Alabama
18-3
Alabama State
8-10
McCants’ Huge Night Powers Baseball to 15-7 Win at Alabama State
3/19/2024 10:57:00 PM | Baseball
The Tide center fielder finished 4-for-4 with a double, three homers, six RBI, four runs and one walk
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama used a huge night from TJ McCants to secure a 15-7 win over Alabama State on Tuesday evening at the Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex. With the victory, the ninth-ranked Crimson Tide is now 18-3 overall on the season.
McCants recorded a 4-for-4 night that included a double, three home runs, six RBI, four runs scored and one walk as he reached in all five plate appearances before being pulled from the game. The senior hit a solo homer, a two-run shot and a three-run bomb for each of his roundtrippers. McCants was joined by Gage Miller at the top of the lineup, with the Tide leadoff man going 2-for-6 with two RBI and three runs scored.
The win went to Zane Adams (2-1), who allowed one run on two hits with three strikeouts in his scheduled 3.0 innings of work.
From Head Coach Rob Vaughn
"Our bats were okay early, but TJ kind of let us breathe a little bit. Those were some unbelievable at-bats out of him. He drove the baseball and did some big things at the plate. He contributed a bunch of RBI and added some runs up there for us, which was huge. TJ was just phenomenal and we needed that on a night like tonight, just to create a little room for us and get us going."
How It Happened
- B1 | Jamal George hit a solo home run to right to give the Hornets the lead. (1-0, Alabama State)
- T2 | Will Hodo got aboard with a one-out walk before moving to third on a double from Justin Lebron. Kameron Guangorena then brought Hodo home on a sacrifice fly to even things up. (1-1)
- T3 | TJ McCants moved the Tide in front with a solo home run to right. (2-1, Alabama)
- T4 | Gage Miller kept the inning alive with a two-out single and came home in the next at-bat on McCants' second homer of the night. (4-1, Alabama)
- B4 | The ASU leadoff man was hit by a pitch and moved all the way to third before a 6-3 groundout scored him to narrow the gap. (4-2, Alabama)
- T6 | Hodo began the inning with a walk and moved to third one out later on a single before coming in to score on a single from Miller. With two still aboard, McCants hammered his third home run of the night. (8-2, Alabama)
- B6 | Three hits and a walk led to three runs for the Hornets. (8-5, Alabama)
- T7 | The Tide drew two walks to start the inning before a one-out single from Lebron added a run. After a hit-by-pitch loaded them up, Miller singled to right to score a pair. The Hornets then intentionally walked McCants to load the bases with a walk to Ian Petrutz pushing a run across. With the bases still loaded, Evan Sleight singled to right to score two more followed by Mason Swinney who capped the inning's scoring with an RBI-single. (15-5, Alabama)
- B7 | With the bases loaded and two-down, a single scored a pair for the Hornets. (15-7, Alabama)
Postgame Notes
- All nine starters reached base safely on the night.
- Seven of the nine starters recorded at least one hit.
- The Crimson Tide recorded double-digit hits and has now totaled 10-plus knocks in 16 of 21 contests.
- Alabama has homered in 16 games this season and has tallied two-or-more homers in 12 of those matchups.
- TJ McCants extended his hitting streak to 21 games. The senior center fielder is batting .398 (35-88) with nine doubles, one triple, ten homers, 30 RBI, 24 runs scored, 12 walks, three hit-by-pitch and seven stolen bases to start the season
- McCants hit three home runs on the night to tie the Alabama record for a single game. It was the first three-homer performance for UA since G.W. Keller against Vanderbilt on May 8, 1999.
- The Tide center fielder accumulated 14 total bases to tie the Alabama single-game record. He matched Andy Phillips (1999) and Mick Kerns (1982).
- Gage Miller has reached base safely in all 21 games.
- Mason Swinney has gotten aboard in all 13 games he has played in
The Crimson Tide will now travel to Athens to take on Georgia for a three-game weekend set from March 22-24. First pitch in the series opener is set for 5 p.m. CT with a 11 a.m. start to follow on Saturday. Things wrap up on Sunday at 12 p.m. The bookend games of the series will air on SEC Network+ with game two being broadcast nationally on SEC Network.
Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabmaBSB on X/Twitter and Instagram and on Facebook at Alabama Baseball. General athletic news can be found at UA_Athletics on X/Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Zane Adams (2-1)
L: Jose Almazan (2-2)
Batting:
2B: TJ McCants 1 ; Justin Lebron 1
HR: TJ McCants 3
RBI: Gage Miller 2 ; TJ McCants 6 ; Ian Petrutz 1 ; Evan Sleight 2 ; Mason Swinney 1 ; Justin Lebron 1 ; Kameron Guangorena 1
SF: Kameron Guangorena 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gage Miller 3 ; TJ McCants 4 ; Ian Petrutz 1 ; Mason Swinney 1 ; Kade Snell 1 ; Will Hodo 2 ; Justin Lebron 1 ; Kameron Guangorena 1 ; Luke Vaughn 1
SB: TJ McCants 1 ; Ian Petrutz 1
CS: Mason Swinney 1
HBP: Luke Vaughn 1
Batting:
2B: Ali LaPread 1 ; Randy Flores 1 ; Devin Chandler 1
HR: Jamal George 1
RBI: Jamal George 1 ; Devin Chandler 3 ; Kyler McIntosh 2 ; Quentin Jenkins 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ali LaPread 1 ; Jamal George 3 ; Jack Hay 1 ; Devin Chandler 1 ; Isaiah Landry 1
HBP: Isaiah Landry 1 ; Javian Serrano 1
