On Tuesday night, the Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team made the hourlong trip up Interstate 20 to Birmingham, Alabama, to take on the UAB Blazers at Regions Field in a midweek matchup, winning in 10 innings 9-7.
First-year southpaw Zane Adams toed the slab for the Crimson Tide to get its first road trip of the season underway.
Adams quickly got himself into trouble to start his night, as the freshman allowed four hits and one run in the bottom of the first inning. Blazer designated hitter Brayton Brown ripped a double into left field to bring home the game’s first run.
Starting out the game from behind, the Crimson Tide players were able to stay within themselves and grind out a win in extras.
“We were able to bring that emotion back in and get a tough, gritty win,” head coach Rob Vaughn said.
Going back out in the bottom of the second, Adams would be hung out to dry. Two errors in the inning saw Adams surrender three more runs to the Blazer offense. On a bunt back to Adams, UAB center fielder Daryl Buggs brought in an unearned run for the Blazers. Reaching on a fielding error by Alabama second baseman Bryce Eblin, Blazer third baseman Tyler Harrington brought in two more unearned runs. After just two innings, Alabama was playing from behind, trailing 4-0.
“The good thing was that we kept going, we didn’t panic,” Vaughn said. “It was a little bit of an emotional and chippy game, and I thought there were times that we got a little bit outside of ourselves.”
Despite allowing only one earned run and three unearned, Adams saw his night end after 3.0 innings on the mound. After giving up seven hits without recording a strikeout and one walk, Adams was replaced by right-hander Tyler Fay.
Getting the Crimson Tide on the board, Eblin sent a shot into right field to bring Alabama within two. With catcher Mac Guscette on base, Eblin’s two-run home run made up for his error in the field that had resulted in two runs for the Blazers.
In the top of the seventh, center fielder TJ McCants tied the game with Alabama’s second two-run home run of the night. After trailing for seven innings, Alabama came back to tie the game at 4.
In the top of the eighth, Guscette singled back up the middle to score designated hitter Mason Swinney and give Alabama its first lead of the night. Later in the inning, third baseman Gage Miller extended the Alabama lead by scoring Guscette to put the Crimson Tide up 6-4.
Pulling the Blazers back within one run in the eighth, pinch hitter Gavin Lewis Jr. took lefty Alton Davis II over the left field wall, making it 6-5.
Davis attempted to close things out for the Crimson Tide in the bottom of the ninth. With one out down in the inning, Blazer pinch hitter Peyton Puckett tied the game on a groundout, which brought home the runner from third to make it 6 all. UAB failed to cash in the game-winning run in the ninth, sending the game to extra innings.
In the top of the 10th, Miller doubled down the right-field line to score Eblin and break the deadlock. Alabama also brought in two more insurance runs in the top half when left fielder Ian Petrutz singled through the left side to score shortstop Justin Lebron. Capping off the scoring for the Crimson Tide in the 10th was Miller when he took advantage of and scored on a wild pitch to put Alabama ahead 9-7.
“We swung the bats all night,” Vaughn said. “We were slamming some baseballs. Sometimes it seemed like they were either right at somebody, the wind killed it, or they caught it right at the wall. And that’s baseball: Sometimes things like that are going to happen.”
Despite getting a run back in the bottom half of the 10th, the Blazers were unable to complete the comeback as the Crimson Tide rallied from behind to win in extra innings. Alabama will now head to Frisco, Texas, to compete in the Frisco Classic, where games are scheduled to start on Friday.
