“That’s why he started tonight, he really earned the Friday night spot through the fall and early spring and that’s where experience comes in,” coach Mitch Gaspard said.
The offense was paced by cleanup hitter Casey Hughston. Hughston finished the night with three hits, two of which were doubles and two RBI. Centerfielder Georgie Salem went 2-for-4 with two hits and an RBI. Salem scored two runs and stole two bases.
“They did good,” Guilbeau said. “You’re always going to struggle to hit, they gave me six runs in the first outing. I don’t expect them to put 10, 20 runs in the first outing, but I felt like they did really good and produced for us.”
Ray Castillo replaced Guilbeau in the seventh inning and finished the game with three scoreless frames and five strikeouts. He registered his first save of the year.
In Saturday’s game, Alabama registered 14 hits. Starter Will Carter, pitching in his first career game at Alabama, went seven innings and struck out six in an 11-0 victory over UMES.
Hughston once again led the offense going 4-for-4 with an RBI. Second baseman Kyle Overstreet led the team with three RBI in Saturday’s game.
Carter allowed two hits in his seven innings of work. Alex Watkins and J.C. Wilhite each pitched an inning out of the bullpen to finish the game off.
In the series finale, the Tide exploded for 19 runs on 15 hits in a 19-0 victory to complete the sweep of the Hawks. Hughston went 4-for-4 with a double and triple. Hughston and Overstreet both had five RBI in the win. Hughston went 11-for-13 with six runs scored and seven RBI in the first series. Alabama outscored UMES 38-0 in the series.
Geoffrey Bramblett started the game for Alabama and pitched six innings with three strikeouts while giving up two hits.
The Crimson Tide will travel to Houston for a three-game weekend series with the University of Houston, which starts Friday. Houston is ranked No. 3 in the nation according to Baseball America.
