| BSB/SB ⚾ Bama sweeps season opening series against Richmond with Sunday's 14-1 win

[UA Press Release]

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rolltide.com

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball will begin its 2023 season when the 20th-ranked Crimson Tide hosts Richmond this Friday through Sunday at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The season opener is scheduled for a 3 p.m. CT start followed by a 2 p.m. first pitch on Saturday and a 12 p.m. open on Sunday. All three games of Opening Weekend will air live on SEC Network+.

Opening Weekend at Sewell-Thomas Stadium will be packed with promotions. Friday's season-opener will feature a T-shirt giveaway for the first 500 fans through the gates. The home opener will also start the Crimson Tide's 'Food Truck Friday' promotion at The Joe. Food trucks will be on-site each home Friday during the 2023 campaign, offering fans more dining options during their time at the ballpark.

Saturday will have family-friendly options available on the main concourse. An airbrush station along with inflatables will be located throughout the ballpark. The series finale on Sunday will be the first 'Kids' Day at The Joe'. All kids 18-and-under can purchase a $5 general admission ticket. Children will also have the chance to run the bases postgame.

Follow the Tide​

Fans can follow the series via the below outlets:
Watch: SEC Network+
Listen: 100.9 FM / CTSN / The Varsity App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: RollTide.com

Probable Starting Pitching Matchups​

FRIDAY: UA – Grayson Hitt (Jr., LHP) vs. UR – Brock Weirather (Gr., RHP)
SATURDAY: UA – Ben Hess (So., RHP) vs. UR – Josh Willitts (Jr., RHP)
SUNDAY: UA – Jacob McNairy (Gr., RHP) vs. UR – Brenden Argomaniz (Gr., RHP)

Leading Off​

• Alabama and Richmond will meet for the fifth time in history when the two teams open the 2023 campaign on Friday afternoon at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The teams are tied at 2-2 with the Tide winning the last two matchups in the series.
• The two teams last met on May 27, 1995, in Clemson, S.C., for the NCAA East Regional. The Crimson Tide came away with an 11-4 win over the Spiders to advance to the championship game the next day.
• The initial meeting between the two programs came in Tuscaloosa from March 6-8, 1993. Richmond took the weekend opener, 11-5, before clinching the series with a 10-4 win the next day. Alabama avoided the series sweep with a 17-4 victory on getaway day to close out the three-game set.
• Alabama will open the season with preseason All-American left-hander Grayson Hitt on the mound. The junior will be followed by a pair of righties in sophomore Ben Hess on Saturday and graduate Jacob McNairy on Sunday.
• Richmond sends three right-handers to the hill this weekend with a pair of graduates to the mound for the bookend games and a junior on the hill in game two. The Spiders open the season with Brock Weirather on Friday followed by Josh Willitts and Brenden Argomaniz to close out the weekend.

