Tide Bullpen Holds Off Rainbows in Series Finale, 3-2
2/13/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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HONOLULU, Hawaii -- For seven innings the University of Alabama pitching staff was untouchable. The final two innings were a different story, but four UA relievers combined to record the final six outs and held off a furious pair of Hawai'i rallies as the Crimson Tide held on for a 3-2 in the final game of four-game series in front 2,134 fans at Les Murakami Stadium.
Junior right-hander T.J. Large (1-0) earned his second career win with 5 2/3 scoreless innings in his first career start on the mound. Large allowed only two hits in his 2005 debut, with three walks and six strikeouts.
Junior right-hander Jordan Davis and a trio of freshman right-handers Josh Copeland, David Robertson and Casey Kebodeaux held off the Rainbows for the win. Kebodeaux pitched the ninth inning to earn the save in his Alabama debut.
Hawaii scored twice in the bottom of the eighth inning to cut the Alabama lead to 3-2 and threatened to tie the game or take the lead as they put runners on the corners with only one out.
Second baseman Isaac Omura led off the inning with walk and center fielder Matt Inouye followed with a base hit to left field. The base hit chased Davis, who had escaped a bases loaded jam in the sixth inning, from the game and coach Jim Wells brought in Copeland, the first of three true freshman relievers.
Copeland struck out designated hitter Rocky Russo and then allowed an RBI double to Luis Avila, who just missed a game-tying, three-run home run. Avila's two-base hit plated Omura and sent Inouye to third base. Copeland then uncorked a wild pitch to score Inouye and cut the UA lead to 3-2.
Wells then went the bullpen again and brought in David Robertson, who earned the win in his debut during Alabama's 9-5 victory on Saturday. Robertson walked pinch-hitter Jose Castaneda to put runners on the corners with only one out. Freshman catcher Esteban Lopez the lined out to Morrow Thomley in left field for the second out and Thomley gunned down Avila at the plate for the inning-ending double play. Thomley's throw was right on the money to catcher Kody Valverde and it preserved the one-run lead heading to the ninth.
The Rainbows (2-2) were back at it again in the ninth inning as Robbie Wilder drew a four-pitch walk to open the inning. Wells then called on freshman right-hander Casey Kebodeaux, who made his Crimson Tide debut in the clutch situation.
UH shortstop Joe Spiers sacrifice bunt send Wilder to scoring position and then Kebodeaux and Bama got a break with UH senior right fielder Greg Kish at the plate. Kish hit a ground ball to UA freshman shortstop Cale Iorg, who alertly tagged out Wilder, who was attempting to go to third base.
Wilder's base running blunder cost Hawai'i as Omura followed with a base hit to right field that would have tied the game. Instead, the Rainbows had runners at first and second and Inouye flied to end the game.
Both teams had numerous chances to put runs on the scoreboard, but never really got the clutch hit. Hawai'i stranded 11 base runners and had just three hits in 17 chances with runners in scoring position. Alabama left 10 men on base and collected just five hits in 19 opportunities with runners in scoring position.
Despite the offensive struggles, Alabama managed to take a 1-0 lead in the third inning off losing pitcher Justin Costi.
Iorg collected his first hit in an Alabama uniform as he led off the third inning with an infield hit. Sophomore Brandon Belcher, making his first start of the season in center field, laced a double into the right field corner to score Iorg all the way from the first base with the 1-0 lead.
Both teams suffered missed opportunities in the sixth inning.
Alabama (2-2) squandered a chance to add to its lead in the top of the inning, despite collecting two hits. Senior second baseman Allen Rice led off with a base hit to right field and moved into scoring position after junior catcher Kody Valverde hit a slow roller to short.
Following the ground out, UH shortstop Joe Spiers slipped in behind Rice at second base and Costi picked off the Alabama senior. The pick off proved to be costly as junior third baseman Evan Bush followed with a base hit to left field and then Costi uncorked a wild pitch. Senior left fielder Morrow Thomley grounded out to the end the inning as UA stranded another runner in scoring position.
