Alabama Baseball Passes Test Against Harvard

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — If Alabama baseball's weekend series against Harvard was a test, the Crimson Tide passed with flying colors.

Alabama defeated Harvard 6-3 on Sunday afternoon, completing the three-game sweep of the Crimson in Sewell-Thomas Stadium.

"Just another really good win for us today," Alabama coach Brad Bohannon said. "You know when the wind's blowing in you're going to be in tight games and that was a good experience for us to be in a tight game like that."

Freshman left-hander Antoine Jean started on the mound for the Crimson Tide and went four innings with two runs off of five hits and six strikeouts before being replaced by sophomore righty Jacob McNairy.

Junior left-handed pitcher Brock Guffey (2-0) picked up the win for Alabama after taking over from McNairy in the top of the seventh. Guffey went three innings, allowing no hits and no runs while striking out seven

"Antoine, I thought he pitched well today," Bohannon said. "Worked around some back looks, some soft contact and obviously I feel like I keep saying this but the bullpen was just awesome.

"McNairy and Guffey were just outstanding."

After a first inning absent of runs from both sides, the Crimson Tide scored three in the second to jump to a 3-0 lead.

Harvard slowly chipped away at the Alabama lead, adding two runs in the third and one more in the sixth.

In the bottom of the seventh, sophomore center fielder T.J. Reeves hit a solo home run to left, giving the Crimson Tide a one-run lead with just two innings remaining.

"I've been struggling at the plate a little bit," Reeves said. "Coach Bo and coach Z [assistant coach Jerry Zulli] just been in the cage with me hammering a standard fastball, you know, lay off the curveball in the dirt, so that felt pretty good."

The next inning, Reeves picked up his second RBI with a bases-loaded walk, forcing junior right fielder Tyler Gentry to advance 90 feet across the plate for Alabama's fifth run. One more run off of a single by freshman second baseman Jim Jarvis doubled up the Crimson with a score of 6-3.

Harvard was unable to retaliate in the ninth, and the Crimson Tide prevailed.

Senior catcher Brett Auerbach led the Crimson Tide with two hits in five attempts with one run and an RBI.

Reeves led the team in RBIs with two, including his solo shot in the seventh.

For Harvard, freshman righty Pryor Thomas (0-1) is issued the loss. Thomas allowed one run off of one hit in one inning pitched, striking out two and walking none.

With the win, Alabama is now 12-0 and is the last undefeated team remaining in the SEC West. The streak is the second-best start to a season in program history, with the overall record being set at 15-0 in 1997.

Harvard drops to 0-3 with the loss.

"Glad to get the win," Bohannon said. "Glad to get the sweep and excited to continue to move forward with league play looming around the corner."

The Crimson Tide will have Monday off before returning to the field on Tuesday to take on South Alabama (3 p.m. CT, SEC Network+).