By outreach@cw.ua.edu (Elliott Propes)
While the rest of the university dispersed from Tuscaloosa
for spring break, the Alabama baseball team played seven games, six being
against top-25 teams. The Crimson Tide went 3-4 over the stretch and now has a
13-6 overall record.
Alabama went into spring break with a No. 23 ranking from
Baseball America. The first series Alabama played in was a home matchup against
No. 21 Houston March 11-13. Houston won the first two games to clinch the
series. Both games were close as the Cougars won 3-1 then 3-2. On March 13, Alabama
avoided the sweep when junior Will Haynie recorded a game-winning solo shot in the
eighth to win 7-6.
“It was a great
feeling to get that home run,” Haynie said beating Houston. “It feels like it’s been tough in
the box for a while, but it just feels good to help the team get a win. I was
sitting on a fastball, saw my pitch and got good contact on
it.”
Alabama then played a midweek game at Southern
Miss. The Golden Eagles improved their home record to 9-2, after a 9-2 win over
the Crimson Tide. The Crimson Tide allowed a season high 15 hits, while
Southern Miss struck out eight Alabama batters.
Alabama then traveled to Baton Rouge for
its first SEC matchup of the season. No. 7 LSU had a 12-2 home record before
the weekend, but Alabama’s bats came back to life during the series. The Crimson
Tide had a double header on Saturday and won both games. The Crimson Tide
blanked the Tigers in game one and scored six runs in a 6-0 victory. Alabama
then scored four early runs and held
LSU to three runs to secure the series in game two. On Sunday, Alabama went for
the sweep and came up just short. It was a good series win for Alabama who
hadn’t won a series in Baton Rouge in 20 years.
“Offensively,
we’re showing a little spark right now and starting to look like the offense we
thought we’d be,” Gaspard said. “This is a tough place to win, so obviously
when you can win two in one day here it’s awfully special. The series win means
a lot and gets us off to a good start in SEC play.”
The team fell out
of all the rankings after the 3-4 stretch, but will have a chance to maybe
creep back in with a four games coming up this week. Tuesday Alabama will play
at Regions Field in Birmingham against UAB, and this weekend Tennessee will
come to Tuscaloosa for a three game series.
Source:: The Crimson White Sports
