Diamond Notes : Hunter, Avila Spark Bama Past No. 6 Arkansas, 10-0

[Diamond Tide]

Share
 

05/11/2007



TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- University of Alabama sophomore third baseman Alex Avila had three hits and four RBI and sophomore right-handed pitcher Tommy Hunter threw eight scoreless innings as the Crimson Tide blanked the No. 6 Arkansas Razorbacks 10-0 in the Southeastern Conference series opener in front of 4,507 fans Friday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.

Avila went 3-for-5 with a two-run triple and solo home run and missed the cycle by a double in the Crimson Tide’s lopsided win.

Hunter (6-4) held the Razorbacks to five singles through eight scoreless innings as he out-pitched Arkansas All-American and junior left-hander Nick Schmidt. Hunter added seven strikeouts and walked two en route to the win.

Senior right hander Patrick Kelly preserved the Crimson Tide’s fourth shutout of the year with a scoreless ninth inning. After a allowing a lead off double, he added two strikeouts and got Jake Dugger on a ground ball to end the game.

Avila broke open a close game with a two-run, bases loaded single with two outs in the fourth inning to chase Schmidt from the game. The Pembroke Pines, Fla., native added his team-leading 12th home run to lead off the fifth inning.

Schmidt (9-2) endured the second-shortest SEC outing of his Arkansas career as he lasted only 3 2/3 innings in the loss to Alabama. Schmidt was charged with five runs and seven hits and walked four and struck out four. The outing was his shortest since lasting only 2 1/3 innings against Vanderbilt on April 8, 2005.

Alabama (28-22, 12-13 SEC) scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning off Schmidt to take a 2-0 lead. Emeel Salem led off the game with a single to right and was erased at second base when Brandon May reached on a fielder’s choice. Avila drove in the game’s first run with a RBI triple to right center field to put Alabama in front 1-0.

Matt Bentley drew a two-out walk and moved to second on a wild pitch before Elvin Vargas delivered a two-out single to left field to score Avila from third base to make it two-run game. Bentley was thrown out at home by left fielder Casey Coon to end the inning.

After leaving the bases loaded in the third inning, Alabama loaded the bases in the fourth and fifth innings and scored six runs to blow open a close game. The Crimson Tide scored three times in the fourth and added three more runs in the fifth to take an 8-0 lead.

Avila’s two-run bases loaded single with two outs in the fourth inning gave Alabama a 4-0 lead. May also scored on the play from first base on Jake Dugger’s error in center field to make it 5-0.

The Crimson Tide stretched its lead to 8-0 in the fifth on Greg Paiml’s one-out bases loaded single to left field to score Bentley and Vargas, who had reached on singles. Salem’s RBI ground out scored Moore from third base with the final run of the inning.

Avila tagged his 12th home run of the season to lead off the sixth inning and give the Tide a 9-0 lead. Matthes then reached on an error by third baseman Logan Forsythe and later scored on a two-base throwing error by left fielder Casey Coon to make it 10-0.

Arkansas (36-15, 16-9 SEC) managed only five singles in the loss and committed five errors.

GAME NOTES:

*Alabama has won four of its last five home games after a 10-0 win over No. 6 Arkansas in Friday’s SEC opener.

*Alabama is 4-5 in SEC openers following Friday’s 10-0 win over Arkansas.

*The Crimson Tide posted its fourth shutout of the season against the Razorbacks. Alabama also has shutout wins over Georgia State (7-0), UAB (16-0) and No. 17 Nebraska (8-0). The Crimson Tide has shutout two Top 20 teams this season.

*Alabama’s 10-0 win over Arkansas was the Crimson Tide’s first SEC shutout since beating LSU 4-0 during the 2005 season. The 10-0 win was the most lopsided SEC shutout since a 19-0 win over Auburn in 2004.

*Alabama has had success against Arkansas All-American left-hander Nick Schmidt over the last three years. Schmidt is 0-1 with a 5.29 ERA and two no decisions in three career starts against the Crimson Tide. He has worked 17 innings in those three starts and allowed 16 hits, 14 runs and 10 earned runs with 12 walks and 19 strikeouts. Schmidt gave up five runs and seven hits 3 2/3 innings on Friday night in the loss to the Tide.

*Sophomore third baseman Alex Avila (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) was 3-for-5 with one home run and four RBI in Friday’s win. He had an RBI triple in the first inning, a two-run single in the fourth inning and added a solo home run in the sixth. He missed the cycle by a double. Avila has three home runs and 10 RBI in his last two SEC home games.

*Junior DH Elvin Vargas (New York, N.Y.) made his first start of the season as the designated hitter and went 3-for-4 with one run scored and one RBI. The Arkansas game marked his first career three-hit game.

*Senior CF Emeel Salem (Mountain Brook) had two hits and one RBI on Friday.

*Senior SS Greg Paiml (Hoover) went 3-for-4 with two RBI in the win over Arkansas.

*Sophomore RHP Tommy Hunter (Indianapolis, Ind.) threw eight scoreless innings in the win over No. 6 Arkansas. He allowed only five singles, walked two and struck out seven. Hunter allowed only three Arkansas runners into scoring position and only one reached third base.

PS- Avila's home run was at least a 450 foot bomb.


Alabama Media Relations

RTR,

Diamond Tide

[DC1982]

who'd a thunk it, Bama won with Belcher not in the 2-hole.

Seriously, this team is doing better against SEC caliber pitching than the craps it saw last week. Todd and Welker are new to the SEC but are very proven. Maybe that's a good thing. Make them throw a lot of pitches early, like Schmidt did, because their bullpen sucks.