About Alabama​

• Alabama opens the 2023 season after a 31-27 finish in 2022, including a 12-17 mark in Southeastern Conference play."
• The Crimson Tide advanced to the SEC Tournament for a second consecutive year. UA went 2-2 in Hoover, reaching the quarterfinal round of games. Alabama defeated Georgia to advance to the double-elimination round where the Tide took down 10th-ranked Arkansas. The Tide then fell in back-to-back games to No. 3 Texas A&M and Florida to end the run.
• Alabama broke the top-25 rankings in two separate polls while receiving votes in a third during the 2022 campaign. The Tide peaked at No. 24 in D1Baseball.com's poll on April 11 and got as high as No. 30 in the NCBWA's poll that same week. UA was also receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll for a majority of the season.
• Head coach Brad Bohannon led the Crimson Tide for his fifth season as a collegiate head coach. In year five under Bohannon, Alabama continued its gradual upwards progression, posting 30-plus wins for a third time. Included in those victories were series sweeps of America East Champion Binghamton and at then-No. 7 Ole Miss, along with series wins over SEC Western Division Champion Texas A&M and then-No. 5 Arkansas. Additionally, UA was the first SEC team to take down No. 1 Tennessee thanks to a 6-3 win in Knoxville on April 15.
• Off the field, UA continued to post impressive grade-point averages during the 2021-22 academic year. The program has seen 36 players graduate with a total of 38 degrees since Bohannon's arrival, including four master's degrees.
• Alabama's offense batted .279 (555-1,991) on the season, a significant improvement from 2021's .260 mark. The Crimson Tide bats totaled 99 doubles, eight triples and 62 home runs on the way to 856 total bases and a .430 slugging percentage. UA combined for 220 walks and 52 hit-by-pitch for a team .362 on-base percentage. The Tide also scored 335 runs while stealing 37 bases in 51 attempts.
• On the mound, UA maintained a 4.63 ERA (263 ER/511.1 IP) and tossed one shutout. The Tide pitchers struck out 540 compared to just 197 walks and held opposing hitters to a .253 average. Alabama averaged a program-high 9.3 strikeouts-per-game while the 540 Ks were the fourth-most in a single season in UA history.
• The pitching staff also maintained a 2.74 strikeout-to-walk ratio that ranked fourth in the SEC and was 24th nationally to go with a 3.47 walks allowed per 9.0 innings mark that was third in the league and ranked 30th in Division I.
• Alabama's 2022 defense was record-setting for a second time under Bohannon, finishing with a program-best .981 fielding percentage to top the previous mark of .978 by the 2019 team. The Tide committed 40 errors across 2,079 chances and turned 47 double plays. The Crimson Tide's fielding percentage ranked 11th nationally and fifth in the conference at season's end while UA's 47 double plays were the fourth-most in the SEC and ranked 37th nationally.
• Alabama returns a total of 24 letterwinners for the 2023 season. Included in those 24 are eight positional starters and 12 pitchers that return for the new campaign.

About Richmond​

• Tracy Woodson is in his 10th year leading the Richmond baseball program and his 15th season overall as a Division I head coach. Woodson enters the 2023 campaign with a 398-427-2 career record, including a 213-218-2 mark at Richmond. A graduate of Valparaiso, Woodson is joined on staff by assistants Josh Epstein, Nate Mulberg and Collin Radack.
• Richmond finished the 2022 campaign at 30-26 overall, including an 11-13 mark in Atlantic 10 play. The Spiders reached the A10 Tournament final where they fell to league champion VCU, 10-7, to close out the season.
• The Spiders were selected to finish tied for third Atlantic 10 in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches. Richmond also received one vote to finish as the A-10 champions.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

 

[UA Press Release]

Baseball Opens 2023 Season with Impressive 12-3 Win over Richmond - University of Alabama Athletics

Alabama baseball began the 2023 campaign with an impressive 12-3 win over Richmond on Friday afternoon at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.

rolltide.com

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball began the 2023 campaign with an impressive 12-3 win over Richmond on Friday afternoon at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.

The Spiders gained a 1-0 advantage in the top of the second before the Tide countered with 11 unanswered runs. Alabama plated two in the home half of the second followed by five in the third, three in the fourth and one in the fifth to put the game out of reach. Richmond tallied solo homers in the seventh and ninth with Alabama adding one more in the bottom of the seventh for the eventual 12-3 final.

All nine starters reached base for the Tide offense with seven of the nine recording at least one hit. Mac Guscette led the way with a 3-for-4 showing that included a double and a homer along with a team-high four RBI and two runs scored. Andrew Pinckney matched Guscette with a pair of runs as part of a perfect 4-for-4 day. Pinckney also doubled while adding one RBI.

Grayson Hitt (1-0) picked up the win with a strong start on Opening Day. The junior tossed 5.0 frames, allowing one unearned run on one hit and three walks with a career-high tying eight strikeouts. Hitt turned the ball over to the trio of Luke Holman, Hunter Furtado and Kade Woods who combined for five strikeouts over the final 4.0 innings.

