Alabama Rallies Past Samford, 10-6
4/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 29, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Complete Release in PDF Format
Alabama Rallies Past Samford, 10-6
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Alabama rallied from a four-run deficit and overcame three errors en route to a 10-6 come-from-behind victory over Samford in front of a stadium record 1,641 fans at Joe Lee Griffin Field on a chilly Tuesday night.
Alabama erased a 5-1 deficit with four runs in top of the third inning and then overcame a 6-5 deficit in the fifth inning when
junior catcher Kyle Moore blasted a two-run home run to left-center field putting the Tide ahead to stay, 7-6.
"With a runner on third and two outs, I was trying to hit the ball back up the middle," Moore said of his home run. "I got a fastball and put it on the sweet spot."
Alabama (26-21) put the game away with a three-run eighth inning, taking advantage of a pair of Samford errors in the process. Junior DH Alex Avila and junior right fielder Kent Matthes had RBI singles in the inning as the Tide extended its lead off relief pitcher Andrew Jones.
Four Alabama relief pitchers - Jimmy Nelson, Josh Copeland, Will Stroup and Austin Graham - combined for six shutouts innings in relief of starter Nathan Kilcrease.
Nelson (2-2) earned the win with three scoreless innings of relief, while Graham pitched 1 1/3 innings for his second save.
Samford reliever Joshua Vanfleteren (2-3) was charged with the loss after allowing two runs and six hits in 3 2/3 innings.
Moore had two hits and three RBI for Alabama. Matthes added three hits and scored two runs for Alabama.
Alabama (13) and Samford (13) combined for 26 hits and the teams stranded 22 base runners in the three-plus hour game.
The Crimson Tide scored a run in the top of the second inning when senior first baseman Matt Bentley drew a walk and later scored on Moore's two-out single to left to give the Tide a 1-0 lead.
Samford (27-16) loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the first inning, but did not score. The second inning was a different story, however, as the Bulldogs took advantage of some good fortune and scored five runs to take a 5-1 lead. The Crimson Tide aided the cause with a pair of errors and senior right fielder Michael Rutledge launched a three-run home run to left field to cap the inning. All five runs were unearned.
Alabama answered right back with four runs on three hits in the top of the third inning to knock out SU starter David Knapp. Avila led off with a four-pitch walk and scored on sophomore left fielder Brandon May's two-run home run to dead center field to close the gap to 5-3. It was May's sixth home run of the season. Bentley then lined a single to right and moved to third on Matthes' double to center field. Tyler Odle and Jake Smith followed with back-to-back sacrifice flies as Alabama knotted the score at 5-5.
"That was the key to the game," Alabama head coach Jim Wells said. "We tend to give up runs early in the game, even multiple runs, but we came back with a big inning and then got a zero in the (bottom of the fourth). The key to game was our four runs after they scored five."
Knapp allowed five earned runs and five hits in 2 1/3 innings for the Bulldogs, with one strikeout and two strikeouts.
The Bulldogs regained the lead with the run in the bottom of the fourth inning, 6-5, but things could have been worse for the Crimson Tide as Jimmy Nelson relieved starter Nathan Kilcrease and minimized the damage despite four Samford hits in the inning. John Morgan was picked off second base by Moore that prevented the big inning. SU shortstop Michael Marseco delivered a one-out RBI single to right to give Samford a 6-5 lead.
Kilcrease allowed six runs and eight hits in three innings with two strikeouts and one walk. Of the six runs charged to the UA freshman, five were unearned.
Alabama answered in its half of the sixth inning as Moore slammed a two-run home run to left center field to give the Tide a 7-6 lead. Matthes, who had walked to lead off the inning, scored on the two-out home run. It was Moore's fourth career home run and first of the 2008 season.
GAME NOTES:
*Sophomore left fielder Brandon May (Marietta, Ga.) cracked his sixth home run of the season in the third inning. Of the six home runs he has hit this season, five have come on the road. May is the Tide's leading hitter on the road this season with a .385 (25 for 65) with five home runs and 12 RBI in 17 games.
*Freshman shortstop Josh Rutledge (Cullman, Ala.) extended his hitting streak to 23 games with a sixth inning single.
*Junior catcher Kyle Moore (Wetumpka, Ala.) stroked a two-run home run in the sixth inning to give the Tide a 7-6 lead. It was his fourth career home run and first of the season. Of his four career home runs, three have come against Samford, including one in each of the last three seasons.
*Alabama closed its non-conference schedule with a 16-10 record.
*Alabama also went 11-9 in the month of April.
*Alabama is five games over .500 for the first time this season.
-UA-
