Crimson Tide Baseball Routs Morehead State, 20-2
3/24/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The University of Alabama baseball team scored in all but one inning Wednesday night en route to an easy 20-2 win over the Morehead State Eagles in front of a paid crowd of 4,387 fans at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
The Crimson Tide got at least one hit and one RBI from 10 different position players en route to its 13th straight home victory.
Alabama (16-7) pounded out 15 hits and benefitted from four MSU errors in scoring 20 runs in back-to-back home games for the first time since 1998. In that season, Alabama beat Arkansas Little-Rock 20-3 and Louisiana Tech 23-3 in back-to-back games here at the Joe.
The Crimson Tide scored in each of the first five innings and sent 11 men to plate and scored seven unearned runs in the third inning to take a 9-1 lead. After a pair of errors, Evan Bush lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to score Emeel Salem with the first run of the inning. After the second out was recorded, Alabama put the next six batters on base against losing pitcher Cody Sorrell.
Sorrell (0-1) allowed nine runs and eight hits in three innings for his first loss of the season.
Matt Downs singled home Brandon Belcher to make the score 4-1. Junior Rocky Scelfo followed with an RBI triple to right field, David Ferazza added a two-run double down the left field line and Salem capped the scoring with an RBI single.
Alabama scored five runs in the fifth inning to take a 15-1 lead. Beagle had the only hit in an inning that featured four walks and three wild pitches.
Tuscaloosa native Chris McIlwain recorded his first career hit and RBI with a triple in a two-run seventh inning.
Tyler Meigs added an RBI single in the eighth and first baseman Zac Welch capped the scoring with a two-run homer in the three-run eighth inning.
Allen Ponder (2-0), making his first start of the season and third of his career, threw six strong innings for the win. The Auburn native allowed two runs on six hits, with two walks and a career-high 10 strikeouts.
Eric Mennen earned his first save of the year with three effective innings of relief. The junior allowed only one hit and matched his career-high with six strikeouts.
Ponder and Mennen combined for 16 strikeouts in the win, the second-most by Alabama in the Jim Wells era. Alabama had 17 strikeouts in win over Murray State in 1996.
Junior second baseman Rocky Scelfo was one of many hitting stars for the Crimson Tide, with a career-high three hits and three RBI in the win. Senior designated hitter Ryan Beagle matched his career high three hits and two RBI for the Tide.
Downs, a native of Centreville, added two hits, two RBI and scored two runs in his first career start at third base. Freshman shortstop Greg Paiml added one hit and scored three runs for the Tide. Freshman Brandon Belcher had a triple, one RBI and scored three times.
Bush tied his own school record with two sacrifice flies in the win over MSU.
Pete Troyer's RBI single plated an unearned run in the third inning and Patrick Lager added a solo home run in the sixth inning to account for the Eagles run production.
GAME NOTES:
*Sophomore Matt Downs (Centreville) made his first career start at third base against Morehead State. Downs has appeared in four games this season as a pinch-hitter and backup third baseman. He also has seven appearances on the mound for the Crimson Tide.
*Senior Ryan Beagle (Hueytown) made his second start of the season for the Crimson Tide, but his first as the designated hitter. Beagle's other start this season was in left field against SE Missouri State on March 13.
*Sophomore right-hander Allen Ponder (Auburn) made his first start of the 2004 season on the mound. Ponder started two games last year as a freshman against Florida (Mar. 23) and LSU (Mar. 30) and compiled an 0-1 record and 14.22 ERA in those two games.
*Senior DH Carlos Sosa (Vera Cruz, Mexico) did not start for the first time this season against Morehead State. Sosa had started the previous 22 games for Bama, but entered the MSU in an 0-for-16 (.000) slump at the plate.
*With Sosa out of the lineup, that leaves junior Rocky Scelfo (Youngsville, La.) as the only UA player to start all 23 games this season.
*Junior Morrow Thomley (Tuscaloosa) was a late insertion to the Alabama lineup, replacing Michael McCallister (sore back) in right field. Thomley is making his Crimson Tide debut against the Eagles.
*Downs fielding error in the third inning was the first by Alabama in 30 1/3 innings, dating back to the eighth inning of last Wednesday's game with Birmingham Southern. The errorless streak was the second longest of the year by Alabama. The Crimson Tide turned in 31 1/3 consecutive errorless innings from Mar. 10-14.
*Alabama had three triples in the win over MSU, including one by Belcher, Scelfo and McIlwain.
