Henry homered twice with a grand slam while Avant also recorded a grand slam against the Braves
4/18/2017
TUSCALOOSA, AL – The Alabama offense tallied 13 hits and seven walks to take down the Alcorn State Braves, 18-1, in a seven-inning affair on Tuesday evening at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. With the win, UA improves to 15-22 overall on the season.
"I just can't say enough about how excited I was to see our guys come out today and really put some great swings on the ball," said Alabama head coach Greg Goff. "We got a great outing from Deacon (Medders), and it was impressive to see him do what he did out there tonight as a freshman. Overall, this win was a tremendous team effort – great hitting, great pitching and great defense."
The Crimson Tide's offense tallied all 18 runs from the third through sixth innings, plating six apiece in the third and sixth along with three-run frames in both the fourth and fifth innings. Twelve of the Tide's 14 offensive players collected at least one run with all but one batter reaching base on the night. Alabama's offensive output was led by Cody Henry, who finished 3-for-5 with two home runs – including his first career grand slam. Henry added a team-high seven RBI and two runs scored to his line. Chandler Avant also tallied a grand slam for his first career home run, finishing 2-for-5 with four RBI and a run scored. Avant's night extended his hitting streak to a team-long 11 games.
Deacon Medders (1-0) earned his first career win with a season-long 5.0 innings of work. Medders allowed one run on four hits and a walk while striking out four batters across 68 pitches. The Tide bullpen then took over, with the threesome of Sam Finnerty, Tyler Adams and Sonny Potter working the final 2.0 frames.
Alabama recorded its biggest offensive inning of the season, scoring six runs in the bottom of the third to be the first team on the board on Tuesday. The Tide's rally began with a leadoff single from Walker McCleney. One out later, Kyle Kaufman singled to left before a fielding error allowed Cobie Vance to get aboard and load the bases for Alabama. Chandler Taylor took advantage of the opportunity, singling through the right side to score McCleney and give UA its first run of the inning.
In the next at-bat, Henry notched his first roundtripper of the night, this one a grand slam to left on the first pitch he saw. Tanner DeVinny drew a walk in the next at-bat, but was cut down on a fielder's choice from Connor Short. Logan Carey followed with a single to center to put runners on the corners before an errant throw from the Alcorn State catcher on a double steal allowed Short to cross from third, making it 6-0 after three.
The Tide added three more in the fourth to increase the advantage to 9-0. A one-out single from Kaufman followed by a stolen base from the Tide designated hitter put him in scoring position. Vance drew a walk to put two aboard before Henry tallied his second home run of the night, a two-out, three-run shot to left again, to notch his fifth, sixth and seventh RBI of the game.
Alcorn State scored its lone run of the night in the top of the fifth, using a double, a wild pitch and then a single to move one across and make it 9-1. The Crimson Tide came right back with another three-run frame in the bottom of the fifth. Walks by Short and Carey put two on before a hit-by-pitch from McCleney loaded the bases and forced a Braves pitching change. The new arm got the first out, but Kaufman followed with an RBI-single to short, moving everyone up a station. Vance then drew a walk to push one more in before a sac fly to center from Taylor brought across the inning's final run, making it 12-1 after five full.
Alabama posted another six-spot in the bottom of the sixth to match its season-high output for an inning and make it an 18-1 game. A hit-by-pitch for Taylor Poe followed by a pinch-hit single from John Trousdale put a pair on. One out later, a fielding error allowed McCleney to reach and loaded the bases for the Tide. With the bags full, Avant sent one over the fence in left for a grand slam.
Alex Webb followed with a walk and then another hit-by-pitch, this one to Zack Coker, gave the Tide two more baserunners. Henry loaded the bases one out later, singling to right. A free pass for Poe crossed one, before a wild pitch in the next at-bat scored the game's final run.
The Crimson Tide will head to Starkville next for a three-game series with 11th-ranked Mississippi State. The two teams are set to begin the SEC matchup on Thursday evening with a 6 p.m. CT first pitch on SEC Network. Friday's contest is slated for a 6:30 p.m. CT start while the series finale is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT. The final two games of the series will stream live on SEC Network+.
-UA-
RTR,
Diamond Tide :biga:
4/18/2017
TUSCALOOSA, AL – The Alabama offense tallied 13 hits and seven walks to take down the Alcorn State Braves, 18-1, in a seven-inning affair on Tuesday evening at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. With the win, UA improves to 15-22 overall on the season.
"I just can't say enough about how excited I was to see our guys come out today and really put some great swings on the ball," said Alabama head coach Greg Goff. "We got a great outing from Deacon (Medders), and it was impressive to see him do what he did out there tonight as a freshman. Overall, this win was a tremendous team effort – great hitting, great pitching and great defense."
The Crimson Tide's offense tallied all 18 runs from the third through sixth innings, plating six apiece in the third and sixth along with three-run frames in both the fourth and fifth innings. Twelve of the Tide's 14 offensive players collected at least one run with all but one batter reaching base on the night. Alabama's offensive output was led by Cody Henry, who finished 3-for-5 with two home runs – including his first career grand slam. Henry added a team-high seven RBI and two runs scored to his line. Chandler Avant also tallied a grand slam for his first career home run, finishing 2-for-5 with four RBI and a run scored. Avant's night extended his hitting streak to a team-long 11 games.
Deacon Medders (1-0) earned his first career win with a season-long 5.0 innings of work. Medders allowed one run on four hits and a walk while striking out four batters across 68 pitches. The Tide bullpen then took over, with the threesome of Sam Finnerty, Tyler Adams and Sonny Potter working the final 2.0 frames.
Alabama recorded its biggest offensive inning of the season, scoring six runs in the bottom of the third to be the first team on the board on Tuesday. The Tide's rally began with a leadoff single from Walker McCleney. One out later, Kyle Kaufman singled to left before a fielding error allowed Cobie Vance to get aboard and load the bases for Alabama. Chandler Taylor took advantage of the opportunity, singling through the right side to score McCleney and give UA its first run of the inning.
In the next at-bat, Henry notched his first roundtripper of the night, this one a grand slam to left on the first pitch he saw. Tanner DeVinny drew a walk in the next at-bat, but was cut down on a fielder's choice from Connor Short. Logan Carey followed with a single to center to put runners on the corners before an errant throw from the Alcorn State catcher on a double steal allowed Short to cross from third, making it 6-0 after three.
The Tide added three more in the fourth to increase the advantage to 9-0. A one-out single from Kaufman followed by a stolen base from the Tide designated hitter put him in scoring position. Vance drew a walk to put two aboard before Henry tallied his second home run of the night, a two-out, three-run shot to left again, to notch his fifth, sixth and seventh RBI of the game.
Alcorn State scored its lone run of the night in the top of the fifth, using a double, a wild pitch and then a single to move one across and make it 9-1. The Crimson Tide came right back with another three-run frame in the bottom of the fifth. Walks by Short and Carey put two on before a hit-by-pitch from McCleney loaded the bases and forced a Braves pitching change. The new arm got the first out, but Kaufman followed with an RBI-single to short, moving everyone up a station. Vance then drew a walk to push one more in before a sac fly to center from Taylor brought across the inning's final run, making it 12-1 after five full.
Alabama posted another six-spot in the bottom of the sixth to match its season-high output for an inning and make it an 18-1 game. A hit-by-pitch for Taylor Poe followed by a pinch-hit single from John Trousdale put a pair on. One out later, a fielding error allowed McCleney to reach and loaded the bases for the Tide. With the bags full, Avant sent one over the fence in left for a grand slam.
Alex Webb followed with a walk and then another hit-by-pitch, this one to Zack Coker, gave the Tide two more baserunners. Henry loaded the bases one out later, singling to right. A free pass for Poe crossed one, before a wild pitch in the next at-bat scored the game's final run.
The Crimson Tide will head to Starkville next for a three-game series with 11th-ranked Mississippi State. The two teams are set to begin the SEC matchup on Thursday evening with a 6 p.m. CT first pitch on SEC Network. Friday's contest is slated for a 6:30 p.m. CT start while the series finale is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT. The final two games of the series will stream live on SEC Network+.
-UA-
RTR,
Diamond Tide :biga:
