Senior Cody Henry has been one of Alabama’s most dangerous hitters 13 games into the season. The first baseman is hitting .333, which is fourth among starters, and leads the team in RBIs with 17, four more than any other teammate.
His best series came last weekend against Oklahoma. He hit .500 [4-for-8] with four RBIs. He led the team in RBIs over the weekend and was tied for most hits during the weekend.
“Cody had a great weekend [against Oklahoma] and he’s a great player,” coach Brad Bohannon said.
Henry hit .294 [52-of-177] and 31 RBIs last year, while taking 13 walks. The biggest jump he made from last year is encouragement from the team.
“Just a lot of words from the team,” Henry said. “I like to say something to someone when they are struggling, and they like to do the same thing to me when if I’m not hitting good… It’s definitely a team effort.”
Alabama is almost always on base, especially when Henry is at the plate. The Crimson Tide has drawn 79 walks, while being hit by a pitch 29 times.
“Our team has done a really good job of getting on base,” Henry said. “I’ve come up to bat with bases loaded how many times? I don’t know. I haven’t looked at the stats, but it’s been a lot. That’s not really on me, that’s on them. They’ve done a really good job, and I’m thankful for it.”
Henry’s spot in the lineup has jostled around a bit. He’s hit at four different spots in the order, including as high as second, and as low as ninth.
“You have to stay in the game and stay focused,” Henry said. “I just want to do whatever it takes to win. The big picture is not Southern Miss. It’s not New Mexico State, it’s not Georgia next weekend… The big picture is Omaha. That’s where we want to go. I’m a senior, I want to win.”
Alabama hosts New Mexico State for its last non-SEC weekend series of the season. Junior Sam Finnerty will start on Friday. New Mexico State has one of the best offenses in the country. The Aggies are hitting .368 as a team, which is second in the country. It also has scored the most runs in the country by almost 30 runs [the Aggies have scored 171 runs, while Tennessee Tech, who is second, has scored 146.]
The Aggies have dominated their schedule to this point in the season. They are 8-5 on the season, but they have scored double digit runs in all eight of their wins, including a 39-0 win over Mississippi Valley State. They outscored the Delta Devils 64-9 in the three-game series.
“Our goal [as a pitching staff] is to always get ahead in the count,” left-handed pitcher Dylan Duarte said. “The first three pitches of an at bat the goal is to either get guys on or out. Obviously, these guys coming in can hit.”
The Crimson Tide pitching staff already has shown that it can slow down an explosive offense, when it shut out Southern Miss, who was ranked ninth in the country in runs, on Wednesday.
First pitch of game one between Alabama and New Mexico State is at 2 p.m. on Friday, while game two will start 45 minutes after game one is over
