After jumping ahead early and weathering a brief push from Austin Peay, Alabama pulled away late for a 6–2 win Tuesday night in Huntsville.
It was a homecoming for North Alabama natives outfielder Peyton Steele, LHP Evan Steckmesser and starting pitcher JT Blackwood.
“Peyton had some really good swings,” head coach Rob Vaughn said. “Good to see him back, kind of going right there because we’re going to need him down the stretch here. Steckmesser was outstanding. JT’s start was great. So happy for them.”
The Crimson Tide struck first thanks to four straight walks in the bottom of the first inning to outfielder Bryce Fowler, shortstop Justin Lebron, catcher Brady Neal and third baseman Jason Torres, giving Alabama a 1-0 advantage.
After drawing four walks, Alabama ended Governor’s starter Dillon Adkins day. Then, the next batter, designated hitter Will Plattner, drove in Lebron via a sacrifice fly, making it 2-0.
Blackwood cruised through the first two innings before running into trouble in the third. Outfielder Zion Taylor got the Governors on the board with an RBI groundout, cutting the Crimson Tide’s lead in half. The next batter, third baseman Ray Velázquez, demolished a solo home run to even the ballgame at 2-2.
Following the home run, lefty Connor Lehman took over for Blackwood and picked up the final out of the frame, then worked a scoreless fourth and fifth innings.
Twelve straight Crimson Tide hitters were retired after loading the bases with nobody out in the first inning, before first baseman Luke Vaughn and second baseman Brennan Holt hit back-to-back doubles to start the fifth to give the Crimson Tide a 3-2 lead. Three batters later, Torres ripped a two-run double into the right field corner, extending the Crimson Tide’s lead to 5-2.
Righty Austin Morris replaced Lehman on the mound in the top half of the sixth and worked a 1-2-3 inning with a pair of punchouts. Morris handed the ball to righty Owen Sarna in the seventh and worked two scoreless innings, with some help from a diving web gem by Lebron.
The Crimson Tide tacked on another run in the bottom half of the eighth inning on an RBI single from Fowler, making it a 6-2 ballgame.
Closer Evan Steckmesser got the call for the ninth inning and recorded the final three outs to give the Crimson Tide a fourth straight win and improve to 19-7 on the season.
“Good team win on the road,” Rob Vaughn said. “And now it’s on to Auburn. Got a big weekend coming up and excited to welcome the Tigers to town and go get after them a little bit.”
Torres and Fowler led the charge offensively for the Crimson Tide. Torres went 1-for-3, accounting for half of the Crimson Tide runs with three RBIs. Fowler went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a walk, setting the tone at the top of the lineup.
The bullpen was dominant tonight, combining for 6.1 innings of shutout baseball with six strikeouts, and Lehman was credited with the win.
Now the Crimson Tide will turn its attention to the Iron Bowl against No. 5-ranked Auburn on Friday night at the Joe at 6 p.m. CT, and it can be streamed on SEC+.
“It’s going to be two really good teams going toe to toe, and it means a lot to a lot of people,” Vaughn said. “It’s your in-state rival, it’s an incredibly talented team. They’re coming in top 10 in the country.”
