Good things come to those who wait. That can be said of the University of Alabama baseball team’s weekend. The Crimson Tide waited through bad weather to finish off Mississippi State in the first game of the series Saturday and on Sunday battled back in both games of the double header to earn the series sweep over the Bulldogs.

“I’m proud of our team,” said Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard. “Knowing what was at stake this weekend, we desperately needed a sweep.”

The Tide fell behind quickly in the first game of the double header after Adam Morgan struggled through 2 2-3 innings, giving up seven hits and five earned runs. Matt Taylor proceeded to give up two more runs in the fourth, and the game appeared to be all but over. However, the Tide refused to quit.

“They were able to hang in there in some situations all weekend when we fell behind,” Gaspard said. “I think it shows the true character of our players and who our team really is.”

The magic started for Alabama when the Tide, trailing 7-0, had the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the fourth with Jake Smith at the plate. Smith took a 1-1 hanging breaking ball and drove it over the left field fence for his second grand slam of the season, cutting the lead to 7-4.

“When I was on deck, the coaches said ‘be confident,’” Smith said. “He just hung a breaking ball, and I just got a good swing on it.”

Later in the inning, Ross Wilson came to the plate with two runners on and Alabama trailing 7-5. Wilson got a hold of a changeup, which carried just over the left field wall to give Alabama the lead.

“I’m just glad it got out,” Wilson said. “I kind of thought it was off the bat, and then I didn’t think it was going to get out. It was big for us to get the lead.”

After Mississippi State rallied back to tie the game at 8-8, junior Brock Bennett singled home the game’s winning run to give the Tide the win.

“It was just the right hit at the right time,” Bennett said.

In the final game of the series, the story was the same for the Tide, as it rallied back using a five-run sixth inning to erase a 4-1 deficit. Bennett again came up with a huge hit as he slapped a two-out single up the middle to give the Tide the lead.

“They were definitely two big games that we needed to win, and it is definitely a great feeling,” Bennett said.

After the series, the Tide moved to 25-15 (8-10 SEC) on the season.

Next up for the Tide are two mid-week games against Mississippi Valley State in Tuscaloosa before they travel to Columbia, S.C., to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks. The Tide will look to build on this momentum as they get closer to the SEC tournament.

“Things weren’t going our way, but we came out and worked hard,” Smith said. “Three games in a row in the conference—that’s huge.”

The Crimson Tide baseball team defeats the Mississippi State Bulldogs in a close game on Saturday.