A big sixth inning solidified the weekend sweep for Oral Roberts, where the Golden Eagles scored three of their five runs.
“I told our guys ‘we can’t let one weekend define our season,’” Alabama coach Greg Goff said. “We just got outplayed. Hopefully this motivates them. Getting swept is not acceptable.”
Small ball lead to the scoring. A single by Brent Williams led off the inning, followed by a sacrifice bunt, moving Williams into scoring position. He would come around to score on a RBI single off the bat of Sam Grellner. Grellner would also come into score coming off a RBI double by Harrison Smith.
“Hitting is contagious and so is not hitting,” Goff said.
Alabama’s offense struggled to puts hits together once again, having a runner on every inning except for the eighth, stranding a total of nine runners. One of Alabama’s two runs came off the bat of Chandler Taylor, who hit his fourth home run of the season for his eighth RBI.
However, the Crimson Tide did have a chance to tie the game up in the ninth inning. With two outs and two runners on Cody Henry hit a massive fly ball that looked like a home run, only to be caught against the left field fence.
“This game will rip your heart out,” Goff said. “We just have to keep getting on the horse. All our guys were in the cages at 8 o’clock this morning, so it’s not a lack of effort.”
Taylor would finish the day going 1-for-3 with a home run and a walk. Cobie Vance would add to his season-long hitting streak, going 3-for-4 with three singles and a walk.
“We just had too many fly balls,” Goff said. “I promise that we will be back to hard and on top next week.”
On the other side of the ball, Alabama starter Dylan Duarte once again had a solid pitching performance, going 4.2 innings while allowing only one run on five hits. He threw 68 pitches in the no decision.
“I thought he threw really well,” Goff said. “He was the only pitcher we had that put up zeros early. He makes his stuff better than what it really is.”
Brock Love struggled in his 1.1 innings pitched today, allowing three runs (two earned) and two hits in the loss.
Miguel Ausua scattered six hits over the six innings pitched. He allowed only one run in the win. The Golden Eagle bullpen would pitch the last three innings and allow just two hits and an unearned run.
Alabama falls to 3-4 on the season. It plays again on Tuesday at 6 p.m. against Jacksonville State.
