Alabama Baseball Bests Samford Despite Seven-Run Top of Seventh Inning

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Alabama baseball infielder Garrett Staton may have gotten more than he bargained for from his old team in his new home stadium on Tuesday night.

The Samford Bulldogs mounted a late assault against the No. 8 Crimson Tide to the tune of a seven-run seventh frame, flipping the script on what was a 10-2 game into 10-9 by stretch time. Thanks to a late insurance run produced by Staton and five Richie Bonomolo Jr. RBIs, Alabama won 11-9.

"College baseball, right?" head coach Rob Vaughn said. "The seventh was just weird... Just the resiliency and toughness of this group continues to show up when we need it most. At the end of the day, it's college baseball, it's a win, that's all that matters."

Midweek starter JT Blackwood threw two perfect innings, which turned out to be one of the most unassuming statistics of the contest. Relief pitcher Coulson Buchanan went 2.2 innings and got the win, continued to throw well and was one of the most critical arms of the game.

"I think it's been a little bit of a mindset change," Buchanan said. "Second year in the bullpen, I've just gotten more used to being able to pitch every day and staying in the right mindset that gives me the best chance to be successful."

Bonomolo and right fielder Bryce Fowler got the scoring started. Fowler hit an RBI single to score Bonomolo in the bottom of the first. In the second, Bonomolo hit a three-run home run, his third of the season, and Fowler collected an RBI double. Samford scored its first two runs in the third off Buchanan after Zach Kittrell let some traffic aboard. Buchanan focused on settling the game down.

Alabama (26-4) scored five runs in the bottom of the third, a nice cushion that padded the lead and made it eight runs. Samford (14-15) would not go down that easily, though. Bonomolo, who hit leadoff again Tuesday, got his other two RBIs in that third inning.

Bonomolo, third baseman Jason Torres and Fowler were the multi-hit starters for the Crimson Tide on Tuesday. Torres led with three. Samford hitters struck out a combined 12 times.

"Richie's had great at-bats all year," Vaughn said. "The unselfishness of these guys have been great. Bryce obviously manned that spot for a good chunk of the year, and we kinda slid him down. I've dealt with so many egos in college baseball... These guys just don't have that."

In the seventh, pinch hitter Gatlin Pitts started festivities when he hit a three-run bomb. It wasn't ideal, but in an eight-run game, perhaps it could just be chalked up to a miss on pitch selection or a missed spot, and the alarm bells thus get to stay silent.

However, that wasn't all. The Bulldogs at one point in the frame strung together four straight hits. The last of those, a single by right fielder Jake Souders, scored the sixth Samford run of the inning. The visitors added one more on a sac fly, trying to bunt home the tying run against Tyler Fay to no avail.

That threat was neutralized, but what seemed as if it might be a blowout turned into a tight game. The Crimson Tide bullpen got it together afterwards, but a lot of damage had been done. There is much dejection in baseball. It was nowhere to be found in Samford's dugout after that seventh inning.

"All that matters is that every day we come out and it's just another test," Vaughn said. "Another test of our maturity. Another test of our toughness. Another test of our ability to execute, and these guys continue to answer the call."

Staton added an insurance run in the eighth, the first Alabama score since the third inning. He hit an RBI single against Joseph Lee, who is not a former teammate on a roster full of them.

"It was fun," Staton said. "I tried to keep it business the whole time until after the game... I just try to prepare every day the same. Just with being ready to go, and just trying to keep a mindset on and off the field of just working hard and trying to do my best at everything I can do."

After that run, scored by catcher Will Plattner, closer Carson Ozmer struck out the side for his eighth save of the year.

"Oz is even better in the locker room and with the team than he is on the field. I know that's probably hard to believe," Buchanan said. "He's just great... It's the same thing every day. He just executes. He goes out there... It's super steady. It's the same thing all the time. We know what we're gonna get."

Alabama lost its road series at Auburn last season. It will have a redemption opportunity starting this Friday, when the Crimson Tide travels to face the Tigers at Plainsman Park for three games from Friday-Sunday. That series was a low point in the 2024 regular season, and No. 16 Auburn is a better team this spring.

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