⚾ 🥎 Saturday Split Helps Baseball Claim the Series Win over Presbyterian

[UA Press Release]

Early Offense, Solid Pitching Powers Baseball to 7-2 Win over Presbyterian on Opening Day - Alabama Athletics

Alabama baseball used early offense paired with a solid effort on the mound to earn a 7-2 win over Presbyterian on Opening Day at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. With...

rolltide.com

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball used early offense paired with a solid effort on the mound to earn a 7-2 win over Presbyterian on Opening Day at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. With the victory, the Crimson Tide moves to 10-0 in the month of February under head coach Brad Bohannon.

"It was a really good start to the season," said Bohannon. "I thought it was a well-rounded game for us. All the guys that pitched were around the strike zone. We had a lot of hard contact throughout the lineup. We had five different guys drive in runs, so I'm really pleased with how it went for us overall."

Alabama struck early, scoring seven runs across the first four innings to build a lead that would prove too much for Presbyterian. The offense was led by senior Joe Breauxand junior Kolby Robinson, with each player totaling one run and three hits on the day, including a double for Breaux. Robinson added a team-high tying two RBI to match Sam Praytor in that category. The sophomore catcher recorded his two RBI on a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, the Crimson Tide's first roundtripper of the 2019 campaign.

On the mound, Sam Finnerty (1-0) provided Alabama with a strong starting effort. The senior worked 5.0 frames of two-run baseball, walking one and striking out three before handing the ball over to the bullpen. The duo of junior Wil Freeman and redshirt freshman Chase Lee combined to throw 4.0 shutout innings, with Lee delivering a 1-2-3 ninth to seal the victory.

Alabama struck first on the day with Breaux roping a double to center on the first pitch of the game, putting the leadoff man aboard. Two outs later, Praytor cleared the bases with his home run to give UA a 2-0 lead after one.

The Crimson Tide added three more to widen the gap in the second. A pair of walks started the frame and a one-out single from Robinson brought in the inning's first run. Another single in the next at-bat loaded the bases before a walk to junior Brett Auerbach crossed one more. After a Presbyterian mound visit, junior Morgan McCullough recorded a sacrifice fly to score the man from third, moving the Tide advantage at 5-0 through two full.

Alabama posted a single tally in the third thanks to an RBI-single from Robinson to make it 6-0. In the next half inning, Presbyterian got on the board with a solo home run. The Tide answered with one of its own the bottom of that fourth inning. A leadoff single from Auerbach followed one out later by a single from Praytor put runners on the corners. With two down, sophomore Tyler Gentry added a third single in the inning, sending a liner through the left side for an RBI to make it a 7-1 contest.

Presbyterian chipped away with one more run in the fifth, using a sacrifice fly to bring across a man from third, but that would be all for the Blue Hose. Freeman and Lee went on to limit PC to only two hits and a walk the rest of the day on the way to the Crimson Tide victory.

Alabama and Presbyterian return to the diamond tomorrow for a doubleheader at The Joe. The first game of the twinbill is set to start at 1 p.m. CT with the second matchup scheduled for 45 minutes after the final out of game one. The Crimson Tide will call on freshman right-hander Tyler Ras for the start while the Blue Hose will counter with junior southpaw Jake Rice. Each team's starter for game two is still to be announced.

 

[UA Press Release]

Saturday Split Helps Baseball Claim the Series Win over Presbyterian - University of Alabama Athletics

Alabama baseball split its Saturday doubleheader with Presbyterian at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide fell in game one, 4-1, before a 9-4 win in the nightcap against the Blue Hose. With the game-three victory, UA claimed the series win and improved to 2-1 overall on the young season.

rolltide.com

The Crimson Tide fell, 4-1, in game one before rallying back for a 9-4 victory in game two of the doubleheader


TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball split its Saturday doubleheader with Presbyterian at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide fell in game one, 4-1, before a 9-4 win in the nightcap against the Blue Hose. With the game-three victory, UA claimed the series win and improved to 2-1 overall on the young season.

"It was a long day," said Alabama head coach Brad Bohannon. "The first game, I have to give Presbyterian credit. They did a good job of putting good swings on pitches. We scored a couple of runs and hit some balls right at them in opportune times.

"With that said, I was proud of how our guys responded in game two. (Presbyterian) put runs up early, and we responded with runs in the first and second. I was glad to get a lot of guys in the game this weekend, and I felt like it was a good starting point for our group."

Alabama will remain at home for its next contest on Tuesday, Feb. 19, against Jacksonville State. The Tide is then set to take on Alabama State the following day for a Wednesday pairing. Both games are set for 3 p.m. CT first pitches on SEC Network+.

GAME ONE
Alabama suffered a 4-1 loss in game one of Saturday's doubleheader.

The Crimson Tide struck first in the top of the second with a solo home run from sophomore Sam Praytor, his second in as many games. Presbyterian countered with a solo shot in the top of the third to even things up. The Blue Hose then added one run in the fifth, sixth and eighth innings to secure the victory.

Presbyterian starter Jake Rice (1-0) earned the win while Crimson Tide reliever Deacon Medders (0-1) suffered the loss with Colton Springs securing the save.

GAME TWO
The nightcap went in favor of Alabama with the Crimson Tide using five runs across the first and second innings to take a lead and never look back. The Tide added four more runs across the sixth, seventh and eighth innings while limiting PC to only a single score in the top of the eighth.

Alabama's offense produced nine runs on 11 hits, led by Kolby Robinson's second three-hit performance of the weekend. The junior shortstop finished 3-for-4 with a team-high tying two RBI and added one run scored. Matching Robinson in RBI was Keith Holcombe, with the senior tallying a pair thanks to his two-run home run, part of a 2-for-4 effort at the plate.

Freshman Connor Shamblin (1-0) earned the win in his first career start, working 4.0 innings and allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits with five strikeouts compared to one walk. Jeremy Randolph collected his first save of the young season with 1.1 innings of shutout baseball, highlighted by three punchouts from the senior reliever.

Presbyterian struck first in game two, using a pair of hits in the top of the first to take a 1-0 lead. The Tide answered with three runs in the home half. Senior Joe Breaux led off the game with his third double in as many games and would come around to score one out later on a Presbyterian fielding error that allowed junior Morgan McCullough to reach. McCullough then crossed one out later when Holcombe cleared the bases with a two-run home run to give UA a 3-1 lead after one.

The Blue Hose evened the score with a pair of runs in the top of the second, but, once again, the Tide countered. Alabama plated two for a 5-3 lead after two, using a leadoff walk from freshman Drew Williamson to start the rally. Fellow freshman Tyler Ras followed with an RBI-double to left to put UA out front once again. An infield single from Robinson moved Ras to third before a 6-4-3 double play allowed the freshman to score.

Alabama's arms then kept Presbyterian off the board until the eighth, allowing the offense time to build on the Tide lead. In the sixth, UA added a pair to make it a 7-3 contest. Sophomore Sam Praytor led off the inning with a walk, helping the Tide eventually loaded the bases with one down. A two-run single to left from Robinson with the bases packed crossed two more to widen the Alabama advantage to four.

In the bottom of the seventh, McCullough led things off with a single before putting himself into scoring position with a stolen base. An infield single from Holcombe advanced McCullough to third before a sacrifice fly from freshman T.J. Reeves brought in the Tide's final run for an 8-3 lead.

 

[TerryP]

One game certainly won't define whether Shamblin works his way in the starting rotation but I like the idea of him coming out of the pen. There were several inside pitches, for strikes, against right handed batters yesterday. For a right handed pitcher, to be able to control the box/plate in that fashion bodes well for his season.

Fingers crossed...