In the bottom of the inning, Hawai'i missed its best chance to tie or take the lead as they left the bases loaded in a one-run game. Kish reached on a throwing error by Iorg and quickly moved into scoring position on a passed ball by Valverde. Large then got Isaac Omura to pop up to Iorg for the first out and struck out Matt Inouye for the second out before issuing back-to-back walks to Rocky Russo and Luis Avila to load the bases.
Wells opted for Davis out of the pen and he induced an inning-ending ground out off the bat of Jonathan Hee.
Davis sparked his teammates as Alabama sent eight men to the plate in the top of the seventh inning and scored two runs on three hits to take a 3-0 lead. Sophomore right fielder Michael McCallister drew a one-out walk and moved to third on redshirt freshman Matt Bentley's ground-rule double to left.
UH starter Justin Costi was replaced by Guy McDowell after the ground-rule double. Iorg followed with a base hit to left field to score McCallister and give Bama a 2-0 lead. Iorg rounded first too far and was able to out-run the Rainbows to second base to put two runners in scoring position. The run-scoring single was the first career RBI for the freshman. Belcher was then intentionally walked to set up the double play.
Rice then laced an RBI single to left field to score McCallister and with the 3-0 lead, but again Iorg slipped around third and was tagged out. Valverde struck out, but reached on a wild pitch to re-load the bases before Bush grounded out to end the inning.
Costi (0-1) allowed three runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings in his UH debut, with one walk, two strikeouts and two hit batters.
Alabama held its lead until the final two innings before things got a little shaky, but the bullpen did its job and salvaged a split of the four-game series.
Rice had three hits to lead UA's 11-hit attack. Belcher and Iorg added two hits apiece for the Crimson Tide.
Spiers had two hits to pace the `Bows 10-hit attack.
The Crimson Tide will return to Tuscaloosa and will face UNC Asheville in the 2005 home opener this Friday, Feb. 18 at 6:30 p.m. (CT).
GAME NOTES:
*Redshirt freshman Matt Bentley (Hazel Green) made his Alabama debut in the series finale at Hawai'i. Bentley was the starting designated hitter and batted eighth in the UA lineup on Sunday. He redshirted last season at Alabama. Bentley recorded his first career hit -- a ground rule double -- in the seventh inning.
*Sophomore Brandon Belcher got the start in centerfield in the series finale and hit in the leadoff spot in the batting order. Belcher slapped a single through the left side of the field on the fourth pitch of the game for the first hit by Alabama this season in the first two innings of the game. Including Sunday's game, Alabama is 1-for-24 (.042) at the plate during the first two innings.
*Junior RHP T.J. Large also made his first career start for Alabama in the series finale at Hawai'i. Large appeared in three games for the Crimson Tide in 2004 before suffering a season-ending injury on Feb. 29, 2004. He was 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in those three games and was awarded a medical redshirt by the NCAA.
*Junior RHP Jordan Davis (Frisco, Texas) has stranded all four inherited runners this season, including all three in the sixth inning tonight against Hawai'i.
*Former Alabama place kicker Peter Kim, who is a successful businessman in Honolulu, attended a couple of the Crimson Tide baseball games this weekend against Hawai'i. A native of Seoul, South Korea, Kim played one season at Hawai'i before transferring to Alabama for the 1980-81 seasons. He remains close to the UA program and is a close friend of Alabama Director of Athletics Mal Moore. Kim also had the Alabama coaching staff and support staff over to his home for dinner following Sunday's series finale.
*Former All-American and 1999 SEC Player of the Year Shaun Alexander attended Thursday night's season opener between Alabama and Hawai'i. Alexander (1996-99), the school's all-time rushing leader, is in Honolulu this week for the annual National Football League's Pro Bowl, where he is a member of the NFC All-Pro team.
*The Crimson Tide baseball team wraps up the road trip with a visit to Pearl Harbor on Monday before catching a 7:45 p.m. (HT) flight to Atlanta and then on to Birmingham. The team is scheduled to arrive in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday, Feb. 15 around Noon.
