Fans filed in early and took their seats for the first Alabama baseball game of the season, and Sewell-Thomas began to roar. The new lighting system began flashing on the field, synched with the music that played over the pregame hype video. The new technology wasn’t the only thing that brought cheers, as Alabama went on to win the opener over Maryland 3-1.
“Honestly tonight, I probably put more pressure on myself than any other night,” coach Mitch Gaspard said. “You wanted it to be such a good night, and I’m really pleased it worked out the way it did. There’s not a whole lot of words to describe it.”
Freshman Chandler Taylor, lined one into the right field ragers section in his first at-bat to give the Crimson Tide a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Maryland tied it up in the second inning, but then Taylor added another RBI single in the sixth. Taylor finished 2-2 with a walk and two RBI’s on the night.
“I still can’t explain to be honest,” Taylor said. “It was breathtaking for sure.”
Chandler Avant added an insurance run in the 7th inning to get the 3-1 lead. Starting pitcher Geoffrey Bramblett worked in and out of danger and was able to pitch 5.1 innings of one-run ball. Bramblett also recorded six strikeouts in the process.
“I thought Geoffrey really gutted it out tonight,” Gaspard said. “He got in a couple of rough spots there, but made big pitches to get out of it. That’s what he’s been able to do.”
Alabama will play Maryland again tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. Maryland made Super Regionals last season, but lost to Virginia and failed to get to the College World Series.
