Alabama baseball and the defending National Champions Mississippi State scrimmaged Friday night in Starkville, Mississippi. The Crimson Tide fell to the Bulldogs 2-1 in a defensive battle. 

The scrimmage was the Crimson Tide’s first of the fall season. 

Junior Owen Diodati was the bulk of Alabama’s offense. He obtained two of the team’s three hits on the night. One of those two hits was a 330-foot solo home run to right field in the top of the first inning. 

The Tide’s only other hit was a double from Junior Zane Denton. 

Junior Kamren James provided the Bulldogs’ game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth. James launched a ball deep into center field with a runner on first base. That two-run home run was enough to give the Bulldogs the lead and eventually the win. 

Pitching and defense were solid from both teams. Collectively, there were five hits in the game. Runners on both teams were thrown out attempting to steal second. Four batters were hit by pitches. 

“Today was a really positive day for our team. It was exciting for our kids to play in front of a great crowd with a lot of Bama fans in attendance,” said Alabama head coach Brad Bohannon.

He added, “We threw a bunch of strikes with multiple pitches, and we played 14 defensive innings of errorless ball, including multiple web gems.” 

The teams played an eight-inning game as part of a double header. The Crimson Tide will play its next scrimmage on the road against Ole Miss on Oct. 30.