The pitchers were in a groove and the bats were hot for Alabama baseball en route to an 8-1 win over Troy on a beautiful and sunny Wednesday afternoon at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide’s victory over the Trojans snapped a four-game losing streak. 

Senior Jacob McNairy carried a perfect game through 6 ⅓ innings of work until he gave up a single to William Sullivan on the first pitch of the at bat. 

The Crimson Tide picked up 15 hits as an offense, marking a season high. Nine different Alabama players picked up hits.

The defense looked just as strong, not committing an error in the game.

A pair of home runs pushed the Crimson Tide to victory with junior Zane Denton and freshman Camden Hayslip hitting the home runs. Denton had a strong day, falling just short of the cycle with a missing triple. He had three hits including the home run, also picking up two RBIs. Junior Jim Jarvis also picked up three hits, including a leadoff triple that set the tone for the day. 

A big factor of Alabama’s getting swept by No. 1 Texas in Austin last weekend was offensive struggles. Alabama was happy to see a strong offensive performance against Troy. 

“I thought we swung the bats well, we did a really good job of getting guys on base every inning,” assistant coach Jason Jackson said.  

Troy struggled to do anything on offense until the top of the ninth inning when it picked up three hits in that inning. The Trojans picked up their lone run in that inning as well. 

Alabama was well in control throughout the game, scoring at least one run every inning until the fourth. McNairy was a fan of the run support. 

“It’s a relief, the runs help, but whether we are up 10 or down 10, I’m going to go out there and do my job,” McNairy said. 

The crowd rallied behind McNairy as he worked through his perfect game. The 78 pitches and the seven innings pitched are career highs for McNairy. 

In reference to the perfect game McNairy said, “I wasn’t thinking anything different, I just went out there and threw strikes.” 

Alabama starts a three-game series on Friday, March 4, with Murray State. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.