The Alabama baseball team is still perfect following a win in its first midweek game of the 2023 season. The Crimson Tide (4-0) defeated the Tennessee Technological University Golden Eagles, 7-4, in an 11-hit effort. 

The Golden Eagles got on the board with a leadoff home run from Troy Baunsgard. Pitcher Luke Holman, who got the year’s inaugural midweek start, limited the first-inning damage solely to that blast. Holman went three more innings but did not qualify for the win. 

“I don’t think we win that game last year,” Alabama head coach Brad Bohannon said. “The message to the team was, we’ve got to play better, but hopefully we can learn from some mistakes we made today while winning the ball game. 

The Crimson Tide evened the score in its half of the first inning. After the team loaded the bases, first baseman Drew Williamson hit into a double play, but the tying run scored. Alabama added to its lead in the third when freshman third baseman Colby Shelton hit his first Alabama home run. Then, right fielder Andrew Pinckney tripled and was singled in by Williamson. 

A baserunning blunder by the latter put an early halt to that rally, and Tennessee Tech’s John Dyer made Alabama pay with a solo homer in the top of the fourth inning. In the top of the fifth, the Golden Eagles loaded the bases against Jake Leger, who had come in to relieve Holman. Zane Probst came in and snuffed out the scoring chance by inducing a two-out groundout. 

Williamson continued his great offensive day in the bottom half of the fifth inning with a two-run home run that also scored Pinckney. That made it a 5-2 game, finally creating some separation for the Crimson Tide. 

It was Williamson who added the next Alabama run in the bottom of the sixth frame. He singled to bring home center fielder Caden Rose, who had reached base on an error. Tennessee Tech responded in the top of the seventh by roughing up the game’s winner, Hagan Banks, for two runs to cut the lead back down to two. 

Braylon Myers came in to replace Banks and pitched the rest of the way, going 2.2 innings without an earned run and notching the save on 29 total pitches. The Crimson Tide scored one more time on a solo home run in the seventh inning by designated hitter Will Hodo. 

“My defense gives me all the confidence in the world,” Myers said. “Pounding the strike zone with multiple pitches really helped me today… When I come in in that situation, I always try to eliminate the scoreboard [whether] it’s a blowout or a close game like it was today.” 

The Golden Eagles fell to 2-2 on the season. Tyler Zarella, the second Tennessee Tech pitcher in the game, was credited with the loss. He gave up two earned runs on four hits in two innings pitched. 

Alabama’s next game will be on Wednesday against the University of Tennessee at Martin in a rematch of one of the Crimson Tide’s upset losses in 2022. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT.