Alabama Baseball Dominates with 8-1 Victory Over WSU in Game Two

Alabama avenges its game one loss with a seven-run win against Washington State in game two on Saturday, which saw five Crimson Tide players record an RBI. 

Get our free mobile app

Unlike game one, Alabama came out stout on defense thanks to the Crimson Tide's left-handed pitcher Zane Adams, who retired two batters in the top of the first.

Both teams struggled to get on the board early, thanks to the strong performances from both teams' starting pitchers, with Washington State's Nick Lewis holding Alabama to just one hit until the bottom of the fourth inning, and Adams for the Crimson Tide holding the Cougars hitless until the top of the third inning.

Alabama was first to get on the board thanks to a two-run 372-foot homer from Luke Vaughn, which was the redshirt sophomore first baseman's first collegiate hit. This put the Crimson Tide up 2-0 going into the fifth inning.

The bottom of the fifth inning saw the Crimson Tide add three more runs to its lead thanks to a single to center field from Alabama's third baseman Jason Torres, which resulted in two RBIs, then the Tide's catcher, John Lemm, hit a sac fly out to center field, driving home shortstop Justin Lebron and gave Lemm his first RBI as a member of the Tide. 5-0, advantage Alabama.

In the top of the sixth inning, Adams' day came to an end with the Crimson Tide calling Matthew Heiberger from the bullpen to come in and relieve the Texas native, who had an incredible day, striking out nine batters, one away from his career high he set last year against Presbyterian. Adams also allowed zero runs and only three hits.

The Cougars managed to score their first run of the ball game in the top of the sixth inning, thanks to designated hitter Mason Pirello, who pinch-hit for Jonah Shull. Pirello managed to single to center field, which brought one Cougar home and gave Wazzu its first run of the game. But the new members of the Mountain West were unable to add any more runs in the inning, leaving runners stranded on first and second.

Alabama responded immediately with a run of their own from their second baseman, Brennan Holt, whose sacrifice fly to center field not only increased the Crimson Tide's lead to five runs, but also gave Holt his first RBI in an Alabama uniform. This made it a 6-1 ball game going into the final three innings.

The Crimson Tide added to their lead once again, this time in the bottom of the eighth inning, when Brady Neal, who came in to hit for center fielder Bryce Fowler, who got banged up sliding into second base in the bottom of the sixth inning. Neal went on to rip an RBI single into center field, which brought home Justin Osterhouse to give the Tide a six-run lead, but shortly after, an overthrow to second base, which flew over Luke Thiele's head and allowed Holt to advance home, gave Alabama a commanding seven-run lead going into the ninth inning.

The top of the ninth inning saw Alabama go to the bullpen and bring out its third pitcher of the day, with Evan Steckmesser coming into to relieve Heiberger, who had a solid outing, which saw him pitch through three innings, where he allowed three hits, one earned run, and three strikeouts. Steckmesser went on to force the Cougars to go three up and three down to give the Crimson Tide its first win of the 2025 season. 

Alabama will force a rubber match in game three with the series tied a one a piece. Game three will be played 30 minutes after game two in Sewell-Thomas Stadium with Freshmen right-handed pitcher Myles Upchurch starting the rubber match off on the mound. 

Follow @Micahnichols0 on X (formerly known as Twitter) and tune into Tide100.9 for all your Alabama baseball, football, and basketball coverage.