Alabama baseball opens Tuscaloosa Regional with walk-off win over Nicholls
Jim Jarvis’ walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth led Alabama baseball to a 4-3 win over Nicholls on Friday evening at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide is now 41-19 on the season and 1-0 in the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional.
The two teams traded single tallies all night. Nicholls was first to strike with one in the second before the Tide evened things up in the fifth. Each team crossed a run in the sixth and then the seventh to set things at three apiece headed to the final two frames. In the ninth, Alabama used a leadoff walk to William Hamiter and a sacrifice bunt to move him into scoring position. Then, with two down, Jarvis found a hole on the left side to bring in the game-winning run.
A pitchers’ duel kept runs at a premium on Friday night. Nicholls’ starter Jacob Mayers allowed two runs on three hits and three walks with eight strikeouts in 5.2 innings of work. He was countered by Tide starter Luke Holman, who gave up two runs on five hits and two walks with five punchouts. Each bullpen then took over with Alabama’s allowing only one run compared to the Colonels’ two for the 4-3 final.
Alton Davis II (1-2) earned the win, tossing 1.1 scoreless frames with a walk and three strikeouts. The loss went to Nico Saltaformaggio (5-2).
From Interim Head Coach Jason Jackson
“I was really proud of the way our guys competed. They had a really mature approach to the game tonight. We knew going in they had a really good arm. Jacob Mayers was as advertised – he was electric, the stuff was good and he did a great job of slowing us down early. We knew Luke Holman was going to have to match that outing, and he did a great job of that.”
How It Happened
- T2 | MaCrae Kendrick hit a solo home run to right. (1-0, Nicholls)
- B5 | Colby Shelton led off the inning with a triple and came home in the next at-bat on a sacrifice fly from Ed Johnson. (1-1)
- T6 | A leadoff triple followed by a sac fly put the Colonels back in front. (2-1, Nicholls)
- B6 | Caden Rose doubled to start the inning before moving to third on a sac bunt. Drew Williamson then brought him home with a two-out RBI double to right. (2-2)
- T7 | Wes Toups helped NSU retake the lead with a solo homer to start the seventh. (3-2, Nicholls)
- B7 | Mac Guscette tied things up with a solo shot that snuck inside the foul pole in left. (3-3)
- B9 | William Hamiter led off with a walk and moved into scoring position on a Guscette sac bunt. Following a second out, Jarvis found a hole on the left side to score Hamiter. (4-3, Alabama)
Postgame Notes
- Tonight’s attendance was 5,800 for the Crimson Tide’s fifth sellout of the 2023 campaign. Sewell-Thomas Stadium was also sold out for all three games of the Auburn series from April 14-16 along with the series finale against Vanderbilt on May 6.
- The walk-off win was Alabama’s first of the 2023 season.
- The Crimson Tide has recorded a home run in 51 of 60 games in 2023.
- Alabama has homered in 23 straight contests with tonight’s solo shot. The streak dates back to April 18 at UAB.
- Tommy Seidl extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a 1-for-4 effort. Over the 11-game stretch, Seidl is batting .415 (17-41) with four doubles, two homers, 13 RBI, 13 runs, four walks, three hit-by-pitch and one stolen base.
- Seidl’s 11-game streak ties for the Alabama season-long hitting streak. The other 11-game streak was by Andrew Pinckney from Feb. 17-March 4.
- ATTENDANCE: 5,800 (SELLOUT)
Alabama will return to the diamond on Saturday night for a matchup with Troy. The Crimson Tide and Trojans are scheduled for an 8 p.m. CT first pitch on ESPN+.
*** This information was acquired from a recent press release from Alabama Athletics.
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