Alabama Baseball Falls in Midweek Matchup to Southern Miss, 5-4

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama baseball coach Brad Bohannon put it simply:

"We gotta get better offensively. We got to get better in a hurry."

Otherwise, his team's efforts were a lot like the unsatisfying weather.

After a prolonged wait, redshirt senior Will Freeman got the start for Alabama. With winds blowing from left to right, he shrugged off early tightness and reestablished a rhythm lost hours prior from the rain delay. The Crimson Tide bats assisted, at least somewhat, but were unable to match the late momentum of a lively Golden Eagles bunch that pulled off a 5-4 victory at Sewell-Thomas Stadium on Tuesday.

"Tough night at the park for us," Bohannon added. "I thought Will Freeman gave us a really good start, maybe should've taken him out a little bit earlier, but he was just cruising and gave us a great opportunity to win. "The story of the game, in my mind, is we gotta get better offensively. We got to get better in a hurry."

"The story of the game, in my mind, is we gotta get better offensively. We got to get better in a hurry."

Alabama struck first, albeit without much force, when sophomore Owen Diodati singled and drove home first baseman Drew Williamson in a bases loaded situation. Its threat ended there, leaving three runners stranded. The earned run was charged to the Golden Eagles second pitcher of the night, sophomore Gabe Shepard. Starter Drew Boyd was pulled after one inning of work.

The Golden Eagles streamlined new pitchers every inning, literally, though Alabama only led by one as the bottom of the fifth inning began. Second baseman Peyton Wilson changed things, though, when he tripled off the wall in right field on a one-out line drive, setting up double play partner Jim Jarvis for an RBI situation. With a ground ball back to sophomore reliever Aubrey Gillentine, the Crimson Tide lead grew to 2-0 as the sixth inning neared.

After allowing only three hits, Freeman gave up two singles, including one to right field that scored a Golden Eagles run. It cut Alabama's lead in half and forced a move to the Crimson Tide bullpen, as freshman lefty Grayson Hitt entered a two out, one on situation.

Southern Miss tied the game two pitches later, then took the lead on a wild pitch, a somewhat likely outcome considering the Crimson Tide's inability to extend its lead on a few different occasions. Like any quality ball club, the Golden Eagles made them pay, forcing an Alabama rally if they were to win.

"They score a run on a wild pitch. We throw a 52-foot breaking ball, not a 59-foot breaking ball, but like a 52-53-foot breaking ball and just give them a run."

To mark a quick recovery effort, Williamson singled up the middle and gave his best attempt at sparking the unsteady Bama bats. Then, left fielder Andrew Pinckney beat out an infield ground ball, putting two runners on with one out.

Diodati struck out, though, bringing pinch hitter Will Patota to the plate with a go-ahead opportunity. And boy did he take advantage of it, smashing a shot over the center fielder's head and scoring both runners to retake the lead. It proved to be a short-lived lead.

Hitt stayed on the mound in the seventh and, once again, he encountered a dangerous half-inning, though this time self-imposed. An overturned call on a 2-5-4 double play kept runners on first and second and one out, with the runner on first stealing second soon after.

Junior Gabe Montenegro turned in the at-bat of the game for Southern Miss, doubling down the right field line and scoring both runners before being thrown out at third to end the inning. The Golden Eagles led 5-4 after blanking Bama in the eighth.

"At Arkansas we got that big hit. We just haven't done that enough."

Senior Brock Guffey pitched the eighth and ninth in relief for Alabama, but simply keeping a one-run deficit was not enough.

Garrett Ramsey was the 10th pitcher of the game for Southern Miss and was dealt the task of closing the game for his Golden Eagles. That he did, minus a Wilson single, sealing a solid performance and souring Alabama's preparation for third-ranked Ole Miss.

"They got to get out there and learn and play," Bohannon said, "Hopefully they improve in those areas at a faster rate."

Hitt is tagged with the loss and moves to 1-1 on the season.

Alabama moved to 15-6 on the year with Ole Miss up next.