Bama Baseball Blasts SEMO to Sweep Weekend Series, 20-0
3/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The University of Alabama baseball team posted its highest run total of the 2004 season with a 20-0 win over the Southeast Missouri State Indians in front of a paid crowd of 4,439 fans at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
The Crimson Tide (14-4) won its 12th straight home game with a 10-run, six-hit sixth inning, scoring the runs against three different SEMO pitchers.
The first eight batters reached base and scored in the inning off losing pitcher Mike Fitch (0-2). Senior Carlos Sosa, broke open a close game with a two-run double to give Alabama a 4-0 lead.
The hitting continued as Michael McCallister and Mark Haske followed with RBI singles off reliever Brad Smith, who allowed four runs without recording an out in the frame.
Emeel Salem added an RBI single, his second hit of the inning, to tie an Alabama single game record for hits in an inning. Rocky Scelfo added a sac fly and Sosa recorded his second double of the inning to score another run as UA built an 11-0 lead.
Alabama also benefited from three hit batters and three balks in the inning.
Sosa, who also matched an Alabama record with two doubles in the inning, went 2-for-4 with three RBI in the game.
Haske had his most productive day for the Crimson Tide going 3-for-6 with three RBI in his third straight start at second base. Salem, who went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI, also had his best game for the Tide.
Alabama starter Brandon Belcher capped an impressive weekend on the mound by Crimson Tide pitchers. Belcher (2-1), who won for the second time this week, tossed seven scoreless innings and allowed five hits and struck out eight batters.
In the three-game weekend series, Alabama's starting pitchers worked 23 innings and allowed no run and 11 hits, with four walks and 25 strikeouts.
Taylor Tankersley pitched two perfect innings, with five strikeouts, to complete the shutout for Alabama.
Alabama shutout SEMO in the last two games of the series, marking the first time since 1991 that the Crimson Tide has tossed back-to-back shutouts. In 1991, Tommy Milstead and Mark Roberts pitched back-to-back shutouts in win over Ole Miss in Oxford.
The on-slaught continued as Bama added four runs in the sixth inning as freshman Greg Paiml capped the inning with a two-run triple
Haske and David Ferazza added back-to-back singles in the two-run seventh inning as the Crimson Tide took a 17-0 lead.
Evan Bush capped the scoring with a three-run home run in the eighth inning to make the final 20-0. Bush has a team-leading four home runs this season and 10 RBI. In six career games against SEMO, Bush has collected 10 RBI against the Indians.
Alabama took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning on a two-out walk by Michael McCallister and an RBI double into the left field corner by Mark Haske. Nick Richardson followed with a single to center but Haske was thrown out at the plate by center fielder Frankie Montiel.
McCallister was 2-for-2 with three runs scored in the win. He has reached base seven consecutive plate appearances and was responsible for the winning run in all three games with SEMO. The freshman is riding a four-game hitting streak and is 9-for-19 in his last six games to lead the UA offense.
SEMO (4-8) appeared to have loaded the bases in the top of the fifth inning, but two base running blunders ended the threat with a bizarre double play.
Bryan Kurt reached on a lead off single and moved to second on a one-out single up the middle by Keith Wollis. Brady Noll then reached on an error by second baseman Mark Haske, but the Indians ran themselves out the inning with two base running mistakes.
Kurt rounded third base too far and Haske fired to third baseman Allen Rice, who applied the tag for the second out between home and third base. Wollis tried to advance to third on the play, but Rice fired the ball to pitcher Brandon Belcher, who was covering the bag for the double play.
The Indians have lost three straight games and fell to 0-8 on the road this year.
Alabama has won 30 consecutive non-conference home series, including 18 sweeps in the Jim Wells era.
The Crimson Tide will play four games on the road next week, beginning with a 6:30 p.m. game Wednesday, March 17 at Birmingham Southern. Alabama opens SEC play next weekend at Georgia, beginning with a 7 p.m. (ET) game on Friday.
GAME NOTES:
*Freshman lefty Brandon Belcher made his second start of the season on the mound today for Alabama against SEMO. Belcher's only other career start came on Sunday, Feb. 22 against Cincinnati.
*Alabama went 30 1/3 innings without an error by second baseman Mark Haske with one out in the fifth inning.
*Alabama's 10-run fifth inning marks the most runs scored in an inning this season. The previous high was nine runs in the sixth inning in the Crimson Tide's 10-1 win over SEMO in Friday's series opener.
*Alabama outscored SEMO 32-1 in the three-game series this weekend.
*Backup catcher David Ferazza collected his first career hit and RBI with a seventh inning single today.
