Tide Baseball Falls to Birmingham Southern, 4-3
3/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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BIRMINGHAM - Connor Robertson first did it with his bat and then his arm.
The Birmingham Southern senior hit a two-run home run and then earned the win on the mound with 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief leading the Panthers to a 4-3 come-from-behind win over the No. 29 University of Alabama Crimson Tide in front of a standing-room only crowd of 1,553 here at Scrushy-Striplin Field on the BSC campus Wednesday night.
Robertson (3-0) struck out the side in the ninth inning, ending the game when Bama senior Carlos Sosa took a called third strike. BSC pitchers combined to strike out 11 Alabama hitters in the win.
Robertson, a product of Central-Tuscaloosa High School, gave the Panthers their first lead of the game in the sixth inning with a two-run home run off the right field foul pole to give BSC a 3-2 lead.
The home run was the 45th career home run by Robertson, tying the BSC career record held by Brock Lowell from 1996-99. The home run was also Robertson's first career hit in 11 at-bats against Alabama.
Robertson is the Panthers leading hitter this season was just named the National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball newspaper and the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association.
"Robertson did a really good job," Alabama head coach Jim Wells said after the game. "The ball was off the plate and he dove out and hit down the line."
After blowing the save in the top of the eighth inning, Robertson picked up the win when the Panthers plated an unearned run off losing pitcher Eric Mennen (0-1) in the bottom of the inning.
Scott Billak reached on a two-base error by left fielder Evan Bush to open the inning for BSC. Billak's fly ball to left field was dropped by Bush and opened the door for the Panthers to win the game.
Matt Downs replaced Mennen and got Michael Cline to foul out to catcher Nick Richardson and then intentionally walked Robertson to set up the potential double play. Catcher Ryan Griffith followed with a single to left to score Billak, who slid in ahead of Matt Grooms throw from left.
Alabama (14-5) tied the game in the eighth inning, scoring a run without a hit against three different BSC pitchers.
Pinch hitter Ryan Beagle drew a one-out walk off reliever Bailey Pratt. Brandon Belcher pinch-ran for Beagle and stole second base. Robertson moved from first base to the mound and promptly threw two wild pitches, allowing Belcher to score the tying run.
Alabama took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning with four straight hits by Mark Haske, Nick Richardson, Emeel Salem and Rocky Sceflo. Scelfo's single to left field scored Haske and Richardson to give the Tide the lead.
After the single by Scelfo, Allen Rice walked to re-load the bases before Carlos Sosa hit into an inning-ending double play.
Alabama had numerous chances early in the game, but could not deliver the clutch hit. The Crimson Tide had eight hits in the game, all singles, but none after the sixth inning. In addition, Alabama stranded nine runners on base, including four in the first two innings.
"We don't hit," Wells said. "The middle of the lineup doesn't hit. Bush had one hit, but three-hole (Sosa) and five-hole (Welch) hitters went 0-for-4. We had chances to win the game, but can't get the timely hit when we need it."
Birmingham Southern (12-5) cut the lead in half in the third inning on a solo home run by Jonathan Sanford.
Sanford's solo home run was the first run allowed by the Alabama pitching staff in 21 1/3 innings, dating back to the eighth inning of the SE Missouri State game on Mar. 12. It was also the first run allowed by an Alabama starter in 27 innings, dating back to last week's win over Southern Miss.
BSC took the lead in the sixth on a pair of two-out hits off starter Andrew Walker, who breezed through the first five innings.
Cline singled to left with two outs and Robertson smashed as 3-2 pitch off the right field foul pole for his sixth home run of the season as BSC took a 3-2 lead.
Both starters pitched well, but neither figured in the decision.
Walker turned in an impressive outing on the mound for the Tide. In 6 1/3 innings, he allowed three runs on four hits, with one walk and a career-high 12 strikeouts. The Prague, Okla., native exited the game after a walk to Mac Godwin and sacrifice bunt by Jared Walker in the seventh inning.
BSC starter Wes Letson worked seven innings and allowed two runs on eight singles, with three walks and seven strikeouts.
Alabama saw its four-game winning streak come to an end, while BSC extended its winning streak to 12 straight games.
The Crimson Tide is back in action this weekend as they open Southeastern Conference play against the Georgia Bulldogs. The three-game series begins Friday, Mar. 19 at 7:06 p.m. (ET).
The Friday and Sunday games of the series will be televised live by Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS). In Tuscaloosa the games can be seen on Comcast Cable channel 29.
GAME NOTES:
*Alabama is playing its first ever game on the Birmingham Southern campus. The Crimson Tide and Panthers have played 10 times previously in Birmingham, but all of those meetings took place at historic Rickwood Field.
*For the first time this season, Alabama wore crimson tops and pinstripe pants for the BSC game.
*Scelfo's two-run single in the second inning was his first at-bat of the 2004 season with the bases loaded.
*Salem had three hits in the game with Birmingham Southern, his second straight multiple hit game and third of the 2004 season. Salem has five hits in his last two games for the Crimson Tide.
*Walker struck out a career-high 12 batters in the BSC game. He had only nine strikeouts in his three previous outings. The 12 strikeouts are the most by an Alabama pitcher this season, breaking the previous high of 11 strikeouts by Wade LeBlanc against New Orleans on Feb. 14.
