Instant Analysis: No. 14 Alabama Baseball Wins Two in a Row to Take Series Against No. 5 Tennessee
TUSCALOOSA, Ala.—After losing Friday's SEC Opener 11-3, the No, 14 Alabama baseball team bounced back and won two games in a row, 6-3 on Saturday and 7-6 on Sunday, to win its first SEC series of the season against No. 5 Tennessee.
Sunday's performance was highlighted by Gage Miller, who hit the go-ahead and eventual game-winning three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning, and Aidan Moza, who came into the game with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the ninth, only allowing one run across the plate and struck out the last two batters to seal the victory.
The Crimson Tide also saw clutch at-bats by Ian Petrutz, who hit a pair of RBI singles, Justin Lebron, TJ McCants, and Bryce Eblin, who had long, veteran at-bats, upping the Tennessee pitching rotation's pitch count and keeping innings and rallies alive.
Hagan Banks, who made his second start of the season went two innings and allowed three hits, two runs (earned), walked one batter, and struck out two. Banks has been on a pitch count for the last week as he tries to fully get back into the rotation.
Now, the No. 14-ranked Crimson Tide will go on a road trip starting on Tuesday, as the team takes on Alabama State in Montgomery, Ala., then will travel to Athens, Ga., to take on the Georgia Bulldogs in a three-game series next weekend and cap the trip off with a midweek game in Huntsville, Ala., against Belmont on March 26. Alabama will return to Sewell-Thomas Stadium for a three-game series against South Carolina from March 28-30.
