While the rest of the university dispersed from Tuscaloosa for spring break, the Alabama baseball team played seven games, six being against top-25 teams. The Crimson Tide went 3-4 over the stretch and now has a 13-6 overall record.
Alabama went into spring break with a No. 23 ranking from Baseball America. The first series Alabama played in was a home matchup against No. 21 Houston March 11-13. Houston won the first two games to clinch the series. Both games were close as the Cougars won 3-1 then 3-2. On March 13, Alabama avoided the sweep when junior Will Haynie recorded a game-winning solo shot in the eighth to win 7-6.
“It was a great feeling to get that home run,” Haynie said beating Houston. “It feels like it’s been tough in the box for a while, but it just feels good to help the team get a win. I was sitting on a fastball, saw my pitch and got good contact on it.”
Alabama then played a midweek game at Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles improved their home record to 9-2, after a 9-2 win over the Crimson Tide. The Crimson Tide allowed a season high 15 hits, while Southern Miss struck out eight Alabama batters.
Alabama then traveled to Baton Rouge for its first SEC matchup of the season. No. 7 LSU had a 12-2 home record before the weekend, but Alabama’s bats came back to life during the series. The Crimson Tide had a double header on Saturday and won both games. The Crimson Tide blanked the Tigers in game one and scored six runs in a 6-0 victory. Alabama then scored four early runs and held LSU to three runs to secure the series in game two. On Sunday, Alabama went for the sweep and came up just short. It was a good series win for Alabama who hadn’t won a series in Baton Rouge in 20 years.
“Offensively, we’re showing a little spark right now and starting to look like the offense we thought we’d be,” Gaspard said. “This is a tough place to win, so obviously when you can win two in one day here it’s awfully special. The series win means a lot and gets us off to a good start in SEC play.”
The team fell out of all the rankings after the 3-4 stretch, but will have a chance to maybe creep back in with a four games coming up this week. Tuesday Alabama will play at Regions Field in Birmingham against UAB, and this weekend Tennessee will come to Tuscaloosa for a three game series.
