The Alabama baseball team wrapped up a three-game sweep of Alcorn State Sunday, beating the Braves 8-1. It was another impressive game for the Crimson Tide pitching staff, as Alabama allowed only two runs during the entire series.
“We had another good start today out of Tucker Hawley,” head coach Mitch Gaspard said. “Three games in a row I thought our pitching threw a lot of strikes and did a really good job.”
Hawley, a sophomore pitcher, went five innings, allowing one unearned run and striking out five. Hawley kept the Braves off the board in the early innings, keeping Alabama in it until the Tide offense finally went off in the fifth with five runs.
“It is good for an offense to know that you can hold them at zero for a while so we can start getting that offense going,” said designated hitter David Kindred.
Kindred scored Alabama’s first run after hitting a one-out double to left field and scoring on a double by third baseman Brett Booth in the following at-bat. The double was Kindred’s first hit of the season, one he had long been awaiting since his return from battling cancer.
“That was good,” Kindred said. “I’ve been dreaming about that not only the whole fall while I was practicing, but also when I wasn’t playing, I just wanted to contribute.”
Going two for two on the day, Kindred said he is at full strength and is ready to do whatever he can to help out the team.
“I told my team I was going to bring the energy,” Kindred said. “I wanted that to go through to let everybody know that I’m back and ready to go and at 100 percent.”
Another key contributor for the Tide was shortstop Jared Reaves. Reaves went two for four on the day with a run, an RBI and a stolen base. After his first weekend with the Tide since transferring from Southern Union Community College, Reaves appears to have settled in, batting .636 out of the third spot in the lineup.
“I hit out of the three at Southern Union, but it’s certainly different here. There is a good deal of pressure,” Reaves said. “I’ve got Josh Rosecrans hitting behind me though and I always look forward to hitting in front of him. All in all, I enjoy it. I couldn’t ask for more.”
Reaves said he enjoys the atmosphere of being on a Southeastern Conference team and having the 4,270 fans in attendance cheering the team on.
“It’s totally different than in junior college,” he said. “Whether it is just a regular play or a high-pressure situation, like when [Andrew Miller] threw out the runner at home, the crowd just erupted. It is just an awesome feeling playing in front of these fans.”
The Tide outscored Alcorn state 24-2 over the series. Along with the solid performances at the plate and on the mound, the Tide was equally impressive in the field.
“Defensively, I thought the whole team played well,” Reaves said. “It gives [the pitchers] all the confidence. They say when a ground ball is hit, they just don’t even want to have to look, they just want to know that there is an out. I hope it is like that all year.”
The Tide’s next test comes Tuesday at 3:05 p.m., when the Tide matches up against Alabama State.
“Just seeing this new group together after three games and seeing how they were going to mesh with each other, it was encouraging,” Gaspard said. “It’s a hard-nosed group. They are going to play the game the right way, and I think we are going to see a steady improvement throughout the year with this team.”
