Alabama Dominates St. Johns 7-2 in Game Two to Punch Ticket to College World Series

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.- Alabama secured its first College World Series appearance since 1999 after the Crimson Tide swept the Tuscaloosa Super Regionals against St. John's, capping it off with a decisive 7-2 win in game two. This victory marks Alabama’s first trip to Omaha in the 21st century.

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The Crimson Tide was anchored by an outstanding performance from its pitching staff, especially Saturday starter Zane Adams. Adams pitched six and a third innings, scattering six hits, allowing two runs, striking out eight, and not issuing a single walk.

Alabama replicated its early-inning success from game one by jumping on the board in the top of the third. First baseman Luke Vaughn led off with a double down the right field line. Peyton Steele then singled between first and second, driving in Vaughn for the first run. Bryce Fowler followed with a double to left, advancing Steele to third and setting up runners on second and third. Two batters later, catcher Brady Neal grounded out to bring home Steele, giving Alabama its second run of the inning.

St. John's, held scoreless in game one, responded in the bottom of the third. Shortstop Rob Mansour singled, followed by right fielder Dylan Fitzsimmons hitting a ground-rule double to center, putting runners on second and third with one out. Lead-off batter Jon LeGrande then drove in Mansour with a groundout RBI, but St. John's left the tying run stranded at third and trailed 2-1 at the end of the inning.

Alabama regained a two-run advantage in the fourth after Brennan Holt singled to right, moving Hines from first to third. Vaughn then executed a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt, bringing Hines home and giving the Tide a 3-1 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth.

St. John's threatened in the bottom of the fourth with runners on second and third and two outs, but Adams shut down the rally by striking out left fielder Christian Bernardini. The Red Storm left both runners stranded, and Alabama maintained its two-run lead heading into the fifth.

St. John's narrowed the deficit in the bottom of the sixth when catcher Adam Agresti hit a solo home run over left-center, the first home run of the Super Regional. Alabama’s lead was trimmed to 3-2 heading into the seventh.

Alabama seized the momentum in the top of the seventh when senior third baseman Jason Torres launched a grand slam over right field, extending the lead to 7-2. It was Torres’s ninth home run and 51st RBI of the season, both team highs.

After a five-hour rain delay and eventual postponement of the second game in the Tuscaloosa Super Regional, Alabama failed to add insurance runs to its 7-2 lead in the top of the eighth inning. Matthew Heiberger gets the Red Storm to strand two runners on base in the bottom of the eighth as Alabama was three outs away from the Crimson Tide's first trip to Omaha since 1999.

The Crimson Tide sat down the Johnnies in order in the ninth inning as Alabama defeated the Red Storm, and for the first time since 1999, Alabama is going to Omaha, Nebraska, to participate in the College World Series!

Alabama's first game in the College World Series will be on Saturday, and the Crimson Tide will face the winner of Oklahoma and Kansas.

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Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.