Paiml Bunts Tide to 1-0 Win
2/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Paiml Bunts Tide to 1-0 Win
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- The University of Alabama baseball team won by the smallest of margins on Friday night as junior shortstop Greg Paiml (Hoover) laid down a bunt single in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Crimson Tide a 1-0 win over Florida International at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
Paiml, who has five bunt singles this season, laid a bunt down the first base line to score pinch-runner Jeff Texada (New Iberia, La.) from third base to give UA its second walk-off win of the season.
The run snapped a streak of 20 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings by the Alabama offense. The Crimson Tide was shutout 2-0 at home by Memphis on Tuesday night.
With the score tied at 0-0 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, pinch-hitter Andrew Rogers (Grapevine, Texas) led off with a single up the middle. Texada pinch-ran for Rodgers and moved to second on redshirt freshman left fielder Kyle Moore’s (Wetumpka) second sacrifice bunt of the game.
After a wild pitch from losing pitcher Chris Siebenaler sent Texada to third base, junior first baseman Spencer Pennington was intentionally walked before Paiml laid the game-winning bunt down the third base line.
“That is what you have to do,” Alabama head coach Jim Wells said. “Paiml did a good job of executing and getting the bunt down.”
Siebenaler (1-3) took the loss after allowing a run and two hits in just one-third of an inning out of the pen.
Alabama junior left-hander Wade LeBlanc and FIU junior right-hander Walker Whitley gave the fans a pitcher’s duel throughout the game.
LeBlanc (2-0) won for the second time this season after throwing his sixth career shutout and 11th complete game for the Tide. The Lake Charles, La., native allowed only three hits and added a season-high 11 strikeouts en route to the win.
LeBlanc retired the final 11 FIU hitters and struck out the side in the ninth inning. He also retired nine straight Golden Panthers earlier in the game.
The shutout extended Bama’s scoreless innings streak to 17 1/3 innings. In its last four games, Alabama has posted two shutouts and allowed just three total runs.
Whitley threw eight scoreless innings for FIU (5-6) and allowed four hits, with four walks and five strikeouts.
“Both pitchers did a nice job,” Wells added. “Wade LeBlanc was outstanding. He moved his fastball in and out and kept their hitters off balance all night. He was very good tonight.”
LeBlanc pitched out of a first inning jam set up by two Alabama errors when he induced a ground ball double play off the bat of catcher Luis Bautista, who brought a .565 batting average into the series opener.
“He was not as sharp in the first inning, but he got the double play and was tough to beat after that,” Wells added.
The Crimson Tide (6-3) made four errors in the win, but got a game-saving catch from junior center fielder Emeel Salem (Mountain Brook) in the seventh inning to take an extra base hit away from Yosvel Barroso with a spectacular diving catch in left-center field.
Alabama’s best chance to score was thwarted when FIU center fielder Bryan Pullin came up with a big play of his own in the bottom of the inning when he threw out pinch-runner Tyler Odle at the plate to keep the score knotted a 0-0.
FIU (5-6) had runners at second and third with two outs in the sixth inning, but LeBlanc got Bautista to pop up to Evan Bush to end the inning.
The Crimson Tide out-hit the Golden Panthers 6-3 in the win. Paiml had two hits to lead the UA offense. Kody Valverde, Alex Avila, Rodgers and Pennington had one hit each.
Pullin had two of FIU’s three hits in the loss.
The two teams will meet again on Saturday at 4 p.m. (CT) at the Joe.
GAME NOTES:
*Junior left-hander Wade LeBlanc (Lake Charles, La.) recorded 11 strikeouts against Florida International to move into eighth place on the school’s all-time strikeout list with 234 career strikeouts. He surpassed Taylor Tankersley (232, 2002-04), Tommy Milstead (231, 1988-91) and Jackie Glover (228 K, 1967-69) on Friday night.
*In 20 innings this season, LeBlanc has 28 strikeouts and only three walks. He has not walked a batter in two of his three starts this year.
*Alabama’s last 1-0 win came against Auburn here at the Joe in 1996 when Joel Colgrove out-dueled Auburn’s Tim Hudson.
*Salem’s 12-game hitting streak ended with an 0-for-4 night.
*Moore tied the UA single-game record with two sacrifice bunts in the win over FIU.
