Alabama Baseball Dominates Binghamton in Game One, 9-3
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama (10-5) began its three game series with Binghamton (3-7) in dominating fashion, getting back on track at the plate and on the mound. The Crimson Tide prevailed 9-3 thanks to 13 hits and an efficient outing from Garrett McMillan.
"Really pleased with the game today, I thought Garrett got us off to an awesome start," Alabama head coach Brad Bohannon said postgame. "We made some strides offensively today, seven of the nine starters got a hit and we scored in five of the eight innings.
"According to my emails and DMs, there's some people out there that are happy that we got some hits with runners in scoring position today."
Alabama made a statement in the first inning, being aggressive early in the count at the plate. Jim Jarvis singled on the second pitch he saw, and he swiped second base on the first pitch to Tommy Seidl. Seidl showed off his ability to take the ball the other way with a single to right, and Bohannon waved Jarvis home to get the Crimson Tide on the board. Two pitches later, Zane Denton found an 89 MPH fastball where he wanted it, and he drove it over the wall in left center into the Alabama bullpen. The Crimson Tide mounted three runs just three batters into the game.
The early lead allowed McMillan to pitch freely, letting his low-nineties fastball get him ahead. Binghamton second baseman Cavan Tully connected with a fastball in the top of the second on an 0-2 count, getting the Bearcats on the board with a home run into the right field seats.
Following the eventful first inning, Alabama was retired in order three innings in a row by Binghamton starting pitcher Tommy Babalis. That changed in the fifth, as Pinckney found a way on with a breaking ball hitting his foot. He quickly stole second and was moved to third on a Jarvis groundout. Seidl did not miss his RBI opportunity at the plate, stinging a double into the corner in left for his second RBI of the day. Alabama took a 4-1 lead heading into the sixth.
Drew Williamson led off the sixth with a double into the left center field gap, and Dominic Tamez snuck a single into left field off the end of the bat. Alabama then took a small ball approach, as Rose laid down a sacrifice bunt score Williamson, bringing the Crimson Tide lead to 5-1.
Pinckney led off the seventh with a double, and Seidl stepped in with another RBI opportunity with one out. On the sixth pitch of the at-bat, Seidl lined the ball to right field, bouncing off the wall just short of a home run. Pinckney scored nonetheless, and Seidl stood at second with his third RBI of the day. Denton did not want to lose the RBI battle, so he doubled to left center to bring Seidl home for his third RBI as well.
"We're just trying to play team offense," Seidl said. "It could have been anybody today, we've just been working on getting runners in. Get 'em on, get 'em over, get 'em in. That's the name of the game with offense, and I think today just clicked with our whole offense."
McMillan got his second win of the year in Friday's game, and he was highly deserving of the decision. He pitched a career-high seven innings, giving up just two hits and the one run on the second inning home run. "G-Mac" tied his season-high with seven strikeouts, and he was incredibly efficient, throwing just 85 pitches on the day. He exited the game with a 7-1 lead, and he never allowed the leadoff batter to reach.
"That's our main goal, to always get the first hitter out of every inning," McMillan said. "Get the first out of every inning, and you'll have a good possibility of getting out of it with no runs."
Luke Holman took over in the eighth, and he struggled to get an out. He allowed a leadoff single and a walk, and Binghamton was able to get back on the board with an RBI-single from Jake Evans. Hunter Hoopes entered from the bullpen for Alabama with runners at the corners and nobody out. Masterfully, Hoopes struck out the first two batters he saw and got a fly out to end the inning. He has pitched in some big time spots lately and responded well every time.
Alabama added two insurance runs in the bottom of the eight, as designated hitter Eric Foggo sent the first pitch of the inning high over the wall in left for his second round-tripper of the year. Two singles and a walk then loaded the bases, and Seidl stepped up with a sacrifice fly for his fourth and final RBI.
Brayden Gainey came in to close out the game for the Crimson Tide with a 9-2 lead. He gave up a leadoff double which led to a Bearcat run on a sac-fly, but he was able to get the final two outs as the Crimson Tide walked out of game one with the 9-3 win.
Final Stats
Alabama Athletics
Alabama Athletics
