No. 11 Alabama baseball overcame a sloppy defensive start to power past UAB 12-6 behind a surge of timely hitting and a breakout performance from its freshman class.
“Just a great game overall, finishing,” head coach Rob Vaughn said. “I’m proud of the boys for sticking with it.”
Shortstop Justin Lebron wasted no time getting the Crimson Tide on the board, crushing a solo shot to left, his 12th home run of the season, giving them a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the second, UAB catcher Max Price evened the ballgame at one apiece with an RBI groundout. In the bottom of the third, the Blazers took the lead on an RBI single from left fielder JP Head.
Jason Torres laid down a safety squeeze to knot the ballgame at two. The next batter, freshman first baseman Andrew Purdy, demolished a two-run homer, his first collegiate home run, giving the Crimson Tide a 4-2 advantage.
Righty Bobby Alcock replaced Crimson Tide starting pitcher JT Blackwood in the bottom of the inning, and UAB responded with three runs of their own to take a 5-4 lead thanks to a couple of errors from the Crimson Tide.
Price sent an RBI single up the middle, and another run came across on a double play with the bases loaded to tie the game. Right fielder Landon Beaver sent an RBI signal up the middle, The Crimson Tide responded with three runs in the top half of the fourth inning. Third baseman giving the Blazers the lead.
In the top of the fifth, Lebron tied the ballgame with a sacrifice fly, his second RBI of the game. Evan Steckmesser took over for Alcock in the bottom of the frame and allowed an unearned run due to a couple more errors, giving UAB a 6-5 lead. The sixth error of the game for the Crimson Tide is the most they have committed in a game since 2008.
“This has been about as bad as you could defend a game through five innings, but at the end of the day, we’re down one,” Vaughn said on what his message to the team was after a sloppy start defensively. “So go find an excuse to win anyway.”
Sam Mitchell replaced Steckmesser and picked up the final out of the fifth to strand a pair of base runners. In the bottom of the sixth, freshman designated hitter Caleb Barnett, in his first career start, crushed a bases-clearing double in the left-center gap, giving the Crimson Tide an 8-6 lead.
Mitchell came back out for the bottom of the sixth and navigated around a free pass to put together a scoreless frame. In the top of the seventh inning, Lebron drew a leadoff walk, then moved up to second on a wild pitch. Right fielder Brady Neal drove in Lerbon with an RBI base knock to right, extending the Crimson Tide’s lead.
Mitchell remained for the bottom of the seventh and worked a scoreless frame with some help from Neal, who moved from right field to behind the plate and made a perfect throw to gun down Andrew Hunt trying to steal third.
Matthew Heiberger came and worked a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout. In the top of the ninth, Brady Neal lined a one-out double to left center, his fourth knock of the ballgame. Then Purdy came through with a bases-clearing triple, making it a 12-6 and a five RBI game for the freshman.
Crimson Tide closer Hagan Banks got the call to pitch the bottom of the ninth and worked a scoreless inning with a couple of strikeouts to put the finishing touches on the victory.
Three freshmen made the difference for the Crimson Tide as Purdy, Barnett and Eric Hines combined went 5-for-13 with eight RBIs.
“You’ve got a real picture of the future of Alabama baseball with that group of guys there,” Vaughn said. “And the beauty is, they are playing at a level where they force your hands, and the future comes a lot sooner than maybe was planned on.”
The Crimson Tide will be back in action Friday night in Austin against No. 4 Texas. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT on SECN+.
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