TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball worked hard to earn a 4-3 win over South Carolina behind one of its best team pitching performances and small ball from the bats.
“Gritty win, it was not the prettiest, and I thought we showed a ton of resilience and found a way to get it done,” said Coach Rob Vaughn
Zane Adams got SEC start number one for the young Freshman taking the mound. Adams started the game out shaky, allowing South Carolina to score two on an RBI groundout by Kennedy Jones and an RBI double by Talmadge Lecroy.
Eli Jones was lights out early for the Gamecocks on the mound, shutting out the Tide the first time through the lineup, but the Tide got on the board on a wild pitch, scoring Kade Snell from third.
Small ball allowed Alabama to tie the game in the seventh with an RBI groundout by Mac Guscette, followed by a TJ McCants fly ball that was inches from going over the wall, allowing Gage Miller to score from first.
Tyler Fay and Alton Davis II got out of a big jam in the eighth after a runner on third with nobody out got out of the inning unscathed. This allowed the Tide to take advantage with an Evan Sleight wild pitch, just beating the tag to give Alabama the lead and allow Davis II to get the save in a one-two-three frame.
Adams’s start after the nervy start was lights out and shut down, pitching 4.0 innings with four punchouts, giving the freshman confidence moving forward. The work of Matthew Heiberger, Fay, and Davis II kept the Tide in the game and closed out the game, pitching a combined 5.0 innings, striking out six and allowing one run.
Alabama heard some unfortunate news this week. It will be without Hagan Banks for the rest of the year with Tommy John, and will have surgery next week, said Vaughn.
Next for 20-6 (3-4), Alabama is game two of the series against South Carolina. Ben Hess will pitch the first pitch at 6 p.m. central on the SEC Network +.
