Alabama Baseball's Pitching Gambles Fail, Crimson Tide Loses to Tennessee

HOOVER, Ala.— Alabama weekend starter Riley Quick wanted to pitch Wednesday's SEC Tournament second-round game against Tennessee. The nod went to Aeden Finateri; the No. 9-seed Crimson Tide fell behind to the Volunteers early, losing 15-10 and being eliminated from the tournament.

"I thought we did a good job of minimizing innings early," Alabama head coach Rob Vaughn said. "At the end of the day, just couldn't slow them down enough. These kids fought and scratched and clawed to the very end."

No. 8-seeded Tennessee (42-15) bounced Finateri from the contest after 1.2 innings, 41 pitches and two runs. The Volunteers scored a run in each of the first two innings and pitcher Marcus Phillips no-hit Alabama through the first three frames.

The Crimson Tide (41-16) finally got some action going in the top of the fourth. A one-out gapper by center fielder Richie Bonomolo Jr. plated the first Alabama run. He subsequently got tagged out after running too far past second base. Because of that blunder, Will Hodo's ensuing payoff-pitch swinging strikeout ended the rally with Kade Snell stranded on third.

Snell was shown the stop sign by third base coach Anthony Papio on Bonomolo's run-scoring hit. Left-handed reliever Matthew Heiberger followed Finateri and gave up a two-run single to leadoff man Gavin Kilen in the home half of the fourth. Kilen recorded three RBIs in his first three at-bats.

"I think in the moment, I should've kept my eyes up," Bonomolo said. "It was kinda too late when I looked up... Everything happens for a reason."

Heiberger was taken out for senior Braylon Myers, who inherited runners on second and third with one away. A wild pitch to the first batter he faced scored another Volunteer run. Third baseman Jason Torres just missed a home run in the fifth, settling for a double.

Second baseman Brennen Norton sent Torres home with a single and set up runners on first and second with nobody out against Phillips. Tennessee coach Tony Vitello sent in lefty Brandon Arvidson from the bullpen to deal with the No. 9 hitter in the Crimson Tide order.

He did the job, striking out southpaw Alabama designated hitter Coleman Mizell, before being lifted for right-handed pitcher AJ Russell. Russell retired Bryce Fowler, walked Justin Lebron to load the bases and then induced a Kade Snell grounder right to the second baseman.

It should have been the third out. Dean Curley threw the ball away while going to first, scoring two runs for the designated visitors and making it a one-run game. Bonomolo came up clutch once again on the next at-bat, sending a ball near the same spot as his first hit for a two-run double and giving the Crimson Tide a 6-5 lead.

"To grab the lead there in the middle's exactly where you want to be," Vaughn said. "We just couldn't stop them. That offense was firing on all cylinders today. They didn't miss mistakes. They capitalized on stuff... Just dug too big of a hole to get ourselves out of."

The momentum created by the five-run fifth inning (Alabama nearly batted around) did not curtail the Volunteers' efforts to get that one run back and tie the game up on a two-out single by catcher Cannon Peebles. Levi Clark, who scored from second, made it to scoring position on a wild pitch.

Alabama went down in order in the sixth. The coaching staff then went in a bold direction for the bottom half, calling upon regular Sunday starter Zane Adams, who had not appeared out of the bullpen all season. With hosting chances possibly being on the line in the game, it was the kind of tactical maneuver that indicates ardent desire for winning the present at any cost.

"A lot of that goes into workload," Vaughn said. "Riley's still coming off of [Tommy John]... You want to win this. You do. But you just can't put your arms at risk." Adams, whose pitch count last weekend at Florida was lower than Quick's, told the coaches he felt fresh and could go.

Adams surrendered a leadoff walk when facing Kilen, who moved up on a wild pitch. A one-out walk to Hunter Ensley was followed by an RBI single off the bat of left fielder Dalton Bargo against the shift, sending the lead back over to the Tennessee side.

That base knock summarily ended the experiment. Hagan Banks toed the rubber next with two men on. Banks gave up a single to Curley, putting a Tennessee player on every base. Reese Chapman capitalized with a two-RBI single, stretching the higher seed's lead to three.

Thus, Banks was pulled from the contest and replaced by JT Blackwood. The Volunteers hit well with a defensive shift on all afternoon, and it changed the game. Clark ambushed Blackwood to the tune of a run-scoring double; the Crimson Tide got the second out of the home sixth on a play at the plate.

Peebles kept the party going with an RBI single. By then, the Volunteers had amassed five runs in the bottom of the sixth. He got caught stealing for the final out of a damaging inning. His team was up to 16 hits overall by that moment.

Neither team added on any more runs in the seventh. Chapman connected on a two-run home run into the Tennessee bullpen in the eighth, chasing Blackwood and bringing on Austin Morris. A double into the left field corner by third baseman Manny Marin added two more runs.

Beau Bryans relieved Morris moments later. Nobody was out in the home eighth with the winning run standing on second base. Bryans issued two walks and got pulled for another arm, Coulson Buchanan, with the bases full again. Buchanan managed to retire the side.

That meant a ninth inning would be played: The run rule had been a distinct possibility during the Volunteers' four-run eighth. The Crimson Tide used nine pitchers and five went less than an inning. In the top of the ninth, Alabama started with runners on second and third with no outs and finally drove Russell out of the game.

Brayden Krenzel took Russell's place. He got the first out and walked Fowler, loading the bases for Lebron. The SEC All-Defensive Team honoree made up for a pair of errors with the glove by lodging a two-run single. Snell scored another on a sacrifice fly.

Bonomolo next hit a single for his fourth run batted in of the day. Hodo struck out to end it, capping the Crimson Tide ninth at four runs. Alabama gave up its most hits allowed in a single game since the 2017 season.

"We [have] a plan, and I just executed it, and when you're doing it for your team, it feels even better," Bonomolo said.

Tennessee finished the game with 20 total hits. Alabama, by comparison, only had half that many. The difficulties in offensive output eventually became secondary to those presented by ineffectiveness on the mound. It's usually enough to win when a team scores 10 runs.

Since this season's new SEC Tournament format is single elimination, Alabama will not play again until the NCAA Tournament. It awaits its exact postseason fortunes, hosting or not, which are going to be determined on May 26. Tennessee, by advancing, faces No. 1-seed Texas on Thursday in Hoover.

"No matter what, our team knows what our strengths are," Bonomolo said. "If we're hosting a regional, or going somewhere for a regional, it's not gonna matter. We're just gonna still show up."

The Crimson Tide did record 16 conference wins during the regular season. That is a hosting-caliber metric on its own; the team also entered the week at No. 9 in RPI.

"The reality is, we won 17 games in our league," Vaughn said. "To me, it's a no-brainer. This team went out and won every single midweek game. We lost one nonconference game all year... I think it's kind of silly that we're talking about, are we hosting or are we not?"

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