Late rally propels Alabama baseball to win over Troy in Tuscaloosa Regional

In a wild game that featured six lead changes, a four-run ninth inning pushed Alabama baseball past Troy, 11-8, on Saturday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide is now 42-19 on the season and 2-0 in the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional.

Alabama was first to strike with two runs in the second before a five-run third for Troy moved the Trojans ahead. The Tide countered with a four-spot in the fourth to retake the lead before Troy evened things up at six apiece with one in the fifth. UA took the lead right back with a solo homer from Andrew Pinckney in the sixth, but once again, the Trojans pulled in front with a two-run sixth. Both teams would go scoreless until the ninth when a two-out error helped the Tide plate four for the win.

The Tide offense pounded out 13 hits with eight of the nine starters recording at least one knock. Pinckney led the way once again, finishing 3-for-4 with a triple, the homer, two RBI, a pair of runs and one walk. Also homering was Caden Rose who went 2-for-3 and added a double, two RBI, two walks and a team-high three runs scored.

Hunter Hoopes (2-1) picked up the win with 1.0 scoreless frame, while Alton Davis II earned his eighth save of the year thanks to a scoreless ninth that included one strikeout. The loss went to Noah Manning (3-3).

From Interim Head Coach Jason Jackson

“This was a heck of a ballgame. It was two really talented teams, two talented offenses and the crowd and atmosphere was great. It was a back-and-forth game, and I’m super proud of our guys. They fought all night and kept believing down to the last out in the ninth.”

How It Happened

• T2 | With one on and one down, Caden Rose sent a ball over the wall in right-center. (2-0, Alabama)
• B3 | The Trojans loaded the bases before a double play cut down two and crossed one. A single up the middle in the next at-bat tied things up before a single put two aboard for William Sullivan. The junior cleared the bases with a three-run homer to left. (5-2, Troy)
• T4 | The Tide put two in scoring position to start the fourth. Jim Jarvis took advantage of the opportunity, singling to center to score one and put runners on the corners. A single in the next at-bat from Tommy Seidl added one before a pair of errors allowed another run to cross and moved Seidl to second. Seidl then advanced to third on a flyout before a single to right-center from Dominic Tamez crossed the go-ahead run. (6-5, Alabama)
• B5 | Kole Myers set things even with a solo homer to right-center. (6-6)
• T6 | Andrew Pinckney put the Tide back in front with a solo homer to left. (7-6, Alabama)
• B6 | A single to right with the bases loaded tied things up. One out later, a sacrifice fly to center gave the Trojans the advantage. (8-7, Troy)
• T9 | Pinch-hitter Will Hodo drew a one-out walk followed by a walk to Rose with both runners moving into scoring position on a flyout. Seidl was next, grounding to short but an errant throw allowed both runners to score and kept the inning alive. Pinckney added one more in the next at-bat with a triple down the line in right before an intentional walk to Drew Williamson put runners on the corners for Tamez. The junior widened the gap with singled up the middle to score Pinckney. (11-8, Alabama)

Postgame Notes

• Tonight’s attendance was 5,800 for the Crimson Tide’s sixth sellout of the 2023 campaign and second in as many days. 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.
• Alabama finished with 13 hits and has totaled double-digit hits in 36 games this season.
• Eight of the nine starters tallied at least one hit.
• The Crimson Tide has recorded a home run in 52 of 61 games in 2023 while producing multiple homers 33 times.
• Alabama has homered in 24 straight contests. The streak dates back to April 18 at UAB.
• Tommy Seidl extended his hitting streak to an Alabama season-long 12 games with a 2-for-6 effort. Over the 12-game stretch, Seidl is batting .404 (19-47) with five doubles, two homers, 14 RBI, 14 runs, four walks, three hit-by-pitch and one stolen base.
• ATTENDANCE: 5,800 (SELLOUT)

Alabama will await its opponent in Game 2 on Sunday. The Tide will face the winner of the Boston College-Troy game at 8 p.m. CT with the matchup airing on ESPN+.

*** This information was acquired from a recent press release from Alabama Athletics. 

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