Diamond Notes : Avila, Hunter Lift Tide to Win at No. 20 Mississippi State, 4-3

[Diamond Tide]

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05/17/2007


STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The University of Alabama baseball team took a big step towards a berth in the 2007 Southeastern Conference Tournament with a 4-3 win over No. 20 Mississippi State in front of announced crowd of 6,267 fans at Dudy Noble Field Thursday night.

Sophomore right-hander Tommy Hunter logged his second complete game of the season and sophomore third baseman Alex Avila provided the offense with a fifth-inning grand slam as the Crimson Tide moved one step closer to an SEC Tournament berth.

Alabama (30-23, 14-14 SEC) needs one more win over Mississippi State or one loss by Kentucky, LSU and Tennessee to clinch its 11th SEC Tournament berth in Coach Jim Wells 13 seasons.

“I am not sure of all the (possibilities) but I know we needed to win a game,” Wells said. “We squandered so many opportunities.”

Alabama trailed 1-0 after four innings despite out-hitting the Bulldogs, 5-1. The Crimson Tide also stranded five base runners through the first four innings. Alabama left 11 men on base in the game, including three in the ninth inning.

MSU had taken a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning when Brian LaNinfa led off the inning with a double down the left field line and moved around the bases on a pair of ground outs by Joseph McCaskill and Jet Butler.

After leaving five runners on base through the first four innings, Alabama got into scoring column with a four-run fifth inning to chase MSU starter Chad Crosswhite.

Avila’s first career grand slam off losing pitcher Chad Crosswhite gave the Crimson Tide a 4-1 lead. The Crimson Tide loaded the bases with no outs in the inning.

Senior shortstop Greg Paiml led off the inning with double down the left field line. After senior center fielder Emeel Salem walked, senior left fielder Brandon Belcher reached on a bunt single to third base to load the bases with no outs.

Avila then lined a 2-0 change-up over the right-center field fence for his first career grand slam to put the Tide up 4-0. It was Avila’s team-leading 13th home run of the season.

“It was a change-up”, Avila said. “I was looking for something away. I saw the ball in and it was slow enough for me to get the bat head on the ball and I got a really good swing.”

Crosswhite (7-3) gave up four runs and eight hits in four innings with three walks and seven strikeouts.


Hunter (7-4) held the SEC’s second-best offense to three runs and five hits en route to his second complete game of the season and fifth of his career. He added six strikeouts and walked one batter.

Mississippi State (32-17, 14-12) got two runs back in the bottom of the inning, but left the tying run at third base when junior catcher Ed Easley struck out looking to end the inning.

MSU shortstop Jet Butler’s third home run of the season cut the Alabama lead to 4-2 with one out and pinch-hitter Wyn Diggs infield ground out scored Mark Goforth from third base to cut the Bama lead to 4-3.

State left the tying run on base in the eighth inning when Hunter struck Mitch Moreland to end the inning. The game ended when Belcher hauled in Joseph McCaskill’s deep fly ball in left-center field.

The two teams continue this three-game SEC series on Friday, May 18 at 6:30 p.m. (CDT). Alabama will send sophomore left-hander Miers Quigley (4-6, 4.46 ERA) to the mound, while MSU will counter with left-hander Justin Pigott (4-5, 5.04 ERA).

GAME NOTES:

*The last six Alabama-Mississippi State games have been decided by two runs or less. Alabama has won four of those six games.

*Alabama’s magic number to clinch an SEC Tournament berth was reduced to one with its win at Mississippi State on Friday. The Crimson Tide can clinch a berth in next week’s tourney with one more win this weekend against the Bulldogs or one more loss by Tennessee, Kentucky and LSU.

*Sophomore third baseman Alex Avila (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) stroked his team-leading 13th home run of the season in the top of the fifth inning. Avila’s home run to right-center was his first career grand slam as he and Jake Smith (Shannon) are the only two current UA players with a grand slam in their Alabama careers.

*Avila has 10 home runs in 28 SEC games and has at least one home run in six of the Tide’s 10 SEC series this season.

*With his first career grand slam, Avila now has 21 RBI in his last nine games, an average of 2.3 RBI per game.

*Senior center fielder Emeel Salem (Mountain Brook) extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a third-inning single.

*Senior shortstop Greg Paiml (Hoover) doubled and scored in the Tide’s four-run fifth inning and has now scored a run in five straight games.

*In the race for the SEC Tournament, which will be held May 23-27 at Regions Park in Hoover, South Carolina and Mississippi State clinched SEC Tournament berths on Thursday. South Carolina got in with a 13-3 win over Georgia, while State got in with losses by Kentucky and LSU. Vanderbilt (20-8) clinched the 2007 SEC Championship with its 4-1 win over LSU and Arkansas’ 5-4 loss at home to Ole Miss. It is Vandy’s first SEC title since 1980. Arkansas (17-10) and South Carolina (16-12) have also clinched tourney berths through Thursday’s games. Georgia and Auburn have been eliminated.


Alabama Media Relations

RTR,

Diamond Tide