McNairy’s Effort on the Mound, Steady Offense Leads Baseball to 8-1 Win over Troy

Wednesday, March 2

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

3 p.m.

Alabama

6-4

Troy

5-4

Troy

Alabama

McNairy’s Effort on the Mound, Steady Offense Leads Baseball to 8-1 Win over Troy

3/2/2022 6:49:00 PM | Baseball

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The senior starter posted 7.0 scoreless frames to pair with a season-high 15 hits from the offense

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball used a dominant pitching performance combined with steady offense to cruise to an 8-1 win over Troy on Wednesday afternoon at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide is now 6-4 on the season following the midweek victory.

Alabama starter Jacob McNairy (2-0) was near-perfect in his second start of the season. The senior maintained a perfect game through 6.1 frames and finished with a career-high 7.0 innings of work for the win. McNairy did not issue a walk and struck out a career-high seven batters before handing it over to the bullpen. The freshman duo of Luke Holman and Connor Ball combined for the final 2.0 innings, striking out three to secure the win.

The Crimson Tide's offense scored in six of the eight innings on Wednesday, including the first four frames, to provide McNairy with plenty of run support. Eight of the nine Alabama starters registered a hit on the afternoon with Zane Denton and Jim Jarvis each contributing a three-hit performance. Denton finished a triple short of the cycle, going 3-for-4 with a single, double and home run to pair with two RBI and two runs scored. Jarvis wrapped up his day 3-for-5 with a triple and one run.

From Assistant Coach Jason Jackson

"The story of the day is right here next to me (Jacob McNairy). I think we have been playing well, just coming up a little bit short. You sometimes need someone to put the team on their back and that is what Goob did today. He gave us 7.0 great innings and really carried us. We really swung the bats well, did a great job of getting guys on base each inning, and we continued to add to the lead every inning. This was a really good effort, especially after we have come up short these past few days."

How It Happened

B1 | Jim Jarvis started the game with a leadoff triple and came home one out later thanks to a single from Drew Williamson. After a fielder's choice put Zane Denton at first, the junior came in to score on a double from Tommy Seidl to give the Tide a two-run advantage. (2-0, Alabama)
B2 | Owen Diodati led off the inning with a double to right-center. One out later, Jarvis singled to left to put Diodati at third for Dominic Tamez. The Tide catcher took advantage of the opportunity with a groundout to second base that allowed the man from third to score. (3-0, Alabama)
B3 | Denton recorded his second home run in as many days with a solo shot to start the inning. (4-0, Alabama)
B4 | Davis Heller sent an 0-2 pitch to the left-center field gap for a leadoff double. He moved to third on a Jarvis single and then came home on an RBI-single from Tamez. (5-0, Alabama)
B6 | Tamez worked a two-out walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Williamson brought Tamez home in that same at-bat, lining a ball to right for an RBI-double. Denton followed with a double of his own to plate Williamson. (7-0, Alabama)
B7 | Camden Hayslip recorded his first hit as a member of the Crimson Tide, blasting a solo shot to left to increase the Alabama lead. (8-0, Alabama)
T9 | A two-out run crossed on an RBI-single for the Trojans. (8-1, Alabama)

Postgame Notes

The Alabama pitchers totaled 10 strikeouts and have now recorded 10-or-more punchouts in four games this season.
Jacob McNairy tossed a career-long 7.0 innings in today's start. The senior's previous high for innings was 5.0 in his last start which came against Jacksonville State on Feb. 22.
McNairy also struck out a career-high seven batters. His previous high for punchouts was four, which he accomplished on two other occasions, most recently in game one the doubleheader against Wright State last season on Feb. 27.
The seven strikeouts by McNairy are the most by any Alabama pitcher this season.
The Crimson Tide totaled a season-high 15 hits in today's game. The 15 hits are the most by a Tide offense since April 17 against Auburn last season when UA had 16.
Eight of the nine Alabama starters recorded at least one hit on the afternoon.
With his 2-for-4 effort, Drew Williamson has recorded a hit in nine straight games. Over the streak, the senior is batting .378 (14-37) with five doubles, two home runs, nine RBI, six runs scored, a pair of walks and one hit-by-pitch.
Zane Denton homered in back-to-back games for the second time in his career. Denton also homered in back-to-back contests on Feb. 20-21 against McNeese last season.
Denton's performance marked the first time a UA hitter has homered in consecutive games since Jackson Tate left the yard in back-to-back contests on May 16 and May 20 of last season.
Andrew Pinckney's six game hitting streak ended Wednesday afternoon. Across the streak, the sophomore batted .350 (7-20) with a triple, one home run, two RBI, three runs scored and one walk.
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Alabama will continue the current 10-game homestand with a weekend series against Murray State. The Crimson Tide and Racers are scheduled for a 3 p.m. CT first pitch on Friday. The two teams will then square off at 2 p.m. on Saturday followed by a 1 p.m. start in the series finale. All three games can be seen live on SEC Network+.

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