Bullpen Shines As Alabama Baseball Handles Troy

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama baseball handled Troy 7-3 in its final game before the start of SEC play on Friday. The Crimson Tide's bats had a relatively quiet day as the team recorded five hits, but benefited from 12 free passes en route to the victory.

Alabama's bullpen put together a fairly clean game, allowing just five hits and two earned runs on the day. Bobby Alcock made the start and was named the game's winning pitcher, scattering four hits and allowing one run over three innings. Alcock has been a solid midweek arm for the Crimson Tide, giving up three runs over 9.2 innings over four appearances this season— a sharp contrast from his underwhelming 2025 campaign.

"I feel really good right now," Alcock said. "Obviously, last year wasn't the year I'd like to have. So I knew coming back this year I needed to have a fresh start and just kind of mentally clear myself, and I feel like that's what I've done so far. I'm just trying to attack the strike zone, just be myself and live with the results."

Evan Steckmesser, Sam Mitchell and Matthew Heiberger handled the middle innings for the Crimson Tide, and the trio allowed just a single hit over five innings. With Alabama leading 7-3 entering the ninth, Hagan Banks entered the game. Two runners reached, one on an error and one on a walk, but Banks got out of the game without allowing a run.

Hagan Banks enters to ‘God’s Gonna Cut You Down’ with the lights flickering. This is an entrance we should see a lot throughout SEC play with him penciled in as Alabama’s primary closer pic.twitter.com/CehAAYQzpW
— Theodore Fernandez (@TheoFernandez__) March 11, 2026

"He's definitely a guy we trust. The moment ain't gonna be too big for him," Vaughn said of Banks. "He's going to go in there and execute... and yeah, he walked a guy, but then he came through the big punch, some really good changeups tonight."

Banks is going to be the primary closer for this team as Rob Vaughn officially confirmed that North Florida transfer Kaden Humphrey will be undergoing Tommy John surgery on Thursday. Banks has run into some trouble at times, allowing runs in the ninth against Oregon State and Jacksonville State, but has now earned the save in all four of his appearances this year.

Alabama's attention now fully switches over to the SEC slate, which begins on Friday in Lexington against a talented Kentucky Wildcats team.

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