Alabama Baseball Defeats UT Martin 10-0

Crimson Tide baseball defeated UT-Martin 10-0 in seven innings on Wednesday afternoon.

Jackson Reynolds, a grad transfer from Birmingham U - by way of Auburn and Shelton State - made his first appearance in Crimson, starting on the mound for the Tide. Leadoff hitter Zac Rice had an infield single, stole second bases, and advanced to third on a ground out. Reynolds got a line out to end the inning and had a perfect second innings with a strikeout. Reynolds finished up his stint by stranding the bases loaded in the third to keep the game scoreless.

The Tide broke through in the fourth by scoring three runs with only one ball leaving the infield. Andrew Pinckney beat out an infield hit and was off and running on a line single to right field by Drew Williamson. Pinckney was able to score when Williamson broke for second but returned to first and was safe. Will Hodo followed with an infield single and Caden Rose’s bunt single loaded the bases. William Hamiter hit a dribbler in front of the plate that catcher Slade Taylor snatched and stepped on the plate for out one. Taylor then tried to double Hamiter at first base but his throw hit Hamiter in the back . allowing Hodo to cross the plate. Ed Johnson then laid down a perfect squeeze bunt to bring Rose home for a 3-0 lead.

Kade Woods replaced Reynolds in the top of the fourth and struck out one batter, walked one, and got an inning ending double play on a line drive to Johnson at second base. Johnson tossed to Williamson at first for the double play. Woods had a perfect fifth with a strikeout then struck out the side in the sixth.

Bama busted the game wide open in the sixth, plating five runs. Hamiter hit a double off the wall in right field with one out and had Tommy Seidl replace him to pinch run. Johnson singled to drive in Seidl before Mac Guscette drove his second home run of the season over the left field wall. Jarvis then walked and advanced to third on a single by Colby Shelton. Pinckney grounded out to short but drove in Jarvis for run number seven. Williamson then blasted his third home run in the last three games to push the margin to 9-0.

Riley Quick took over in the seventh for the Tide and struck out two, walked one, and hit one in a scoreless inning. In the bottom of the seventh, a pair of freshmen combined to end the game early. Max Williams singled with one out and advanced to second on a wild pitch. With two outs Jaxson West drove a single into right field to bring Williamson home and end the game. Prior to the game the coaches agreed to implement the run rule.

STATS

The Tide hit 12-30 in the game with four walks, three strikeouts, and six left on base. Williamson led the offense with his 2-3 night with a walk, a home run, two runs driven in, and a walk. Shelton was the only other player with multiple hits at 2-4. Johnson drove in two runs with a hit and squeeze bunt. Guscette was a perfect 1-1 with a home run, two runs driven in, and two walks.

Woods earned the first win of his Alabama career with his three hitless innings. Woods walked one and struck out five. The three Bama hurlers combined to allow only two hits in the seven innings with four walks, one hit batter, and 10 strikeouts. UTM stranded six runners on base.

RECAP

It was another nice win for the Tide against a team they should beat, but the Skyhawks came in with a two game winning streak over Bama. This year’s team seems better equipped to not have the mid-week meltdowns that have plagued some Alabama teams over the last few years. Coach Brad Bohannon is still using the early season to get a lot of players into games and the depth being built will pay dividends down the road.

After five games the team batting average is .388 with nine home runs, three triples, eight doubles, 29 walks, and 27 strikeouts. The pitching staff as an ERA of 1.32 over 41 innings pitched while allowing 27 hits, walking 15, and striking out 45.

Alabama improved to 5-0 on the season and the Skyhawks fell to 3-3.

SCHEDULE CHANGE

The Tide was to travel to Malibu, CA for a weekend series on Thursday to play Pepperdine in a three games. However due to bad weather in the Los Angles area, the series has been cancelled and the Tide was able to pick up a three game home series with High Point out of North Carolina.

NEXT

Next up is the surprise home series with the High Point Panthers (3-1) who also had to cancel a series in California. The games will be played at 3 p.m. on Friday, 4 p.m. on Saturday, and 1 p.m. on Sunday. The games will be available on the Crimson Tide Sports Radio Network.

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