By Elliott Propes | Staff Reporter
Alabama hosted No. 8 Ole Miss on Friday. The two teams began the day tied in the SEC West. Alabama starter Geoffrey Bramblett threw seven innings with just one unearned run, but the offense did not back him up, as Alabama lost 4-0.
“Really the last two Fridays Geoffrey has certainly pitched well enough to win,” Coach Mitch Gaspard said. “He’s done a hell of a job for us on Fridays. He’s given us an opportunity to win every Friday. It’s disappointing when you’re not able to get the offense going when you get a pitching performance like that.”
Bramblett’s one unearned run came in the third inning off of a strange play. With a runner on second, Ole Miss hit a dribbler to third. Alabama caught the guy on second in a rundown and tagged him out. The runner on first went for second, but Alabama’s throw went into the outfield where no one was because right-fielder Chandler Taylor came in to help with the rundown. The runner went all the way around with ease to put Ole Miss up 1-0.
Alabama had a chance to even the score in the sixth inning when the Crimson Tide loaded the bases with one out. Then Brady Bramlett struck out Chance Vincent and Georgie Salem to hold the 1-0 lead. Bramlett finished with six innings of scoreless ball, striking out six in the process. Alabama left a total of eight runners on base in the ballgame.
“We had two opportunities and on Friday night that’s about what you get, and we were not able to take advantage of them,” Gaspard said. “When you get those shots those have to be our best at-bats right there. That’s where you have to deliver in those spots.”
Ole Miss scored the remaining three runs all in the top of the ninth inning off of Matt Foster. Ole Miss closer pitched the last two innings giving up no base runners to prevent any sort of comeback.
“Our pitchers are keeping us in every game,” Gaspard said. “So if we can get that area [offense] cleaned up, we are going to be able to start winning more games, but right now when we are scoring one or two runs a game it is tough. The games we are winning are nail biters because we are not creating enough offense for ourselves.”
Alabama will be back in action Saturday for game two at 5 p.m. The projected starters are Alabama’s Jake Walters and Ole Miss’s David Parkinson.
