Diamond Notes : Praytor’s Two-RBI Double Completes Bama’s Comeback over JSU, 9-8

Diamond Tide

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The Tide trailed by one entering the bottom of the ninth, but would score two runs in the final half inning to walk it off

5/8/2018

TUSCALOOSA, AL –
With runners on first and second and two down, freshman Sam Praytor lined a double down the third base line to plate the tying and winning runs in Alabama baseball's 9-8 walkoff victory over Jacksonville State on Tuesday evening at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. With the win, the Crimson Tide moves to 25-25 overall on the season.

"I'm glad we got the win," said Alabama head coach Brad Bohannon. "It was an ugly game. We made a lot of mistakes tonight, and I was frustrated, but the effort and energy was there. Our guys hung in there, and we were able to get a big knock late. I credit our kids for having the resolve to finish strong at the end and pull it out."

The Crimson Tide entered the ninth trailing 8-7. With one down in the inning, junior Cobie Vance singled through the left side before fellow junior Joe Breaux followed with a walk to place runners on first and second. A strikeout in the next at-bat went as the Tide's second out of the frame, bringing Praytor to the dish for the Tide's final opportunity. With the count even at 1-1, the UA backstop sent a single down the line in left to score both Vance and Breaux and secure the walkoff win for the Tide.

Praytor led the way for the Tide offensively, finishing 3-for-5 with a double and a home run to go with a team-high three RBI and two runs scored. Sophomore John Trousdale also contributed a multi-hit outing, finishing with a pair of doubles, three RBI, a walk and one run scored.

The duo of redshirt sophomore Davis Vainer and junior Sam Gardner shut down the JSU offense over the final three frames, holding the Gamecocks scoreless to give Alabama a chance to complete the comeback. Vainer entered in the seventh, throwing 2.0 innings of one-hit baseball while recording a career-high tying five strikeouts. Gardner (3-2) made his appearance in the ninth, earning him his third win of the season with 1.0 inning of work in which he retired the Gamecocks in order.

Alabama gained an early advantage on Tuesday, putting up five runs on four hits and an error in the first frame. Breaux started things off, with the junior being hit by a pitch with one down. Senior Chandler Avant followed with a single before the tandem pulled off the double steal. On the theft, the throw to second went into center field to allow Breaux to score the game's first run. In that same at-bat, Praytor singled to put runners on the corners before a wild pitch moved Praytor into scoring position.

One out later, Hunter Alexander drew a walk with the senior loading the bases for the Tide. Trousdale followed, clearing the bases with a double off the wall in right to score three more. The next at-bat saw junior Matt Malkin plate one more with an RBI-single to center to set the score at 5-0 after one inning of play.

Jacksonville State answered in the second with four runs to narrow the gap to one at 5-4. A single followed by an RBI-double got the Gamecocks on the board before an error crossed one more and allowed the batter to reach. Jacksonville State's next hitter homered to wrap up the inning's scoring.

In the third, Alabama widened the gap once again with a pair of runs. Praytor led off with a solo homer to left, his third home run of the season. A hit-by-pitch placed junior Keith Holcombe aboard and one out later, a double to center from Trousdale gave the Tide two in scoring position and forced a JSU pitching change. Malkin made contact off the new arm, sending a 2-2 pitch deep to left for the sac fly to score one more and make it a 7-4 contest.

The Gamecocks answered right back in the top of the fourth, scoring two more to make it a one-run game again at 7-6, still in the Tide's favor. A leadoff triple followed by a fielder's choice plated one and a pair of singles eventually brought around one more. Jacksonville State then added a pair with a two-RBI single in the top of the sixth to gain their first lead of the day with the score at 8-7.

The two teams would go scoreless over the next two frames, but it was Alabama that would come out on top thanks to two runs in the bottom of the ninth to complete the comeback.

Next up for the Crimson Tide is a weekend trip to Baton Rouge to take on the LSU Tigers from May 11-13. The first two games of the series are scheduled for a 7 p.m. CT first pitch with the Sunday contest slated for 2 p.m. Friday and Sunday's contests will air on SEC Network+ with the middle pairing showing 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. General athletic news can be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.


-UA-



RTR,

Diamond Tide
:biga:
 

bamamick

All-American
Feb 22, 2005
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What can you say? They fight hard. They don't give up. They just don't have what it takes to win at a high level. It will get better.

rtr
 

crimsonkelly

All-American
Feb 2, 2002
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Thomasville, GA, USA
Great win, too bad it took a come from behind win when we were up 5-0...

I am looking at the season and being several hours away never got an opportunity to see them play in person. (did Florida, and man o man...) We all knew they would probably struggle in a loaded SEC. I see progress from last year to this year, simply looking at the out of conference games. Last year we went 14-9 in non conference (not so good) and this year we go 19-6. If you go 15-15 in the SEC and finish (dare I say in the middle of the pack) you are: 1) a top 25 team 2) potentially hosting a regional and maybe even Super regional if someone gets upset. Not to mention, 15-15 gets you at 34-21 for the season (this year) or 29-24 (last year).

To sum it all up, the out of conference games are a step in the correct direction, now we have to focus on SEC play and the only way to change that is recruiting. You have to recruit the studs AND get them on campus. That is hard. Other SEC schools have managed to do it, see UF, USC, VU, LSU, AU, TAMU. It is doable, just not easy. IF CBB can do it, he will deserve a raise imo cause he inherited a sinking ship.
 

bamamick

All-American
Feb 22, 2005
2,047
219
82
I think I counted us at 10-4 in the middies, with losses to the Aubs, Jax State, UAB and someone I can't remember.

We just need more talent. Unfortunately we have no idea how the staff shapes up because they have their hands tied with the team they walked into. Speaking of which, this fall is going to be very interesting because we are bringing in 11 new high school kids and some JUCO's, so I assume the roster turnover we worried about last summer is most likely going to happen this year. We could be looking at a whole new team next February.

rtr
 

crimsonkelly

All-American
Feb 2, 2002
2,937
59
172
Thomasville, GA, USA
I was looking at non conference games as a whole (excluded the Auburn game). I figure if we are going to improve, that is where it will start. This year, imo, was all about changing mindset of the program/players. That looks to have been done. Changing the roster takes time.
 

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