Bramblett tosses 8.0 innings of one-run baseball to give Tide a chance in the ninth
Feb. 26, 2016
TUSCALOOSA, AL - With runners on the corners and the man from third on the move, Alabama baseball freshman Keith Holcombe knocked a ball back up the middle to plate the winning run and walk it off, 2-1, for the Crimson Tide over North Dakota on Friday evening at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. With the win, Alabama improves to 4-1 overall.
"We didn't have anything on," said Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard. "We just had a missed sign there and fortunately Keith (Holcombe) had good awareness and saw him coming in. He had a pitch to handle and was able to get on top of it."
The Crimson Tide entered the bottom of the ninth knotted up at 1-1, and began the inning with Chandler Taylor reaching on an error by the Fighting Hawk second baseman. A pitching change followed, and Alabama's next hitter, Cody Henry, was hit by a pitch to put two on.
A wild pitch in the next at-bat put Taylor on third, and one out later Holcombe came to the plate. Up 1-0 in the count, Taylor made the dash towards home and Holcombe, aware of the runner on the move, put a bat on the ball and sent it back up the middle to secure the 2-1 victory for the Crimson Tide.
"It was pretty surreal," said Holcombe of his walkoff hit. "You get the hit, you get your job done and when you get the job done, you feel that excitement. When you turn around and see everybody sprinting towards you, you don't know what to do. I love this team, and I love this group of guys."
Junior starter Geoffrey Bramblett kept things close to provide the Tide an opportunity in the ninth. The third-year man worked 8.0 innings of one-run baseball, allowing four hits and walking two while striking out six. Junior college transfer Matt Foster entered in the ninth and struck out two of the three batters he faced in a 1-2-3 inning to earn his first win at Alabama.
A pitcher's duel for nearly the entire game, North Dakota starter Zach Muckenhirn (1-1) limited the Tide to one run through eight innings, allowing only three hits and walking one while striking out 12 in the process. The defense was the left-hander's downfall, as the Fighting Hawks committed two errors on the night, one of which aided the Crimson Tide's walkoff win.
"(Zach) Muckenhirn was tremendous and really as good as advertised," Gaspard added. "He really changed speeds, moved the ball around, and had three to four pitches he could throw for a strike. The good thing on our end is that Geoffrey (Bramblett) really set the stage and was just as good."
A stalemate early on, Alabama broke the tie in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Chance Vincent singled to center - his second hit of the day - before a throwing error on the Gene Wood sac bunt attempt allowed Wood to reach first and Vincent to move to third. In the next at-bat, Chandler Avant sent a sacrifice fly to center to bring Vincent across and give the Crimson Tide a 1-0 lead. A solo home run by North Dakota first baseman Hunter Walsh in the top of the eighth evened the tally at 1-1 heading into the final 1.5 frames.
The two teams return to the diamond tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. CT for game two of the series on SECN+. The Crimson Tide sends sophomore right-hander Jake Walters to the mound, while the Fighting Hawks counter with senior right-hander Brett DeGange'.
Get all the latest information on the team by following AlabamaBSB 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.
-UA-
RTR,
Diamond Tide :biga:
Feb. 26, 2016
TUSCALOOSA, AL - With runners on the corners and the man from third on the move, Alabama baseball freshman Keith Holcombe knocked a ball back up the middle to plate the winning run and walk it off, 2-1, for the Crimson Tide over North Dakota on Friday evening at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. With the win, Alabama improves to 4-1 overall.
"We didn't have anything on," said Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard. "We just had a missed sign there and fortunately Keith (Holcombe) had good awareness and saw him coming in. He had a pitch to handle and was able to get on top of it."
The Crimson Tide entered the bottom of the ninth knotted up at 1-1, and began the inning with Chandler Taylor reaching on an error by the Fighting Hawk second baseman. A pitching change followed, and Alabama's next hitter, Cody Henry, was hit by a pitch to put two on.
A wild pitch in the next at-bat put Taylor on third, and one out later Holcombe came to the plate. Up 1-0 in the count, Taylor made the dash towards home and Holcombe, aware of the runner on the move, put a bat on the ball and sent it back up the middle to secure the 2-1 victory for the Crimson Tide.
"It was pretty surreal," said Holcombe of his walkoff hit. "You get the hit, you get your job done and when you get the job done, you feel that excitement. When you turn around and see everybody sprinting towards you, you don't know what to do. I love this team, and I love this group of guys."
Junior starter Geoffrey Bramblett kept things close to provide the Tide an opportunity in the ninth. The third-year man worked 8.0 innings of one-run baseball, allowing four hits and walking two while striking out six. Junior college transfer Matt Foster entered in the ninth and struck out two of the three batters he faced in a 1-2-3 inning to earn his first win at Alabama.
A pitcher's duel for nearly the entire game, North Dakota starter Zach Muckenhirn (1-1) limited the Tide to one run through eight innings, allowing only three hits and walking one while striking out 12 in the process. The defense was the left-hander's downfall, as the Fighting Hawks committed two errors on the night, one of which aided the Crimson Tide's walkoff win.
"(Zach) Muckenhirn was tremendous and really as good as advertised," Gaspard added. "He really changed speeds, moved the ball around, and had three to four pitches he could throw for a strike. The good thing on our end is that Geoffrey (Bramblett) really set the stage and was just as good."
A stalemate early on, Alabama broke the tie in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Chance Vincent singled to center - his second hit of the day - before a throwing error on the Gene Wood sac bunt attempt allowed Wood to reach first and Vincent to move to third. In the next at-bat, Chandler Avant sent a sacrifice fly to center to bring Vincent across and give the Crimson Tide a 1-0 lead. A solo home run by North Dakota first baseman Hunter Walsh in the top of the eighth evened the tally at 1-1 heading into the final 1.5 frames.
The two teams return to the diamond tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. CT for game two of the series on SECN+. The Crimson Tide sends sophomore right-hander Jake Walters to the mound, while the Fighting Hawks counter with senior right-hander Brett DeGange'.
Get all the latest information on the team by following AlabamaBSB 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.
-UA-
RTR,
Diamond Tide :biga:
