Photo by Austin Bigoney from The Crimson White

By Cooper Huskey

After their shutout loss to the College of Charleston on Saturday, the Crimson Tide seemed to be able to score at will to win Sunday’s game 21-3. The 21 runs scored tied for the most runs scored under head coach Brad Bohannon, Alabama beat Samford 21-2 on April 9, 2019, and is tied for the most runs scored since April 7, 2009, when Alabama beat Troy 22-4.

Alabama started off to a slow start in the first two innings, only scoring one run off two hits. It was in the third inning when the Crimson Tide opened the flood gates. Peyton Wilson scored the first run of the inning on a wild pith thrown by Cougars pitcher Caswell Smith to give Alabama a 2-0 lead. Sam Praytor then singled to right center to bring home Will Hamiter and make it 3-0. A couple more walks loaded the bases for Owen Diodati and the Charleston quickly brought in a new pitcher, Zach Williams, to face off against one of the Tide’s biggest bats. That decision ultimately did not pay off for the Cougars because Diodati hit his second grand slam of the season to make it 7-0, still with no outs. The next few runs for the Crimson Tide would come off Praytor’s bat again when he hit a double that brought home 3 more runs. The final run of the inning was scored when Drew Williamson singled to right field to bring home Praytor. Alabama scored 10 runs in the third inning, which is the most runs scored by Alabama in a single inning since February 28, 2007.

The next big inning for the Crimson Tide was the fifth inning. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Will Patota, who was brought in to pinch hit for Diodati, walked to bring home Zane Denton and make it 13-0 Alabama. The next batter Andrew Pickney would hit a 2 RBI double bringing home Williamson and Praytor. Bryce Elbin and Peyton Wilson followed that up, each with an RBI single to make the game 17-0 in favor of Alabama.

The Crimson Tide scored one run in the eighth and their final three runs in the ninth, all off RBI singles and doubles. When it was all said and done, Alabama scored 21 runs off 20 hits and two errors committed by the Cougars.

Pitching was also stellar for the Crimson Tide on Sunday. Antione Jean pitched a scoreless five innings, giving up three hits and striking out four batters. He got the win as the pitcher of record giving him his first win and first decision of the season. Eli Giles was the Alabama pitcher to give Charleston their three runs in the sixth inning, making the score 17-3 at the time. brock Guffey, Jake Eddington, and Chase Lee all got pitch an inning as well and hold the Cougars to three runs.

Alabama’s next game will against South Alabama at the Joe on March 9th. Their next series will be against the Stetson Hatters in Tuscaloosa from March 12-14.