wilson added two RBI, a run scored and one stolen base to his stat line. Owen Diodati also posted a multi-hit game, finishing 3-for-4 with a run scored and one RBI, which was the go-ahead run on Friday.

From Head Coach Brad Bohannon​

"Tonight was a typical SEC Friday night game. Their starter was outstanding, and Tyler Ras matched him. We got some clutch hits and made a couple of great defensive plays for the win. This was just a really complete game by our guys against a good Texas A&M team."

How It Happened​

• B1 | The Aggies doubled to start the game before Will Frizzell got A&M on the board in the next at-bat with a two-run home run. (2-0, Texas A&M)
• T3 | Owen Diodati led off with a single and Caden Rose followed with a hit-by-pitch to put two on. Both runners then moved into scoring position on a perfect sacrifice bunt from Jim Jarvis. Peyton Wilson was next, with the sophomore evening things up on a two-RBI single up the middle. (2-2)
• T6 | Alabama took the lead thanks to a two-out RBI-single from Diodati. The sophomore brought home Sam Praytor, who led off the sixth with a single and moved to second on an infield groundout. (3-2, Alabama)
• T7 | Jarvis began the inning with a double to left and moved to third on a single from Wilson. One out later, Zane Denton sent a ball deep to right for a sacrifice fly to add to the Tide lead. (4-2, Alabama)
• B8 | Frizzell homered for a second time on the night to make it a one-run game. (4-3, Alabama)
• T9 | Wilson began the inning with a single and moved into scoring position on a sac bunt. A flyout to deep right field moved Wilson to third before a wild pitch allowed him to score. (5-3, Alabama)

Postgame Notes​

• Tyler Ras tossed a career-long 7.1 innings in tonight's start. His previous best for innings was 6.0, which he had on four occasions, most recently against Ole Miss in game one of the March 26 doubleheader.
• Chase Lee recorded his 10th straight scoreless appearance this season and his 12th overall dating back to last season's outing against South Alabama on March 3.
• Lee has posted 18.2 scoreless frames to start 2021 and 25.1 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to Feb. 29, 2020, against Harvard.
• Peyton Wilson matched his career-high total for hits with four on the night. Wilson has recorded four hits on two other occasions, most recently against Ole Miss on March 27 of this season.
• The four-hit night was Wilson's 14th multi-hit effort of the season and his sixth in conference play.
• With his 4-for-5 night, Wilson extended his hitting streak to nine games. Across that stretch, the sophomore is batting .465 (20-43) with two doubles, a triple and three home runs to go with eight RBI, seven runs scored and four stolen bases.
• Wilson also extended his hitting streak in SEC play to seven straight contests. During that stretch, he is batting .500 (17-34) with two doubles, three homers, eight RBI, five runs scored and four stolen bases.

Alabama and Teas A&M return to the diamond tomorrow afternoon for game two of the series. Saturday's matchup will feature a pair of right-handers in Dylan Smith for the Crimson Tide and Bryce Miller for Texas A&M. Saturday's matchup is scheduled for a 2 p.m. CT first pitch on SEC Network+.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Things got a bit dicey in the 9th but nice to see them close it out. I don't know, and don't want to know, where the team would be right now without Wilson in the lineup and Lee in the pen.

 

[TerryP]

@Brandon Van de Graaff most talented Wilson of the family.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Bama takes game 2 (and the series), 6-3.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

@Brandon Van de Graaff most talented Wilson of the family.

I do think JPW could have had a good baseball career.

 

[TerryP]

I do think JPW could have had a good baseball career.

Good chance he'd do well in this offense. He had the read ability.

 

[UA Press Release]

Series Secured as Baseball Claims 6-3 Win over Texas A&M on Saturday - University of Alabama Athletics

Alabama baseball earned a 6-3 win over Texas A&M on Saturday afternoon at Blue Bell Park. The victory clinched the series for UA and moved the Tide to 18-12 on the

rolltide.com

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Alabama baseball earned a 6-3 win over Texas A&M on Saturday afternoon at Blue Bell Park. The victory clinched the series for UA and moved the Tide to 18-12 on the season, including a 4-7 mark in Southeastern Conference play.

