The Volunteers secured the win in the ninth with a bases-loaded walk
3/23/2018
KNOXVILLE, TN – Alabama baseball suffered a 5-4 loss to Tennessee on Friday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, as the Volunteers walked it off in the ninth. The Crimson Tide is now 16-7 overall and 1-3 in league play following the series-opening matchup.
"Tonight was a very competitive game that could have gone either way," said Alabama head coach Brad Bohannon. "Unfortunately, Tennessee made a few more plays down the stretch that enabled them to come out on top. I'm very proud of the way our kids competed, and I expect the next two games of the series to be very similar to tonight."
In a game that featured three lead changes and two ties, Tennessee was able to come out on top. The Crimson Tide had the winning run in scoring position in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings but could not cross the go-ahead score. The bottom of the ninth saw the Volunteers draw a two-out walk followed by a costly Tide miscue to extend the inning. One more walk loaded the bases before the inning's final free pass crossed the winning run for Tennessee.
The Volunteers jumped out to an early 1-0 advantage after one. Three consecutive two-out singles brought a run across for UT to give them the lead. Tennessee added another tally in the bottom of the fourth to go ahead by two. Back-to-back one-out singles followed by a double brought in the Vols' second run, making it 2-0 through four.
In the top of the fifth, Alabama took its first lead of the night with three runs on as many hits to set the score at 3-2. Junior Matt Malkin led off the inning with a double to right before a 4-3 groundout in the next at-bat moved him into scoring position. One out later, senior Chandler Avant recorded his team-leading 10th double of the season, scoring Malkin for UA's first run of the night. Junior Chandler Taylor took advantage of his opportunity in the next at-bat, singling to center to bring in Avant and even the score up. A stolen base, passed ball and then a wild pitch advanced Taylor station-to-station, eventually crossing him for the go-ahead run.
The Volunteers countered in the bottom of the fifth, tying things up at 3-3 before UT regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth with one more run.
In the top of the eighth, Alabama evened things up again, this time at 4-4. A one-out walk for Keith Holcombe gave the Tide a baserunner. A wild pitch moved Holcombe to second and an errant throw on the play went into center, allowing the junior to move up to third. A walk followed by another out brought Malkin to the plate. The junior delivered a single to center to bring in the tying run and make things even heading to the ninth, where Tennessee would go on to clinch the win. Junior Deacon Medders (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing one unearned run on six walks.
The two teams return to the diamond tomorrow evening for a 5 p.m. CT first pitch in Knoxville. The Crimson Tide will send senior right-hander Jake Walters to the mound while the Volunteers counter with sophomore righty Garrett Stallings. The game will air nationally on SEC Network.
Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaBSB on Twitter and Instagram and on Facebook at Alabama Baseball.
-UA-
RTR,
Diamond Tide :biga:
3/23/2018
KNOXVILLE, TN – Alabama baseball suffered a 5-4 loss to Tennessee on Friday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, as the Volunteers walked it off in the ninth. The Crimson Tide is now 16-7 overall and 1-3 in league play following the series-opening matchup.
"Tonight was a very competitive game that could have gone either way," said Alabama head coach Brad Bohannon. "Unfortunately, Tennessee made a few more plays down the stretch that enabled them to come out on top. I'm very proud of the way our kids competed, and I expect the next two games of the series to be very similar to tonight."
In a game that featured three lead changes and two ties, Tennessee was able to come out on top. The Crimson Tide had the winning run in scoring position in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings but could not cross the go-ahead score. The bottom of the ninth saw the Volunteers draw a two-out walk followed by a costly Tide miscue to extend the inning. One more walk loaded the bases before the inning's final free pass crossed the winning run for Tennessee.
The Volunteers jumped out to an early 1-0 advantage after one. Three consecutive two-out singles brought a run across for UT to give them the lead. Tennessee added another tally in the bottom of the fourth to go ahead by two. Back-to-back one-out singles followed by a double brought in the Vols' second run, making it 2-0 through four.
In the top of the fifth, Alabama took its first lead of the night with three runs on as many hits to set the score at 3-2. Junior Matt Malkin led off the inning with a double to right before a 4-3 groundout in the next at-bat moved him into scoring position. One out later, senior Chandler Avant recorded his team-leading 10th double of the season, scoring Malkin for UA's first run of the night. Junior Chandler Taylor took advantage of his opportunity in the next at-bat, singling to center to bring in Avant and even the score up. A stolen base, passed ball and then a wild pitch advanced Taylor station-to-station, eventually crossing him for the go-ahead run.
The Volunteers countered in the bottom of the fifth, tying things up at 3-3 before UT regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth with one more run.
In the top of the eighth, Alabama evened things up again, this time at 4-4. A one-out walk for Keith Holcombe gave the Tide a baserunner. A wild pitch moved Holcombe to second and an errant throw on the play went into center, allowing the junior to move up to third. A walk followed by another out brought Malkin to the plate. The junior delivered a single to center to bring in the tying run and make things even heading to the ninth, where Tennessee would go on to clinch the win. Junior Deacon Medders (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing one unearned run on six walks.
The two teams return to the diamond tomorrow evening for a 5 p.m. CT first pitch in Knoxville. The Crimson Tide will send senior right-hander Jake Walters to the mound while the Volunteers counter with sophomore righty Garrett Stallings. The game will air nationally on SEC Network.
Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaBSB on Twitter and Instagram and on Facebook at Alabama Baseball.
-UA-
RTR,
Diamond Tide :biga:
