by Alex Chasen
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – After earning their first SEC series sweep of the season against Missouri last weekend, the (29-12, 9-9 SEC) Crimson Tide were back home in Sewell-Thomas Stadium Tuesday night for a midweek game against in-state foe, the (22-18, 8-4 Southern Conference) Samford Bulldogs.
No runs came across the plate until the bottom of the fourth inning when Crimson Tide first baseman Drew Williamson knocked one out to right for an RBI single, taking the goose egg off the scoreboard.
Alabama would add one more run that inning off of a sacrifice fly from designated hitter Dominic Tamez which allowed Tommy Siedl to tag up from third, making it 2-0 Alabama.
Heading into the top of the sixth inning the Tide held a 3-0 lead but that soon disappeared when back-to-back home runs came from Samford Bulldogs designated hitter John Anderson who blasted a two-run homer followed by their left fielder Lucas Steele hitting a solo shot to tie the game 3-3.
In the home half of the sixth inning freshman third baseman Colby Shelton cemented his name in the Alabama Baseball record books by knocking a three-run homer over the right field wall reclaiming the lead for the Tide while setting the freshman record for most home runs with his 16th of the season.
Colby Shelton discussed what this record-breaking night means to him.
” That’s a pretty cool accomplishment, not everyone gets to do something like that and I’m just happy that I get to help the team win,” Shelton said.
Alabama never looked back in this ball game, adding six more runs to Samford’s three in the seventh and eighth innings.
A majority of the Tide’s firepower came from left fielder Tommy Seidl, earning himself four RBIs, three of those coming off of his three-run homer to dead center in the bottom eighth, giving Alabama their 13-6 lead.
Alabama Baseball Head Coach Brad Bohannon discussed how the team is feeling winning seven of their last nine games.
” It’s my 20th year in the league and there’s a ton of ups and downs…, it kind of feels like we’re finding our groove right now, we’re getting guys settled into roles, it took us a little longer to do that than we would have liked…, looks like we’re starting to click up and down the lineup offensively…, I kind of like where we are heading, ” Bohannon said.
With the win tonight, the Crimson Tide continue their dominant past week and a half of baseball, winning their first SEC series of the season against Auburn, sweeping their first SEC series against Missouri plus adding a convincing win tonight. Alabama improves to (30-12) while the Samford Bulldogs fall to (22-19).
Up Next
This was a one-game home pit stop for the Tide as they head back on the road for this weekend’s conference series in Baton Rouge, Louisiana against the (32-8, 12-5 SEC) Louisiana State University Tigers. Friday and Saturday’s first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT followed by 1 p.m. CT for the series finale on Sunday.