Alabama got on top early with a four-run rally in the third and added one more in the fourth for the 5-0 advantage. The Aggies cut the lead to two with a three-run fourth, but UA answered with one insurance run in the sixth on the way to the 6-3 victory.

The Crimson Tide was able to secure the win thanks to the bullpen, with the duo of Connor Shamblin and Landon Green combining for the final 4.2 scoreless frames. Shamblin (3-2) got the win while Green picked up his first career save. Green tossed the final 3.0 frames and added three strikeouts. Dylan Smith got the start for UA, contributing 4.1 innings of three-run baseball with seven punchouts in his return to Texas.

The Alabama offense delivered some clutch hits, finishing 3-for-5 with the bases loaded – all coming in that three-run fourth to put the game away early. Alabama's effort at the plate was highlighted by a pair of three-hit games from Zane Denton and T.J. Reeves. Denton finished 3-for-5 with a team-high tying two RBI and two runs scored while Reeves went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a hit-by-pitch.

From Head Coach Brad Bohannon​

"I'm really proud of our guys. It is really, really hard to win on the road in the Southeastern Conference, especially in the SEC West. It was a really complete effort by our guys. Dylan (Smith) gave us a good start, kind of hit a lull there in the one inning, but Connor Shamblin really battled and got us to Landon Green. Landon did a great job of closing it out. We made some beautiful defensive plays and they helped us out a little bit on offense, but we took advantage of it and got a really, really good win on Saturday."

How It Happened​

• T3 | Alabama used three hits, two walks and a pair of hit-by-pitch to post a four-spot in the third. Jim Jarvis was hit by a pitch to start the inning and was followed by back-to-back walks from Peyton Wilson and William Hamiter to load them up. Zane Denton then singled to move everyone up 90 feet and cross the game's first run. A sac fly in the next at-bat from Sam Praytor added one more before an Owen Diodati hit-by-pitch loaded the bases once again. Following an A&M pitching change, a single from T.J. Reeves and another single by Drew Williamson added a pair. (4-0, Alabama)
• T4 | Wilson led off with a double and came around to score one out later when Denton sent a single to right to widen the gap. (5-0, Alabama)
• B4 | The Aggies loaded the bases with two down. A wild pitch brought across one before a two-RBI single up the middle made it a two-run affair. (5-3, Alabama)
• T6 | A two-out single from Denton put a runner on for Praytor. The Tide catcher delivered, sending an RBI-double deep to left-center. (6-3, Alabama)

Postgame Notes​

• Dylan Smith struck out seven in today's outing and has now punched out five-or-more batters in all eight starts this season.
• Smith issued just one walk and has allowed one or fewer walks in six of his eight starts.
• The Crimson Tide provided Smith with five runs of support against Texas A&M. He had received a combined seven runs of support in his previous seven starts coming into today.
• Landon Green picked up his first career save in today's game.
• Zane Denton recorded three hits to tie his career-high total for a game. Denton has notched three hits on four previous occasions, most recently on Tuesday against ULM.
• T.J. Reeves matched his career-high total for hits with three. Reeves also recorded three hits against Troy on March 3 of this season.
• With his 1-for-3 effort, Peyton Wilson extended his hitting streak to 10 games. Across that stretch, the sophomore is batting .457 (21-46) with three doubles, a triple and three home runs to go with eight RBI, nine runs scored, one walk, a hit-by-pitch and four stolen bases.
• Wilson also extended his hitting streak in SEC play to eight straight contests. During that stretch, he is batting .487 (18-37) with three doubles, three homers, eight RBI, seven runs scored, one walk, a hit-by-pitch and four stolen bases.
• Sam Praytor posted a 1-for-4 afternoon to move his hitting streak to seven games overall. During that time, Praytor is batting .370 (10-27) with two doubles, two homers, seven RBI, five runs scored and four walks.
• Praytor also added one game to his SEC hitting streak, stretching it to six straight games. Praytor is batting .375 (9-24) with two doubles, two home runs, seven RBI, five runs and three walks during that time.
• William Hamiter finished 1-for-4 on Saturday to extend his hitting streak to six games. Across that stretch, Hamiter is batting .417 (10-24) with two doubles, a home run, two RBI, six runs, two walks and a hit-by-pitch.

