Alabama’s offense dominated Tuesday night against Jacksonville State 20-11. It was the Crimson Tide’s most runs scored in a game so far this season.
Alabama’s offense got off to a hot start right away, with a 3-run homerun by first baseman Will Hodo. Yet Jacksonville State’s designated hitter Carson Hornung got one back in the second with a solo home run.
The second inning was pure chaos for Alabama. The team scored a total of 13 runs in the second, the most in an inning since April 2019. It started with catcher Brady Neal hitting a 2-run home run into right field. Three batters later, shortstop Justin Lebron hit a deep 3-run home run into left field. Designated hitter Coleman Mizell then hit back-to-back home runs.
Alabama wasn’t done there. Another Hodo hit, this time a single, drove in third baseman Jason Torres. The Crimson Tide then got the bases loaded and scored thanks to a Richie Bonomolo Jr. walk. This set up the grand slam for right fielder Bryce Fowler to make it 15-1 Alabama. The next at-bat, Lebron hit his second home run to extend the lead to 15.
For Lebron, this was something he had never done before nor could he have imagined.
“I was just more shocked that I did it,” Lebron said. “I haven’t done that ever in my life, so it was amazing.”
Alabama’s pitching did struggle against a tough Jacksonville State offense. Junior JT Blackwood got the starting job and allowed 5 earned runs across 3.1 innings. The bullpen then allowed 2 runs in the fourth and 4 runs in the fifth inning, allowing JSU to cut the lead to 16-9. The Gamecocks then scored 2 unearned runs in the seventh, making it 16-11.
However, the Crimson Tide kept its cool. In the eighth inning, Alabama scored 4 runs off four hits, making it a 20-11 game.
Despite the off day from the bullpen, head coach Rob Vaughn was pleased with how the team responded.
“We’ve been so good coming out of the bullpen, but we just weren’t awesome today,” Vaughn said. “I was just proud of the relentlessness of our at bats.”
Alabama’s next game will be Friday at 4 p.m., when the Crimson Tide will begin its home series against North Dakota State. Viewers can watch on SEC Network.
