TUSCALOOSA, Ala.- The Alabama baseball team seems to have sent its midweek jitters by the boards. They earned their second straight Tuesday victory by defeating in-state opponent Samford by a final score of 10-1. The two teams will meet again on Samford’s diamond later in April, but the Tide set the tone at Sewell-Thomas Stadium with an explosive offensive output.

 

Fifteen different batters came to the plate for the Crimson Tide during the course of the game.

 

Bama’s two-out offense led the dance with a four-run outburst in inning number four. Prior to the second out, Alabama had only recorded one hit in the game, a Bryce Eblin single. William Hamiter, continuing to produce as he works back from a broken foot, batted him in. Hamiter scored on a Drew Williamson single, and Andrew Pinckney closed the inning’s scoring with a two-run RBI single.

 

The offense then switched gears by scoring four more runs with zero outs in the fifth inning. Zane Denton doubled in leadoff stalwart Jim Jarvis, and then Hamiter hit a monster shot to right center for a three-run homer, which was his first big fly on the year. Another runner, Will Portera (sent across by Eblin) crossed the plate in the sixth inning. Bama hit double digits in the sixth when Caden Rose scored.

 

Early in the game, however, defensive contributions were the story. Ben Hess took the hill for another midweek start and went 3.1 innings with no runs allowed. He stranded Bulldog runners on the corners in the second. With one out in the top of the fourth and the bags full, Braylon Myers answered the high-pressure bullpen call and retired the next two to close the door on Samford’s chances. The Bulldogs only scored in the fifth, when a runner who’d been placed aboard by way of getting hit with a pitch came home. The Bulldogs went with an opener on the mound and didn’t allow a baserunner until 3.1 innings had passed. Once they passed that mark, however, the floodgates opened.

 

The home stretch of the game was largely academic; neither team scored after the sixth frame, and the Alabama defense remained on point. Five pitchers saw the bump and Myers was the day’s winner.

 

“It’s nice to get back-to-back midweek Ws,” pitching coach Jason Jackson said. “[Ben] continues to get better each week.” 

 

“[We’re] starting to kinda come together,” he added.

 

Alabama improves to 18-12 on the year, and they have won five of six games. Up next for the Tide is a weekend series on the road against Ole Miss. Samford fell to .500, at 13-13.

 

-30-