From Head Coach Brad Bohannon​

"This was a really mature game by our group on both sides of the ball. It starts on the mound – I thought Grayson (Hitt) was outstanding. He had a lot of maturity with his body language, his demeanor, his tempo, and he really attacked the hitters and got us off to a great start. Our approach offensively was outstanding against a guy that throws heavy off-speed stuff. We had a lot of production up and down the lineup, a lot of hard contact and hits to all sides of the field."

How It Happened​

• T2 | A throwing error with two down allowed the Spiders to get on the board first. (1-0, Richmond)
• B2 | Tommy Seidl started the rally with a single to right. One out later, a Bryce Eblin walk pushed Seidl to second before an RBI-single from Mac Guscette evened the score at one apiece. Jim Jarvis followed with a single of his own, bringing Eblin in from third to give the Tide the lead. (2-1, Alabama)
• B3 | Andrew Pinckney led off with a double before Dominic Tamez put runners on the corners with a single. Drew Williamson capitalized on the opportunity with an RBI-single and was followed by a sacrifice fly from Tommy Seidl. After a walk put two aboard, Mac Guscette cleared the bases with a two-run homer to left-center. (7-1, Alabama)
• B4 | The Tide loaded the bases with one down before a 6-3 groundout from Seidl brought a run in. With a pair still in scoring position, Caden Rose singled to make it a nine-run ballgame. (10-1, Alabama)
• B5 | Guscette led things off with a double before moving to third on a flyout. A hit-by-pitch in the next at-bat brought Pinckney to the plate, with the right fielder singling to left to add one more. (11-1, Alabama)
• T7 | A solo home run by Mikey Kluska added a run for the Spiders. (11-2, Alabama)
• B7 | Will Portera was hit by a pitch before William Hamiter brought him across with a triple to left-center. (12-2, Alabama)
• T9 | Jared Sprague-Lott sent a solo homer over the wall in left. (12-3, Alabama)

Postgame Notes​

• Alabama is now 6-0 in season openers under head coach Brad Bohannon.
• The Crimson Tide has won nine straight season-opening contests dating back to 2015.
• Grayson Hitt struck out a career-high tying eight batters in today's start. Hitt also punched out eight at Ole Miss on April 10 of last season.
• All nine offensive starters reached base safely on Friday.
• Seven of the nine starters recorded at least one hit in the game.
• The Crimson Tide totaled 14 hits on Opening Day, the most by an Alabama offense in the season opener since 2018 when UA recorded 17 against Valparaiso.
• Alabama's 12 runs in the season opener are the most by the Tide on Opening Day since that 2018 game with Valpo when the offense totaled 16 runs,
• Andrew Pinckney finished with a career-high four hits as part of his 4-for-4 day. Pinckney's previous career-best for hits was three, which he had on eight occasions and most recently at Auburn on May 13 of last season.
• Pinckney is the first Crimson Tide player to have four hits in a game since Tommy Seidl last season on April 19 against UAB. The Tide offense produced two four-hit games in 2022.
• Kade Woods made his Crimson Tide debut after missing the 2022 season due to injury.
• ATTENDANCE: 3,312

 

[RTB X Bot]

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Went to the game today... Richmond isn't going to be confused with Stanford, but regardless it is good to see Bama playing well right out of the gate. Pinckney is going to be a problem for people... a ton a talent and potential.

 

[Scrape&Search1032]

Went to the game today... Richmond isn't going to be confused with Stanford, but regardless it is good to see Bama playing well right out of the gate. Pinckney is going to be a problem for people... a ton a talent and potential.

I just hope we can keep it going once Sec play starts. Have a ton of talent not make a serious run this season.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Alabama scored in 15 of 22 innings over the 3 games (39 runs total). They were held scoreless in only 2 innings when the starters were batting. Next up, Tennessee Tech and UT Martin (Tue and Wed), then off to Malibu for a series with Pepperdine over the weekend.

