Alabama
22-9, 3-7
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Mississippi State
18-13, 2-8
Late Rally Not Enough in Baseball’s 12-8 Loss to Mississippi State
4/6/2023 8:45:00 PM | Baseball
The Tide scored three in the ninth but was unable to get any closer
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama battled for three in the ninth but was unable to get any closer as the Tide fell, 12-8, to Mississippi State on Thursday evening at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide is now 22-9 overall and 3-7 in Southeastern Conference play.
A back-and-forth game saw both teams score in over half the innings with a six-run seventh for MSU proving the difference. The Bulldogs led off with a two-run first and added one in the second. Alabama answered with one in the second and a two-spot in the third to even things up at three apiece. The Tide took hold of the lead with one in the fourth before MSU matched with a single tally in the top of the fifth. State then posted six in the seventh and one apiece in the eighth and ninth. Alabama was able to get one in the seventh and rally for three in the ninth but could get no closer than the 12-8 final.
Alabama's offense was led by the 3-4-5 hitters in Ed Johnson, Jim Jarvis and William Hamiter. Johnson paced the Tide in hits with a 3-for-5 effort that included an RBI and one run scored. Jarvis and Hamiter each recorded a solo home run and two runs scored with Hamiter driving in a team-high three RBI.
The win went to Mississippi State reliever Colby Holcombe (2-1) with KC Hunt (2) picking up the save. Alabama reliver Connor Ball (1-1) suffered the loss.
From Head Coach Brad Bohannon
"We didn't do enough on either side of the ball to win, and we certainly didn't pitch well enough. You give up two groundball singles in the first, you look up and we're down 2-0. But I'm proud of our guys for fighting back. We had it at 4-4 in the beginning of the sixth, but we gave up eight runs after the sixth inning. We gave up eight two-out RBI, gave up an 0-2 and a 1-2 homer, and we just did not execute pitches well enough tonight to beat an SEC team."
How It Happened
- T1 | State crossed its first run on a sacrifice fly with a pair in scoring position. After a walk put runners on the corners, a single deep in the hole at second allowed one more to score. (2-0, Mississippi State)
- T2 | A solo home run by Ross Highfill added another tally for MSU. (3-0, Mississippi State)
- B2 | With runners at second and third and two down, Tommy Seidl singled to left-center to get the Tide on the board. (3-1, Mississippi State)
- B3 | Jim Jarvis cut the lead to one with a solo home run. William Hamiter followed him with a homer of his own in the next at-bat to tie things up. (3-3)
- B4 | The Tide loaded the bases for Ed Johnson, with the second baseman delivering a run-scoring infield single. (4-3, Alabama)
- T5 | State tied things up with a fielder's choice that scored one. (4-4)
- T7 | A six-run seventh by MSU featured three homers. Hunter Hines hit a solo homer followed by a two-run shot from Slate Alford. Highfill capped the scoring with his second home run of the night, this one a three-run shot. (10-4, Mississippi State)
- B7 | The Tide loaded the bases with a double play cutting down two but crossing one. (10-5, Mississippi State)
- T8 | A one-out double followed by a two-out single added a run for State. (11-5, Mississippi State)
- T9 | The Bulldogs widened the gap with an RBI-single through the left side. (12-5, Mississippi State)
- B9 | Alabama reached two with two down before a two-run double from Hamiter cut into the lead. Andrew Pinckney followed with a grounder on the infield that resulted in an error, allowing one more to cross. (12-8, Mississippi State)
Postgame Notes
- Alabama has now homered in 25 games this season while recording multiple homers 17 times.
- Jim Jarvis and William Hamiter delivered back-to-back home runs. The pair are the first Tide batters to homer in consecutive at-bats since Sam Praytor and Zane Denton did so against Troy on March 3, 2021.
- Jarvis extended his hitting streak in SEC play to nine games. Over that stretch, the senior is batting .371 (13-35) with three doubles, three home runs, seven RBI, 11 runs and nine walks.
- The Tide shortstop has also gotten aboard in 13 consecutive games dating back to March 16.
- Andrew Pinckney reached base in tonight's game and has now done so in 12 straight contests.
- Ed Johnson extended his hitting streak to six games. Across the streak, Johnson is batting .480 (12-25) with a double, four RBI, six runs, two walks and a stolen base.
- ATTENDANCE: 3,409
Alabama will look to even the series up on Friday at The Joe with first pitch now scheduled for 12 p.m. CT. The game was originally set for 6 p.m. but was moved up due to the threat of inclement weather later in the day.
The Crimson Tide will send sophomore right-hander Luke Holman to the mound with the Bulldogs calling on freshman Jurrangelo Cijntje, who throws both ways. Game two of the series will air live on SEC Network+.
Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabmaBSB on Twitter and Instagram and on Facebook at Alabama Baseball. General athletic news can be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Holcombe, Colby (2-1)
L: Ball, Connor (1-1)
S: Hunt, KC (2)
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Batting:
2B: Ledbetter, Colton 1 ; Hines, Hunter 1 ; Jordan, Dakota 1
HR: Hines, Hunter 1 ; Alford, Slate 1 ; Highfill, Ross 2
RBI: Ledbetter, Colton 1 ; Hines, Hunter 1 ; Jordan, Dakota 1 ; Hancock, Luke 2 ; Alford, Slate 3 ; Highfill, Ross 4
SF: Jordan, Dakota 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Larry, Amani 1 ; Ledbetter, Colton 2 ; Hines, Hunter 2 ; Jordan, Dakota 1 ; Alford, Slate 1 ; Clark, Kellum 1 ; Forsythe, Lane 2 ; Highfill, Ross 2
Batting:
2B: Hamiter, William 1
HR: Jarvis, Jim 1 ; Hamiter, William 1
RBI: Johnson, Ed 1 ; Jarvis, Jim 1 ; Hamiter, William 3 ; Seidl, Tommy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Williamson, Drew 1 ; Johnson, Ed 1 ; Jarvis, Jim 2 ; Hamiter, William 2 ; Pinckney, Andrew 1 ; Guscette, Mac 1
HBP: Hodo, Will 1 ; Hamiter, William 1 ; Pinckney, Andrew 1
