Coming off of a three-game sweep against Mississippi State over the weekend, the Crimson Tide shut down Mississippi Valley State tonight at home, 7-4.
Alabama’s win broke Mississippi Valley State’s nine-game winning streak. The game was the first of a two-game series over Tuesday and Wednesday against the Delta Devils.
The Tide started off the first inning with an array of explosive hits, including a home run by senior first baseman Clay Jones. The inning also included a walk, a double and a triple, bringing in a total of four runs in the first inning while the Delta Devils remained scoreless.
Mississippi Valley State pitcher Jesus Aleman picked off Kent Myer at the start of the second inning on an attempt to steal third. But on the next pitch, junior Josh Rutledge hit a triple, scoring sophomore Taylor Dugas.
Alabama cut MVS’s fourth inning short with what looked to be an inside-the-park home run, but senior catcher Cody Trotter tagged Jerry Hildreth at home. Rutledge stole second in the bottom of the inning, making him 11-for-11 in stolen bases this season. The inning ended scoreless for the Tide.
MVS’s Denarvus Turner broke Alabama freshman Taylor Wolfe’s run-less streak with a home run to left field, putting the Delta Devils’ first runs on the scoreboard. The Tide was run-less and hit-less in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Wolfe’s two strikeouts at the start of the sixth inning marked a career high of eight for a single game, but the Devils were able to gain another run after a double to left field. MVS’s Luke Walker then hit a single, bringing in two more runs and putting them only one run behind Alabama. The Tide ended the inning with no runs and no hits.
“I thought Wolfe played really well tonight,” said head coach Mitch Gaspard. “He pitched really well for us early [in the season], then we put him in the SEC and he got beat around. So, tonight was kind of a confidence thing to get him out there and extend his pitch count.”
Wolfe held MVS scoreless again in the seventh inning. Kindred hit a double to start off the inning for Alabama, but the inning ended later with the bases loaded after a fly ball to center, marking the third time in the game the Tide ended an inning with the bases loaded.
Alabama freshman Brett Whitaker relieved Wolfe on the mound at the top of the eighth inning and worked a scoreless inning. Jones had his second home run of the game in the bottom of the inning to put the Tide two runs ahead. Jones’ home run was his 11th of the season and 18th of his career. Senior third baseman Jake Smith then added another home run to make it the first time this season Alabama has had back-to-back home runs.
“[Jones] had a great night,” Gaspard said. “Clay’s starting to hit some balls out of the park again, which is good. That’s what we have to do. Those middle guys have got to start hitting home runs and we’re starting to get those in these last couple of weeks.”
Whitaker closed out the final inning with no runs. This game extended Alabama’s winning streak to four games.
