Alabama
Kentucky
Furtado’s Impressive Start Helps Baseball to 4-0 Win over 25th-Ranked Kentucky
5/23/2023 10:33:00 PM | Baseball
The Tide starter tossed 5.0 scoreless frames to help the Tide blank the Wildcats
HOOVER, Ala. – Alabama baseball used an impressive start from Hunter Furtado to secure a 4-0 shutout victory over 25th-ranked Kentucky on Tuesday night at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. With the win, the 24th-ranked Crimson Tide is now 39-17 on the season and advances to the double-elimination round of this year's Tournament.
Furtado (1-1) put together his most impressive outing in the crimson and white. The sophomore tossed 5.0 scoreless frames with only two hits and two walks to go with a pair of strikeouts. He turned the ball over to Kade Woods, who contributed 2.0 innings, with Alton Davis II closing out the final 2.0 frames for the shutout victory.
Alabama's offense was led by Andrew Pinckney who got the Tide on the board in the fourth with a two-run opposite field home run. Pinckney finished 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored while adding a double to go with the homer. Ed Johnson also recorded a multi-hit effort, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base.
From Interim Head Coach Jason Jackson
"We got a huge start from (Hunter) Furtado. We got a huge home run from (Andrew) Pinckney. Pitching, hitting and I thought we played really good defense. It was a pretty clean game overall. I was proud of our guys for the way they played. They've been awesome."
How It Happened
- T4 | Andrew Pinckney went opposite field for a two-run home run. (2-0, Alabama)
- T6 | With runners at second and third, a groundout that resulted in an error allowed Pinckney to reach and a run to score. (3-0, Alabama)
- T8 | Pinckney started the two-out rally with a double and was followed by a walk to Colby Shelton. Ed Johnson then brought Pinckney in with a single to right-center. (4-0, Alabama)
Postgame Notes
- Alabama recorded its sixth shutout of the season. The six shutouts tie for the fifth-most in a single season in program history.
- Hunter Furtado tossed an Alabama career-high 77 pitches in his start. His previous high was 73 against Florida on March 19, 2022.
- Furtado's 5.0 innings are also a career-high total while with the Tide. His previous best was 4.2 against the Gators on March 16 of this season.
- The Crimson Tide has hit a home run in 47 of 56 games in 2023.
Alabama will now square off with second-ranked Florida on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. CT. The matchup between the ninth-seeded Crimson Tide and top-seeded Gators will air on SEC Network.
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