Alabama’s baseball team, fresh off of a three-game sweep of Alcorn State, came away with a hard-fought 11-7 victory over Alabama State Tuesday.
“Today was a learning experience for us,” head coach Mitch Gaspard said. “It gets a little more serious from here. Now our starters are prepared to go a little deeper into games.”
Despite not being played as often as they would in post-season play, the starters still produced for the Crimson Tide. Alabama’s starting pitcher for the day, left-hander Taylor Wolfe, had a stellar performance. He did not allow a hit in his five-inning appearance and also had nine strikeouts with no walks.
“Taylor Wolfe was outstanding,” Gaspard said. “His velocity has gone up a lot. He was at around 84 or 85 mph, but in the fall he was hitting 90.”
Wolfe was in the midst of a possible no-hitter, and seeing him being replaced was a shock for many in attendance.
“[Gaspard] told me my pitch count was getting a little high,” Wolfe said. “Obviously, you don’t want to come out there, but I understood why I was being pulled. It’s a long season, and you don’t want to throw everything out there this early in the season.”
Scoring started for the Tide when freshman Austen Smith hit a grand slam with no outs in the third inning, giving the Tide a 4-0 lead.
“It was a fastball at the letters,” Smith said. “I just put the barrel on it. Coach [Andy] Phillips has worked with me a lot in the offseason, working on my stance and my power.”
After getting three straight outs in the top of the fourth inning, the Tide had another four-run inning in the bottom of the fourth. Junior Jared Reaves had a double and sophomore Brett Booth had a single in the inning, building up an 8-0 lead over the Hornets after four innings and a 10-0 lead after five.
Reaves also had an impact on the Tide’s scoring, going 2-for-2 with a walk, scoring three times and driving in two runs for the Tide.
Alabama State gave the Tide more fight than expected, putting together a comeback in the sixth and seventh innings, cutting Alabama’s lead to four going into the eighth inning.
“The game got out of hand on us there in the sixth and seventh,” Gaspard said. “But we told them that’s just how quick it can happen, no matter who the competition.”
The bullpen gave up all seven of Alabama State’s runs, and Gaspard has an explanation for the Hornets’ late comeback.
“We weren’t throwing enough strikes,” Gaspard said. “We were leaving balls high in the strike zone, and they caught a little momentum. We did it to ourselves by walking batters.”
Starting with the top of the eighth inning, all hopes of a Hornet comeback were thwarted when junior relievers Nathan Kennedy and Jason Zylstra came in for the Tide and both pitched a scoreless inning.