 

[UA Press Release]

Bats Stay Hot in Baseball’s 14-1 Win over Richmond on Sunday - University of Alabama Athletics

Alabama baseball completed the series sweep of Richmond with a 14-1 win on Sunday afternoon at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide is now 3-0 to start the season.

rolltide.com

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball completed the series sweep of Richmond with a 14-1 win on Sunday afternoon at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide is now 3-0 to start the season.

Alabama's bats stayed hot, posting runs from the second through the sixth innings to help secure the win. The Tide offense was led by Andrew Pinckney once again, with the redshirt junior finishing 3-for-4 with a double and one run scored. Dominic Tamez, Camden Hayslip and Bryce Eblin all tied for the team-high in RBI with two apiece while Drew Williamson homered as part of a 2-for-3 showing that included one RBI, two runs scored and a walk.

Jacob McNairy (1-0) continued a streak of strong outings from the Tide starters with 4.0 innings of one-run baseball. McNairy then handed the ball over to Brock Blatter and Zane Probst, with the pair keeping the Spiders off the board for the final 3.0 frames.

From Head Coach Brad Bohannon​

"Jacob (McNairy) pitched great, had some bad luck with some soft-contact hits, but he kept going right at them. We paired that with a lot of production from our bats up and down the lineup – we scored in five of the six innings – and we made a lot of hard contact. I'm just really pleased. We put together a really, really good first weekend."

How It Happened​

• B2 | Drew Williamson sent the first pitch he saw over the wall in right for a solo home run. (1-0, Alabama)
• T3 | Three singles in a row brought the first run in for Richmond to even the score at one apiece. (1-1)
• B3 | Back-to-back one-out doubles from Andrew Pinckney and Dominic Tamez put the Tide in front once again. Alabama followed with a pair of walks to load them up for William Hamiter, who was hit by a pitch to push another run across. Bryce Eblin singled in the next at-bat to score two more and force a Richmond pitching change. Mac Guscette was first to face the new arm, dropping down a sacrifice bunt to bring in the fifth run of the inning. (6-1, Alabama)
• B4 | Colby Shelton started the inning with a free pass and moved to second on a Pinckney walk. Tamez followed with a fielder's choice groundout that resulted in an errant throw to allow Shelton to cross and add one more for the Tide. (7-1, Alabama)
• B5 | Alabama loaded the bases for Shelton, with the freshman sending a sacrifice fly to center to score one. After a Pinckney single loaded them up once again, Tamez singled through the right side to add another run. (9-1, Alabama)
• B6 | The Crimson Tide loaded the bases with one down before an error allowed one to score. A hit-by-pitch for Ed Johnson pushed another run across with a Max Williams walk one out later adding another tally. Camden Hayslip was next, delivering a pinch-hit two-run single to cap the day's scoring. (14-1, Alabama)

Postgame Notes​

• Alabama's sweep of Richmond marked the fifth Opening Weekend sweep under Brad Bohannon. The Crimson Tide is 17-1 in the season's first series during Bohannon's tenure.
• Alabama's starting pitchers combined for 15.0 innings on the weekend, allowing only two runs (one earned) while striking out 17.
• All nine offensive starters reached base safely for a third straight day.
• Seven of Alabama's nine starters contributed at least one run scored.
• Alabama finished the weekend with 41 hits across the three games which includes today's seven-inning affair.
• Sixteen of the 18 total hitters who recorded at least one at-bat finished with one-or-more hits across the three-game series.
• Eight of the nine starters recorded at least one hit in Sunday's contest.
• Caden Rose reached base safely in all three games this weekend and has now gotten aboard in 21 straight contests dating back to April 25 of last season.
• Dominic Tamez got aboard in all three games this weekend and has now reached base safely in 11 straight contests dating back to May 14 of last season.
• ATTENDANCE: 3,342

The Crimson Tide will break on Monday before returning to the diamond for a pair of midweek matchups. Alabama will first host Tennessee Tech on Tuesday, Feb. 21, before welcoming UT Martin to The Joe on Wednesday. First pitch in both games is set for 3 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.