The Alabama baseball team won its fourth straight game Wednesday afternoon as the Crimson Tide beat Jacksonville State 9-5 at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
After allowing a run in the first, the Tide offense erupted in the third with a five-run inning, which would give the Tide a lead it would never let go of.
Junior designated hitter Josh Rosecrans had a productive day at the plate, going 3-for-5 with four RBIs. It was Rosecrans’ bases-loaded double that gave the Tide its initial lead; he later connected on a towering home run to give the Tide a commanding 6-1 lead.
“[The double] definitely helped me,” he said. “It got me going, that’s for sure.”
Jacksonville State rallied back in the seventh, capitalizing on an error by second baseman Josh Sanders that would have ended the inning. The Gamecocks were able to score three runs in the inning, making the score 8-4, before pitcher Taylor Wolfe ended the rally by getting a much-needed popup with the bases loaded to end the inning.
Jacksonville got another run in the eighth to trim the lead to three, but the Tide answered back in the bottom of the inning, and senior Brett Whitaker was able to shut down the Gamecocks in the ninth to cement the win.
“We kind of had some hiccups there in the back end of the game,” head coach Mitch Gaspard said. “But I thought overall I was really pleased with [sophomore pitcher Trey] Pilkington, and I thought our offense certainly did enough.”
Pilkington provided a solid outing in his first start for the Tide, going 6.1 innings while giving up three earned runs and striking out three.
“I thought Trey Pilkington had a really good start tonight,” Gaspard said. “That is just what you want to see in midweek games. He took us deep into the game.”
The heart of the lineup was key for Alabama, as shortstop Jared Reaves, first baseman Austen Smith and Rosecrans went a combined 7-for-14 with five RBI.
Previously, the heart of the lineup has been a weakness for the Tide, as Smith and Rosecrans came into Wednesday’s games with batting averages of .222 and .234. The Tide hopes Wednesday’s game is a sign of things to come as Alabama continues into SEC play over the weekend.
“With Rosey, that was good to see,” Gaspard said. “Josh was a junior college All-American and had really big numbers. We are going to need him. He is a middle-of-the-lineup force and it would be great for him to get hot as we are getting into conference play.”
The Tide’s next test will come Friday night against Kentucky at 6:35 at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Alabama (15-7, 2-1 SEC) will be looking to win its second SEC series in as many tries when the Wildcats come to Tuscaloosa.
“With every win you get a little more confident,” Gaspard said. “Right now we are playing pretty good baseball. It is really important for us to try and bottle up that momentum and head into the weekend with it.”
