No. 12 Alabama Baseball Walks Off South Alabama off Team Captain's Bat

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— No midweek baseball game is ever a guaranteed win, and Tuesday showed that around the Power Four, with home losses by highly-ranked teams like No. 1 Tennessee against midmajors. No. 12 Alabama almost joined that group but was saved by a walk-off home run from captain Kade Snell in the 10th inning against South Alabama.

"I was looking for a green light," Snell, who was the only Crimson Tide player with multiple hits in the game, said. "The big thing is, all hitters are looking for mistakes. When you're that far ahead in the count, you're prone to get one. Actually, I think this is my first time ever swinging 3-0, so that was pretty cool."

The Crimson Tide defeated South Alabama 6-5 after losing 5-4 in this game last season. It was a strange game, with bloop hits, excuse-me swings where hitters reached and plenty of shift-beaters. The most damaging power outburst came from Alabama first baseman Will Hodo, who hit his seventh home run of the season in the fifth inning.

"Our mindset, I thought, was really good tonight," head coach Rob Vaughn said. "I thought our bodies looked tired tonight. I just thought our bat speed wasn't awesome, some of that wasn't great, but at the end of the day we competed our tails off. Credit that [South Alabama] pitching staff for hanging some zeroes."

Alabama got the first run of the game in the bottom of the second, which has been a common occurrence. Second baseman Brennen Norton scored on a double by catcher Will Plattner. The Jaguars then hit Alabama hard for four runs in the top of the fourth, taking the lead until Hodo's home run in the next inning, a three-run shot, gave the home team a 5-4 lead.

That score held for most of the rest of the way, until John Smith took Crimson Tide closer Carson Ozmer deep in the ninth with a solo shot to left for just the latter's second earned run of the season. That sent the game into extras, where once again a late Alabama home run decided it.

"We just stay in the moment," Snell said. "Anybody in that lineup can do it... Anybody that steps into the box on our team, at least I think, is just dangerous. Anybody could do it on that team, and that's the crazy part. That's the most beautiful thing I've loved about this team so far."

Vaughn said pitching coach Jason Jackson, who helped oversee the use of eight different arms Tuesday, has attributed toughness to not breaking under circumstances that make that prospect enticing.

"It's been a really tough group," Vaughn said. "This group just kinda keeps plugging away."

The Crimson Tide had not been in an extras game this season prior to facing the Jaguars. It was the final pitcher of the night, Austin Morris, who earned the win along with his work in the top half of the 10th inning. South Alabama (10-10) got 4.2 innings from starter Tyler Smith. Alabama starter JT Blackwood only went one inning, departing due to illness.

Also earning praise from Vaughn was veteran reliever Coulson Buchanan, who went two shutout innings at a critical point in the middle of the game. He was tied with Aeden Finateri, who took Blackwood's place, for the most innings by a single Crimson Tide pitcher in the contest.

Alabama (21-1) has the No. 1 Volunteers on deck with that team coming off a loss, which Vaughn is not celebrating by any means whatsoever. The first game on Thursday will start at 6:30 p.m. CT in one of the biggest regular-season series in recent Sewell-Thomas Stadium memory.

"Just stay level," Snell said. "We don't need to get too high, we don't need to get too low in the moment. If we just keep on, like I said before, just keep going out there, running our plans off, pitching and hitting, we'll be in a good spot."

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