Alabama Baseball were swept in the doubleheader to Georgia on Saturday, losing heartbreakingly in game one on a walk-off home run, and in one-run fashion 6-5 in game two.
In game one, Alabama got off to a good start. Evan Sleight opened the game with an RBI double in the first, scoring Gage Miller, who leads the country in runs scored. Georgia leads the country in home runs, and it indeed showed with two home runs in the home half, scoring four runs off Ben Hess.
The Tide has shown time and time again its ability to come back in games, and it showed in the third and fourth innings with an RBI groundout by Ian Petrutz. Miller continued to dominate at the plate with a two-RBI triple, scoring on a TJ McCants single – who has now had a hit in 22 straight games.
Bama had a chance to take the lead in the top of the ninth on a double by Sleight, but Petrutz tripped and got caught trying to score at third to keep it tied. Georgia gave trouble on the basepaths all game and made Aidan Moza pay for it, walking it off on a grand slam by Kolby Branch to lose game one.
Hess did not control pitches well in the outing, but the grit and response after the early woes to get through four innings were significant in a doubleheader. Hess still had six punchouts but allowed five runs. Tyler Fay had some good innings of work, pitching three scoreless frames with two strikeouts.
The top four guys in the Tide lineup, Miller, McCants, Petrutz, and Sleight, combined to go nine-for-19 from the plate with a triple, 3 doubles, 4 singles, and a walk.
In game two, The Tide fell short 6-5 despite two home run games from Miller, losing its first SEC series of the year and moving to 2-3 in conference play.
Alabama started the game with a bang, hitting 3 home runs in the first three innings, 2 solo shots by Miller, and a solo blast by Justin Lebron. McCants had a chance in the first to go yard as well, getting robbed at the wall by Dillon Carte. This ended McCants’s 22-game hitting streak, and he went 0-for in the game.
Greg Farone got the ball and looked sharp early, pitching 4.1 innings, but the Bulldogs lead the NCAA in home runs for a reason. A 2-run home run from Charlie Condon and a solo shot by Slade Alford tied the game up in the third.
Kade Snell, who came into the game for Bryce Eblin, who left the game with a hamstring injury, hit a solo blast in the seventh inning. In the home half, the Bulldogs hit a towering 2-run blast yet again by Condon, who leads the country with 17 home runs.
Alabama had a chance in the ninth, scoring one by a sacrifice fly after a pinch-hit triple by William Hamiter, but fell short, losing the game by one run.
Up next for Alabama is game three versus Georgia at noon central time, with the Tide looking to avoid the sweep.
