Despite a minor hiccup in the top of the first inning and another small setback in the top of the seventh, the Alabama men’s baseball team systematically broke down the Volunteers, consistently padded its lead and beat Tennessee with a final score of 8-2.
The first inning mishap came from the Crimson Tide’s starter, senior right-hander Nathan Kilcrease, who walked Tennessee’s leadoff man Khayyan Norfork on four straight pitches. Norfork then advanced to second on a fielder’s choice, stole third, then got home on a fielders’ choice, giving the Vols a 1-0 lead after the top of the first.
“I walked the first batter on four straight pitches and had to dig deep to get going,” Kilcrease said.
The Tide was quick to respond with three runs of its own, not surprising anyone in the Alabama dugout.
“We knew it was a nine-inning game,” sophomore right fielder Andrew Miller said. “We weren’t feeling down at all, we just wanted to play our game.”
After the first inning was over, Alabama showed no mercy in hitting the ball and scoring runs on the Volunteers, something coach Mitch Gaspard said he feels originates from the two-game series against Mississippi Valley State this week.
“The guys have done a great job of responding after the tough week at Vandy,” Gaspard said. “We did well offensively against Mississippi Valley State and kept that up tonight. I think we’re in a better place offensively than we’ve been all season.”
Miller saw some of this coming from the productive pre-game batting practice session.
“We had a really good BP today,” Miller said. “That’s where it starts everyday. If you have a good BP, it just overlaps into the game.”
This is especially true for Miller himself, who notched three hits, one of which came in the three-run first inning. He also tallied three RBIs on the night and scored once for the Tide.
Alabama took a 5-1 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning, where the Tide strung together three straight one-run innings, concluding scoring for the evening and making for the 8-2 final score.
Alabama had a solid performance from Kilcrease against the Volunteers Thursday night. He put in seven innings of work and tallied five strikeouts while allowing two earned runs.
Kilcrease was certainly not alone, getting plenty of help from his hitters. Freshman first baseman Austen Smith played a big role in Alabama’s offense, collecting three hits and scoring twice in five at-bats.
A rather unexpected contributor to the Tide’s win over Tennessee was junior left fielder Hunter Gregory, who came into the game batting .158, but had two hits and two RBI Thursday night, both RBI coming in the pivotal bottom of the third on a blooper to left-center.
Defensive play was certainly an underrated aspect of the Tide’s success all season long, something Gaspard emphasized postgame.
“We’re fielding about .975 this year, which is better than last year,” Gaspard said. “Guys are making plays out there. We’re getting a lot of ground balls, and guys are doing a good job of just picking them up and throwing them out. It’s been a good job all-around.”
The Tide will conclude its series with Tennessee tonight at 6:35 p.m. and tomorrow night at 5:05 p.m.