Alabama will go for the sweep on Sunday afternoon at Blue Bell Park. The Crimson Tide and Aggies are set for a 1 p.m. CT first pitch with A&M sending freshman righty Nathan Dettmer to the mound. Alabama's starter is still to be announced. Fans can catch the series finale on SEC Network+.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Bama completed the sweep today with a 7-4 win. Diodati had the big hit in the 7th to break a 4-4 tie (he went yard right as the train was rolling through blowing the whistle, a neat juxtaposition). Bama gets auburn at The Joe next weekend. Supposedly, Connor Prielipp may finally be ready (willing) to take the mound again soon as well.

 

[UAgrad93]

Diodati staying in against lefties and driving the ball out of the yard is a great sign. A lot of lefties in HS and college bail out with that front shoulder and become a liability in the order. Getting Jean and Prielippe back in the weekend rotation will shore up our bullpen too.

 

[UA Press Release]

Back-and-Forth Battle Favors Alabama, 7-4, for Series Sweep of Texas A&M - University of Alabama Athletics

Owen Diodati's three-run home run in the seventh powered Alabama baseball to a 7-4 win over Texas A&M on Sunday afternoon at Blue Bell Park.

rolltide.com

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Owen Diodati's three-run home run in the seventh powered Alabama baseball to a 7-4 win over Texas A&M on Sunday afternoon at Blue Bell Park. The Tide swept the Aggies for UA's first road series sweep in SEC play since 2017 with the win moving Alabama to 19-12 on the season, including a 5-7 mark in league play.

Texas A&M moved out front in the second with one run, but Alabama answered with a three-spot in the top of the third. The Aggies evened things up with two in the home half of that third before the two teams went scoreless until the sixth. That frame saw each team post one run to keep things knotted up heading to the seventh. Alabama broke the tie for good in the seventh thanks to a three-run home run from Diodati to clinch the series sweep.

Alabama reliever Jacob McNairy (1-0) picked up the win thanks to 3.2 innings that saw the junior allow just one run on four hits with three strikeouts. McNairy was followed by William Freeman and Chase Lee with the duo closing out the final third of the game with a combined 3.0 scoreless frames. Lee picked up his fourth save of the season and second of the weekend with a 1-2-3 ninth that featured two punchouts.

The Crimson Tide was led at the plate by Zane Denton, who finished 3-for-5 with two RBI. Also posting a multi-RBI game was Diodati, who wrapped up his afternoon at 2-for-3 with the homer, a walk, two runs and a team-high three RBI. Peyton Wilson and T.J. Reeves each added two hits apiece with Wilson scoring two runs and Reeves contributing an RBI.

From Head Coach Brad Bohannon​

"This was a great weekend for us. I thought we played really well in all three facets of the game 27 innings. I'm really happy for our kids – they deserve to finally get rewarded for how hard they have been competing."

How It Happened​

• B2 | With two on and two down, a single up the middle scored the man from second to get the Aggies on the board first. (1-0, Texas A&M)
• T3 | Jim Jarvis drew a one-out walk with Peyton Wilson singling in the next at-bat. A walk to William Hamiter loaded them up for Zane Denton, with the Tide third baseman singling to left-center to score a pair. Sam Praytor then followed with a sacrifice fly to cap the inning's scoring. (3-1, Alabama)
• B3 | Back-to-back one-out singles put two on for A&M before a third straight single scored one. Another single loaded them up before a sacrifice fly crossed the tying run. (3-3)
• T6 | Alabama regained the lead on an RBI-double from T.J. Reeves. The double crossed Owen Diodati, who walked to start the inning. (4-3, Alabama)
• B6 | Ty Coleman notched a solo home run for the Aggies to even things up once again. (4-4)
• T7 | Wilson led things off with a single before an intentional walk two outs later put a pair on for Diodati. The sophomore proceeded to send a ball into the Tide bullpen in right for the go-ahead three-run home run. (7-4, Alabama)

Postgame Notes​

• Alabama's sweep of Texas A&M was the Crimson Tide's first road sweep of an SEC opponent since May 6-7, 2017, at Auburn.
• The road sweep was UA's first since the Tide traveled to Las Vegas last season and swept UNLV from Feb. 21-23.
• Alabama's sweep was the Tide's first three-gamer against the Aggies. The Tide swept a two-game series with A&M in 2013 but had never swept Texas A&M in three straight games over a weekend until this one.
• Texas A&M was swept at home in a weekend series for the first time since March 17-19, 2017. The Aggies fell in three games with Kentucky.
• Jacob McNairy picked up his first career win in today's game thanks to his 3.2 innings of work. McNairy had totaled 23 career appearances entering Sunday.
• Antoine Jean made his first appearance on the mound since Sunday, March 21, at Arkansas.
• With his 2-for-4 effort, Peyton Wilson extended his hitting streak to a UA season-long and career-long 11 games. Across that stretch, the sophomore is batting .460 (23-50) with three doubles, a triple and three home runs to go with eight RBI, 11 runs scored, two walks, a hit-by-pitch and five stolen bases.
• The 11-game hitting streak matches Sam Praytor's team-high 11 gamer from Feb. 23-March 10.
• Wilson also extended his hitting streak in SEC play to nine straight contests. During that stretch, he is batting .488 (20-41) with three doubles, three homers, eight RBI, nine runs scored, two walks, a hit-by-pitch and five stolen bases.
• Zane Denton finished with a career-high tying three hits for a second consecutive day thanks to a 3-for-5 effort. Denton totaled three hits on four previous occasions entering this weekend.
• Sam Praytor's hitting streak ended at seven games overall. During that time, Praytor batted .370 (10-27) with two doubles, two homers, seven RBI, five runs scored and four walks.
• Praytor's SEC hitting streak also came to a close, this one at six games. Praytor batted .375 (9-24) with two doubles, two home runs, seven RBI, five runs and three walks during that time.
• William Hamiter's hitting streak ended at six games. Across that stretch, Hamiter batted .417 (10-24) with two doubles, a home run, two RBI, six runs, two walks and a hit-by-pitch.

The Crimson Tide will now return home to begin a five-game homestand at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Alabama will first host the Samford Bulldogs on Tuesday, April 13 at 6 p.m. CT. The midweek matchup will air on SEC Network+.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Updated standings after the weekend's games...

SEC - East

	CONF	CONF %	OVERALL	HOME	ROAD
Tennessee	9-3	.750	27-6	19-3	8-3
Vanderbilt	8-3	.727	24-5	16-4	8-1
South Carolina	8-4	.667	21-9	15-3	5-6
Kentucky	6-6	.500	20-9	16-6	4-3
Florida	6-6	.500	21-11	19-5	2-6
Georgia	5-6	.455	20-10	14-7	6-3
Missouri	4-8	.333	11-19	4-6	7-9

SEC - West

	CONF	CONF %	OVERALL	HOME	ROAD
Arkansas	9-3	.750	26-5	16-3	7-2
Mississippi State	8-4	.667	24-7	16-5	5-1
Ole Miss	8-4	.667	24-8	17-5	4-3
Alabama	5-7	.417	19-12	12-9	7-3
LSU	3-9	.250	20-12	16-8	4-4
Texas A&M	3-9	.250	19-15	15-8	2-6
Auburn	1-11	.083	12-16	8-9	3-5

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Bama completed the sweep today with a 7-4 win. Diodati had the big hit in the 7th to break a 4-4 tie (he went yard right as the train was rolling through blowing the whistle, a neat juxtaposition). Bama gets auburn at The Joe next weekend. Supposedly, Connor Prielipp may finally be ready (willing) to take the mound again soon as well.

Prielipp is penciled in to start on Saturday against auburn (Sat if game 3 of the series). This is good.

Bama plays Samford tonight at 6.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

This probably isn't worth it's own thread, but UA hammered Samford tonight 19-3 (Tide had 15 hits and drew 16 walks). The team is healthy and headed into the auburn series with some good momentum and playing their best ball of the year.