No. 16 Alabama Baseball Battles Back to Beat Arizona in Day 2 of Frisco Classic
The No. 16 Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team had to play from behind on Saturday afternoon for only the second time this year.
While taking on the Arizona Wildcats in Day 2 of the Frisco Classic, the Crimson Tide found itself down 4-0 after the Wildcats scored four runs on two two-run homers in the fourth inning, one by Mason White and the other by Blake McDonald.
However, Alabama didn’t go down without a fight and scored five answered runs to take the lead. The rally started with a leadoff double by Evan Sleight in the fifth inning. Two at-bats later, Bryce Eblin tacked on the first two runs with a solo homer. Gage Miller finished the inning off with an RBI single, bringing in Justin Lebron, who hit a single the prior at-bat.
After the Wildcats went down in order in the bottom half of the fifth, Will Hodo tied things up in the top of the sixth with a solo home run to left-center field and the Crimson Tide took the lead in the top half of the seventh on an error by Arizona third baseman Richie Morales.
Both teams exchanged two-run innings to go in front. First was Arizona in the bottom of the seventh with a sacrifice fly by Brendan Summerhill and an RBI single by White. The next was the Crimson Tide in the top of the eighth when Mason Swinney and Sleight scored on a throwing error by Morales, his second on the day, which ended up being the game-winning scores.
Right-handed pitcher Aidan Moza started on the mound for the Crimson Tide. He went 3.2 innings and allowed five hits, four earned runs, two walks, and five strikeouts.
Tyler Fay, Alton Davis, and Matthew Heiberger made appearances out of the bullpen. As a whole, the group allowed three hits, two runs, two walks, and five strikeouts. Davis was credited the win and Heiberger the save.
| Alabama's Starting Lineup: | Arizona's Starting Lineup: |
|---|---|
3B Gage Miller | LF Easton Breyfogle |
CF TJ McCants | CF Brendan Summerhill |
LF Ian Petrutz | 2B Garen Caulfield |
1B Will Hodo | SS Mason White |
DH Mason Swinney | RF Emilio Corona |
RF Evan Sleight | DH Maddox Mihalakis |
C Mac Guscette | 1B Tommy Splaine |
2B Bryce Eblin | C Blake McDonald |
SS Justin Lebron | 3B Richie Morales |
P Aidan Moza | P Clark Candiotti |
How it Happened:
- Brendan Summerhill is thrown out trying to steal home and Alabama wins. Alabama 7, Arizona 6.
- Matthew Heiberger comes into the game in relief of Davis. The game tying run is on first base with no outs.
- The Crimson Tide goes down in order in the top of the ninth. Arizona is down to its final three outs.
- Alabama goes back in front on an error by Arizona's third baseman, bringing in two runs. Alabama 7, Arizona 6.
- The Wildcats retake the lead on an RBI single by Mason White. Vaughn and Co. challenged but the call was upheld. Arizona 6, Alabama 5.
- Arizona scores a run on a sacrifice fly by Brendan Summerhill in the bottom of the seventh. Alabama 5, Arizona 5.
- Alton Davis II comes into the game in relief of Fay.
- Alabama takes the lead in the top of the seventh inning as Bryce Eblin scored on an error by Arizona's third baseman. Alabama 5, Arizona 4.
- Will Hodo ties things up with a solo home run to left-center field in the top of the sixth. Alabama 4, Arizona 4.
- Evan Sleight hits a leadoff double and Bryce Eblin cuts the Crimson Tide's deficit in half with a two-run homer in the top of the fifth. Justin Lebron follows with a single, steals second, and is brought home on an RBI single by Gage Miller. Arizona 4, Alabama 3.
- Tyler Fay comes into the game in relief of Aidan Moza in the bottom of the fourth inning. Arizona has one on and two outs.
- Tommy Splaine doubles and Blake McDonald extends the Wildcats lead the following at-bat with a two-run shot to left-center field. Arizona 4, Alabama 0.
- Arizona's Garen Caulfield draws a leadoff walk and Mason White hits a two-run shot to center field to put the Wildcats on the board first in the bottom of the fourth inning. Arizona 2, Alabama 0.
- TJ McCants hits a leadoff double and advances to third base on an Ian Petrutz fly out at the warning track. Will Hodo and Mason Swinney strike out to strand McCants 90 feet away from home to end the top of the fourth. Alabama 0. Arizona 0.
- Arizona's Blake McDonald draws a leadoff walk and advances to second on a groundout by Richie Morales. Easton Breyfogle and Easton Summerhill ground out to end the third. Alabama 0, Arizona 0.
- Bryce Eblin is the Crimson Tide's third consecutive leadoff base runner on the day after being hit by a pitch. Justin Lebron strikes out and Gage Miller hits into a double play to end the top of the third. Alabama 0, Arizona 0.
- Arizona's Emilio Corona gets the Wildcats first base runner on the afternoon with a one-out double and advances to third on a wild pitch but no damage is done with an inning-ending strikeout that strands Corona. Alabama 0, Arizona 0.
- Mason Swinney hits a leadoff single, but Evan Sleight follows with a double play and Mac Guscette grounds out to end the top of the second. Alabama 0, Arizona 0.
- Arizona goes down in order on a ground out, fly out, and strike out to end the first inning. Alabama 0, Arizona 0.
- Gage Miller hits a leadoff single in the top of the first and TJ McCants follows with a drawn walk. Ian Petrutz grounds into a double play and Will Hodo strikes out to end the top half of the inning. Alabama 0, Arizona 0.
- First pitch for Alabama vs. Arizona is set for 4:10 p.m. CT.
How to Watch Alabama vs. Arizona in Frisco Classic:
- The games can be streamed on D1Baseball’s website with a paid subscription and will take place at Riders Field in Frisco, the home ballpark of the Texas League’s Frisco RoughRiders. The games can also be listened to on the Varsity Network app, the Crimson Tide Sports Network and Tide 100.9 FM. Friday’s first pitch is slated for 6 p.m. CT, followed by 4 p.m. first pitch times on Saturday and Sunday.
- Arizona (4-4) is 2-2 against ranked opponents in 2024. It won an opening-weekend series against Northeastern, ranked 23rd at the time, at home. A loss against top-five TCU served as the Wildcats’ most recent outing. Arizona plays against Alabama on Saturday.
