On a Tuesday night in Montgomery’s Riverwalk Stadium, the Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Troy Trojans 7-2 in their second matchup this season.  

Coming into its final midweek game with an 11-1 midweek record, the Crimson Tide almost reached perfection. Winning the midweek games was a key factor in Alabama’s preseason plans to get back to the NCAA postseason.  

“We want to try and win every single midweek because, last year, the reason we did not make a regional was because of some of the midweek losses we had,” outfielder Caden Rose said before the game. 

Junior left-hander Hunter Furtado got the ball for the Crimson Tide in his first start of his 2023 campaign. Predominantly a reliever and late guy for Alabama, Furtado made quick work in the first, striking out the side to start the game.  

In the top of the second, the Trojans drew first blood in the game as first baseman William Sullivan broke the deadlock and gave Troy the lead with an RBI. The unassisted groundout to Alabama first baseman Drew Williamson allowed Trojan Caleb Bartolero, whose spot on third came from a double and a passed ball, to score. 

In the fourth inning, Sullivan wasted no time in hitting a double that resulted in another RBI, extending the Trojans’ lead over the Crimson Tide to 2-0 and putting Alabama behind early.  

Furtado was relieved by right-hander Aidan Moza in the fourth inning, coming out with a final line of two hits, two runs, two walks and seven strikeouts. 

Troy held Alabama off of the scorecard and limited its offense until the home half of the fourth inning. Junior Bryce Eblin singled to right field, sending graduate student Ed Johnson to third and then home on a throwing error by the Trojan right fielder. The Crimson Tide now trailed by 1.  

It did not take long for Alabama to take the lead. An inning later, senior Tommy Seidl brought the Crimson Tide level. Seidl sent a flyout to center field that allowed senior Jim Jarvis to tag up and score from third. Later in the inning, junior Andrew Pinckney attempted to steal second, but advanced to third on an error by the catcher. Pinckney then advanced to home on an error by the right fielder to make the game 3-2 in favor of the Crimson Tide. 

Eblin extended Alabama’s lead over the Trojans in the bottom of the sixth when he doubled down the right field line, scoring Colby Shelton and sending Johnson to third. On a wild pitch, Johnson also scored later in the inning. After a fourth error from Troy, Eblin also came home, putting Alabama up by 4.  

In the bottom of the seventh inning, a Williamson home run was the icing on the cake, putting Alabama up by 5 late in the game. Right-hander Hunter Hoopes finished the eighth and ninth innings on the mound, securing Alabama’s 12th midweek win of the season. 

“It was a really complete effort overall. We had to do a good job of staying focused with the [weather] delay to start and then another [lightning] delay in the game,” interim head coach Jason Jackson said. “Hunter Furtado had the spot start and went out and pitched 3.2 innings for us, gave us a good start and got us into the game. Then, Aidan Moza came in, looked really sharp, and did a good job of keeping it tight in the middle. Their effort gave our offense a chance to get going.”  

The Crimson Tide will travel to College Station, Texas, this weekend in an important SEC West series against the Texas A&M Aggies. The games begin Friday at 6 p.m. CT, Saturday at 2 p.m. CT and Sunday at 3 p.m. CT. The first two will be broadcast on SEC Network+ and Sunday’s will be on SEC Network.