The senior worked a career-long 8.0 innings for his third win of the season
5/13/2018
BATON ROUGE, LA – Senior Jake Walters spun a gem on Saturday night to help Alabama baseball come away with a 6-1 win at Alex Box Stadium. The Crimson Tide evened the series up with the victory in game two and is now 26-26 overall and 7-19 in Southeastern Conference play on the season.
"Jake (Walters) was outstanding tonight, and we turned four beautiful double plays behind him," said Alabama head coach Brad Bohannon. "LSU gave us some free baserunners, and we were able to string some tough at-bats together. I'm really proud of the way we responded after last night's game, and I expect another great effort out of our kids tomorrow as we go for the series."
Walters (3-5) worked a career-long 8.0 innings on the night, allowing only one run on four hits and three walks. The Tide starter was aided by an Alabama season-high four double plays and added three strikeouts across his 102 pitches of work before handing it over to Brock Guffey for the final frame. The freshman reliever allowed one hit in his 1.0 scoreless frame to secure the victory for Alabama.
At the plate, the Crimson Tide's 1-2-3 hitters contributed seven of the team's nine hits and four of six RBI. Junior Joe Breaux led the way with a 3-for-6 effort that included an RBI, one run scored and a pair of stolen bases. Leadoff man Cobie Vance wrapped up his night at 2-for-5 with a home run and team-leading three RBI to go with a walk and a run, while the Tide's No. 3 hitter, Chandler Avant, went 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.
Alabama put up a four spot in the second to get on the board first on Saturday. The inning began with eight straight balls, providing sophomore John Trousdale and junior Jett Manning with free passes. A wild pitch moved both into scoring position before a sacrifice fly to right from junior Kyle Kaufman scored the game's first run. One out later, Vance cleared the bases, sending a 1-0 pitch deep over the wall in left for his sixth homer of the season and fourth in his last eight games.
Breaux and Avant each followed Vance with a two-out single, and a walk to freshman Sam Praytor loaded the bases for the Crimson Tide. Keith Holcombe was then hit by a pitch, with the junior's free pass pushing across the fourth run of the inning to give the Tide a 4-0 lead.
In the third, Alabama added another run to widen the advantage to 5-0. Kaufman started the scoring sequence with a one-out walk before a sacrifice bunt moved him into scoring position. Vance took advantage of the RBI opportunity, sending a single to center for his second hit of the night to score Kaufman and put the Tide in front by five. LSU countered with their first run in the bottom of the fourth. The Tigers led things off with a double and singled in the runner one out later to make it a 5-1 game after four innings of play.
The Crimson Tide added one more in the top of the seventh to put UA out front 6-1. Alabama rallied with two down, using a walk from Walker McCleney to start things before the sophomore stole second to move himself into scoring position. Vance drew a walk in the next at-bat to force an LSU pitching change, and Breaux greeted the new arm with an RBI-single to center to bring in McCleney for the game's final run.
Alabama and LSU return to the diamond on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT to decide the series. The Crimson Tide will call on redshirt freshman Garret Rukes, a right-hander, in the start while the Tigers counter with sophomore southpaw Nick Bush. The rubber match 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:
5/13/2018
BATON ROUGE, LA – Senior Jake Walters spun a gem on Saturday night to help Alabama baseball come away with a 6-1 win at Alex Box Stadium. The Crimson Tide evened the series up with the victory in game two and is now 26-26 overall and 7-19 in Southeastern Conference play on the season.
"Jake (Walters) was outstanding tonight, and we turned four beautiful double plays behind him," said Alabama head coach Brad Bohannon. "LSU gave us some free baserunners, and we were able to string some tough at-bats together. I'm really proud of the way we responded after last night's game, and I expect another great effort out of our kids tomorrow as we go for the series."
Walters (3-5) worked a career-long 8.0 innings on the night, allowing only one run on four hits and three walks. The Tide starter was aided by an Alabama season-high four double plays and added three strikeouts across his 102 pitches of work before handing it over to Brock Guffey for the final frame. The freshman reliever allowed one hit in his 1.0 scoreless frame to secure the victory for Alabama.
At the plate, the Crimson Tide's 1-2-3 hitters contributed seven of the team's nine hits and four of six RBI. Junior Joe Breaux led the way with a 3-for-6 effort that included an RBI, one run scored and a pair of stolen bases. Leadoff man Cobie Vance wrapped up his night at 2-for-5 with a home run and team-leading three RBI to go with a walk and a run, while the Tide's No. 3 hitter, Chandler Avant, went 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.
Alabama put up a four spot in the second to get on the board first on Saturday. The inning began with eight straight balls, providing sophomore John Trousdale and junior Jett Manning with free passes. A wild pitch moved both into scoring position before a sacrifice fly to right from junior Kyle Kaufman scored the game's first run. One out later, Vance cleared the bases, sending a 1-0 pitch deep over the wall in left for his sixth homer of the season and fourth in his last eight games.
Breaux and Avant each followed Vance with a two-out single, and a walk to freshman Sam Praytor loaded the bases for the Crimson Tide. Keith Holcombe was then hit by a pitch, with the junior's free pass pushing across the fourth run of the inning to give the Tide a 4-0 lead.
In the third, Alabama added another run to widen the advantage to 5-0. Kaufman started the scoring sequence with a one-out walk before a sacrifice bunt moved him into scoring position. Vance took advantage of the RBI opportunity, sending a single to center for his second hit of the night to score Kaufman and put the Tide in front by five. LSU countered with their first run in the bottom of the fourth. The Tigers led things off with a double and singled in the runner one out later to make it a 5-1 game after four innings of play.
The Crimson Tide added one more in the top of the seventh to put UA out front 6-1. Alabama rallied with two down, using a walk from Walker McCleney to start things before the sophomore stole second to move himself into scoring position. Vance drew a walk in the next at-bat to force an LSU pitching change, and Breaux greeted the new arm with an RBI-single to center to bring in McCleney for the game's final run.
Alabama and LSU return to the diamond on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT to decide the series. The Crimson Tide will call on redshirt freshman Garret Rukes, a right-hander, in the start while the Tigers counter with sophomore southpaw Nick Bush. The rubber match 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:
