Standout pitching, solid defense and timely hitting propelled the Crimson Tide to the game-one win
4/6/2018
COLUMBIA, MO – Alabama baseball combined a standout pitching performance, solid defense behind the arms and timely hitting for the 2-1 win over Missouri on a blistery Friday afternoon at Taylor Stadium. The win improves the Crimson Tide's record to 19-12 on the season and 4-6 in Southeastern Conference play.
"Today was an all-around team win against a good Missouri team," said Alabama head coach Brad Bohannon. "(Sam) Finnerty and (Deacon) Medders were outstanding; we played good defense behind them; and we had some timely hits. I'm proud of the way our kids competed through the tough weather, and it will take our best effort the next two days to win the series."
Alabama starter Sam Finnerty (4-1) allowed only one earned run in 7.0 innings to collect his team-leading fourth win of the season. The right-hander gave up 10 hits and issued a walk while striking out one Tiger hitter across his season-high tying 102 pitches of work. Finnerty handed the ball over to Deacon Medders, with the sophomore earning his team-high fifth save of the season thanks to 2.0 scoreless frames.
The pitchers were complemented by a clean effort behind them in the field, with the defense turning a season-high three double plays and not committing an error on the day. The defensive performance allowed Finnerty and Medders to get out of some tough situations, stranding a combined eight Missouri runners.
Senior Chandler Avant paced the Crimson Tide in hits, going 2-for-4 for his team-high 16th multi-hit effort of the season. Fellow senior Hunter Alexander joined junior Chandler Taylor in collecting one double each, while Alexander added a run scored. Sam Praytor, a freshman, and junior Kyle Kaufman both contributed one RBI apiece with Praytor adding a walk and a run scored to his line.
Alabama struck for two runs in the second. Alexander started the rally with a one-out double to right. One out later, Praytor delivered an RBI-single back up the middle, with Alexander narrowly beating the tag at plate to get the Crimson Tide on the board. A single in the next at-bat moved Praytor into scoring position, and one more single, this one from Kaufman, brought in the inning's second run with Praytor using a great slide to avoid the tag at the dish and give Alabama the 2-0 advantage.
The Tigers cut the lead in half in the bottom of the fourth. Missouri led off the frame with back-to-back singles. Another single one out later brought in the man from second to make it a 2-1 contest and put runners on the corners. Finnerty would get out of the jam, however, using a 6-3 double play to end the threat and keep Alabama in front. Missouri would get no closer, as Finnerty and Medders combined to hold the Tigers scoreless the rest of the way.
Alabama will go for the series win on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT when the two teams meet for the second game of the series. The Crimson Tide will send senior right-hander Jake Walters to the mound while the Tigers will counter with left-hander Michael Plassmeyer, a junior. The game can be seen live on SEC Network+.
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:
4/6/2018
COLUMBIA, MO – Alabama baseball combined a standout pitching performance, solid defense behind the arms and timely hitting for the 2-1 win over Missouri on a blistery Friday afternoon at Taylor Stadium. The win improves the Crimson Tide's record to 19-12 on the season and 4-6 in Southeastern Conference play.
"Today was an all-around team win against a good Missouri team," said Alabama head coach Brad Bohannon. "(Sam) Finnerty and (Deacon) Medders were outstanding; we played good defense behind them; and we had some timely hits. I'm proud of the way our kids competed through the tough weather, and it will take our best effort the next two days to win the series."
Alabama starter Sam Finnerty (4-1) allowed only one earned run in 7.0 innings to collect his team-leading fourth win of the season. The right-hander gave up 10 hits and issued a walk while striking out one Tiger hitter across his season-high tying 102 pitches of work. Finnerty handed the ball over to Deacon Medders, with the sophomore earning his team-high fifth save of the season thanks to 2.0 scoreless frames.
The pitchers were complemented by a clean effort behind them in the field, with the defense turning a season-high three double plays and not committing an error on the day. The defensive performance allowed Finnerty and Medders to get out of some tough situations, stranding a combined eight Missouri runners.
Senior Chandler Avant paced the Crimson Tide in hits, going 2-for-4 for his team-high 16th multi-hit effort of the season. Fellow senior Hunter Alexander joined junior Chandler Taylor in collecting one double each, while Alexander added a run scored. Sam Praytor, a freshman, and junior Kyle Kaufman both contributed one RBI apiece with Praytor adding a walk and a run scored to his line.
Alabama struck for two runs in the second. Alexander started the rally with a one-out double to right. One out later, Praytor delivered an RBI-single back up the middle, with Alexander narrowly beating the tag at plate to get the Crimson Tide on the board. A single in the next at-bat moved Praytor into scoring position, and one more single, this one from Kaufman, brought in the inning's second run with Praytor using a great slide to avoid the tag at the dish and give Alabama the 2-0 advantage.
The Tigers cut the lead in half in the bottom of the fourth. Missouri led off the frame with back-to-back singles. Another single one out later brought in the man from second to make it a 2-1 contest and put runners on the corners. Finnerty would get out of the jam, however, using a 6-3 double play to end the threat and keep Alabama in front. Missouri would get no closer, as Finnerty and Medders combined to hold the Tigers scoreless the rest of the way.
Alabama will go for the series win on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT when the two teams meet for the second game of the series. The Crimson Tide will send senior right-hander Jake Walters to the mound while the Tigers will counter with left-hander Michael Plassmeyer, a junior. The game can be seen live on SEC Network+.
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:
