| BSB/SB ⚾ Baseball Falls to Lipscomb, 3-2, for Crimson Tide’s First Loss of the Season

[UA Press Release]

A wild pitch helped the Crimson Tide continue their undefeated start to the season

Score By Periods

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	R	H	E
Lipscomb	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	2
Alabama	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	11	2

W: Brock Guffey (3-0) L: GRUBBS, Gavin (0-1)

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball walked off Lipscomb, 2-1, in the 13th inning of Friday's series opener at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The 25th-ranked Crimson Tide are now a perfect 14-0 on the season.

Alabama was first on the board on Friday, putting up one run in the third before Lipscomb matched with a run in the top of the seventh. The two teams then went scoreless until the bottom of the 13th when a wild pitch with the bases loaded allowed junior Jackson Tate to score from third and walk it off for UA.

The Tide used four arms to total 24 strikeouts – a new program record – while allowing just three total hits, the fewest by any Alabama opponent this season. Freshman starter Connor Prielipp was impressive once again, allowing only two hits while striking out 11 across 6.0 frames before his night was through.

Another impressive outing from the bullpen kept Alabama in the game after Prielipp's departure. Sophomore Chase Lee led the effort, working a career-long 5.1 innings and issuing just two walks while punching out a career-best eight in the process. Brock Guffey (3-0) followed, with the junior contributing 1.2 frames and using the strikeout for all five of his outs. The bullpen combined to allow just one hit after the fifth inning.

The offensive effort was led by Brett Auerbach. The senior finished 4-for-7 with a run scored. Alabama's 4-5-6 hitters in redshirt sophomore Sam Praytor and sophomores Drew Williamson and T.J. Reeves all contributed two hits apiece, including Williamson's double, with Praytor notching an RBI.

From Head Coach Brad Bohannon
"The pitching on both ends was just outstanding. I thought Scott Elgin, their starter – he's a Hoover kid, played at one of the best programs in our state – he was fabulous. Obviously, Connor Prielipp matched him. I just can't say enough about what Chase Lee and Brock Guffey did out of the bullpen; obviously they were the story of the game. We limited them to one hit after the fifth inning and punched them out 24 times – that's just an unbelievable effort. We've got a really good offense; I don't know if we weren't quite dialed tonight, but my cap's off to the pitchers."

How It Happened

• B3 | Auerbach singled with one down to give the Tide a baserunner. An error allowed the next batter to reach, moving Auerbach to second before a fielder's choice sent the senior to third. An RBI-single through the left side from Praytor in the next at-bat got UA on the board first. (1-0, Alabama)
• T7 | A walk started the inning for Lipscomb before an error allowed the next batter to reach and moved the leadoff man to third. A fielder's choice followed, bringing in the man from third to even things up heading to the stretch. (1-1)
• B13 | Tate singled to begin the inning. Jim Jarvis followed with a walk as the freshman pushed Tate into scoring position. A bunt single by Auerbach loaded them up and brought a new batter to the plate. In that at-bat, a wild pitch scored Tate from third to walk it off for the Crimson Tide. (2-1, Alabama)

Postgame Notes

• Alabama is 14-0 to begin the 2020 campaign which is the best start under head coach Brad Bohannon, surpassing the 2018 squad's 9-0 start to the year. The 14-0 mark is the second-best start to a season in program history. The Alabama all-time mark for wins to begin a season is 15 which was accomplished by the 1997 squad.
• The 14-game winning streak is the longest under Bohannon. The 14-game stretch is the standalone fifth-longest winning streak overall in program history. Three teams have won 15 consecutive games, most recently being that start to the 1997 season. The program's all-time mark for consecutive wins at any point is 16 by the 1999 team from May 7-June 10 of that year.
• Tonight's game lasted 4:14 to rank as the 10th longest game by minutes in program history.
• The Crimson Tide pitchers combined for a program-record 24 strikeouts. The previous record for strikeouts in a game was 19 against Georgia on March 31, 2016 (13 innings).
• Alabama's pitchers allowed only three hits, the lowest in any game this season. The previous low was four, which had been accomplished multiple times and most recently against South Alabama on Tuesday afternoon.
• Connor Prielipp totaled 11 strikeouts for a new season-high total. His previous high was nine in last weekend's matchup with Harvard on Feb. 28.
• Prielipp's 11-strikeout performance is the first 10-plus strikeout effort since Brock Love recorded 11 in game two of the doubleheader at South Alabama on March 2, 2019.
• Chase Lee pitched a career-long 5.1 innings in tonight's game. His previous long outing was 2.1 frames which he worked four times last season, most recently at Auburn on May 5.
• Lee added a career-high eight strikeouts. His previous high for Ks was four, which both came this season and most recently on Feb. 29 against Harvard.
• With his 2-for-6 showing, Sam Praytor extended his hitting streak to eight games. Across the streak, Praytor is batting .414 (12-29) with a double, three home runs, eight RBI, eight runs scored, four walks and five hit-by-pitch.
• T.J. Reeves' 2-for-6 night moved his hitting streak to five games. Across that stretch, Reeves is batting .364 (8-22) with a double, a home run, three RBI, five runs, two walks, three hit-by-pitch and a stolen base.
• Reeves has also reached base safely in his last 25 games dating back to May 4, 2019.
• Following tonight's 4-for-7 game, Brett Auerbach has recorded a hit in five straight games. During that stretch, Auerbach is batting .440 (11-25) with two doubles, a home run, four RBI, seven runs scored, four walks and a stolen base.
• ATTENDANCE: 2,824

Alabama looks to claim the series on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. CT. The Crimson Tide will call on sophomore right-hander Connor Shamblin in the start while the Bisons look to junior lefty Max Habegger. Fans can catch game two of the series live on SEC Network+.

 

[TerryP]

 

[mando]

That slider had just a little bit of movement lol. Those inside pitches were unhittable....

 

[#80]

For those who get HBO check out this months Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. They have a special on Trevor Bauer he discusses MLB pitchers using pine tar.

 

[UA Press Release]

Baseball Falls to Lipscomb, 3-2, for Crimson Tide's First Loss of the Season - University of Alabama Athletics

Alabama baseball suffered its first loss of the season, 3-2, at the hands of Lipscomb on Saturday afternoon at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The loss snaps the Crimson

rolltide.com

The Tide had opportunities to tie it late but came up short in Saturday’s contest

Score By Periods

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Lipscomb	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	3	8	0
Alabama	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	3	1

W: HABEGGER, Max (2-0) L: Connor Shamblin (1-1) S: FOLSOM, Wyatt (1)


TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball suffered its first loss of the season, 3-2, at the hands of Lipscomb on Saturday afternoon at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The loss snaps the Crimson Tide's streak of 14 straight wins to start the season – the second-longest winning streak to begin a year in program history – and puts UA at 14-1 overall.

The Bisons scored one in the first but were matched by UA in the home half of the third. Lipscomb then added single tallies in the fourth and fifth innings with Alabama returning the favor with one in the sixth. The Crimson Tide got runners aboard in the seventh and eighth innings but was unable to complete the comeback.

Lipscomb starter Max Habegger (2-0) got the win with 5.1 innings of two-run baseball. Alabama starter Connor Shamblin (1-1) suffered the loss despite a solid start. The sophomore allowed three runs on six hits and four walks with six strikeouts across 5.0 innings. William Freeman followed out of the bullpen and put forth an impressive effort that kept UA in the game. The senior gave up just two hits and did not walk a batter while striking out a career-high seven in his 4.0 innings of work.

From Assistant Coach Jason Jackson
"We started off the year 14-0. I told the guys in the dugout postgame, "If I told you we were going to be 14-1 back in February, would you have taken it?" Heck yeah, we would've taken it. I hope (the players) show up tomorrow ready to win a series because that is the ultimate goal – to come out and win a series. We'll start new. We have a new streak to start tomorrow."

How It Happened

• T1 | The Bisons began the game with a walk. A one-out single and a fielder's choice moved the leadoff man to third with an RBI-single to follow, getting LU on the board. (1-0, Lipscomb)
• B3 | Freshman Jim Jarvis was hit by a pitch with one down to give the Tide a baserunner. A groundout in the next at-bat put him in scoring position before an RBI-double down the right field line from junior Tyler Gentry evened the score at one apiece. (1-1)
• T4 | A single and double started the inning before a one-out sacrifice fly to left put the Bisons back in front again. (2-1, Lipscomb)
• T5 | Lipscomb started things off with a walk before the leadoff man stole second. One out later, an RBI-single through the right side widened the gap. (3-1, Lipscomb)
• B6 | The Tide cut the deficit to one with a bases-loaded, two-out walk from Jarvis. (3-2, Lipscomb)

Postgame Notes

• Alabama went 14-0 to begin the 2020 campaign which is the best start under head coach Brad Bohannon, surpassing the 2018 squad's 9-0 start to the year. The 14-0 mark is also the second-best start to a season in program history. The Alabama all-time mark for wins to begin a season is 15 which was accomplished by the 1997 squad.
• The 14-game winning streak is the longest under Bohannon. The 14-game stretch is the standalone fifth-longest winning streak at any point in a season in program history.
• William Freeman struck out a career-high seven batters in today's relief effort. His previous high mark for punchouts was five in his start against Alabama State on Feb. 19 of this season.
• Following today's 1-for-5 game, Brett Auerbach has recorded a hit in six straight games. During that stretch, Auerbach is batting .400 (12-30) with two doubles, a home run, four RBI, seven runs scored, four walks and two stolen bases.
• Sam Praytor's hitting streak came to an end at eight games. Across the streak, Praytor batted .414 (12-29) with a double, three home runs, eight RBI, eight runs scored, four walks and five hit-by-pitch.
• T.J. Reeves' hitting streak ended at five games. Across that stretch, Reeves batted .364 (8-22) with a double, a home run, three RBI, five runs, two walks, three hit-by-pitch and a stolen base.
• Reeves' streak of reaching base safely ended at 25 games. The stretch began last season on May 4 and extended into today's game.
• ATTENDANCE: 3,229

The two teams return to the diamond tomorrow morning for an 11 a.m. CT first pitch to decide the series. Alabama will call on freshman lefty Antoine Jean for the start while Lipscomb counters with right-hander Dylan Bierman, a junior. The weekend finale will be seen by a national audience with the game airing live on SEC Network.

 

[RTB X Bot]