Alabama Blows Out the Bulldogs to Even the Series
Alabama (23-9, 4-7) beat Mississippi State (18-14, 2-9) 11-1 in seven innings to even up the SEC series at one game apiece. Will Portera delivered the walk off single to give Alabama the mercy rule win in the seventh inning.
"I thought today was a great example of the mentality that our kids play with," Alabama head coach Brad Bohannon said. "I'm proud of our team. It's a good win, and we need to come out and get the series tomorrow."
Alabama got on the board first in the second inning when they took advantage of three walks. First baseman Drew Williamson picked up a two RBI single to drive home Tommy Seidl and Bryce Eblin to give the Crimson Tide a 2-0 lead. Ed Johnson followed that at bat with a three-run home run to extend Alabama's lead to five.
It was Johnson's fourth long ball of the year. The graduate student now has 27 runs batted in and is batting .363 this year.
The Crimson Tide were able to chase the Bulldog switch pitching starter Jurrangelo Cijntje (3-2) after the second inning. Cijntje pitched exclusively from the right side in his two innings of work. He gave up two hits, five earned runs, struck out two and walked five batters.
Walks were an issue for the Mississippi State staff all game long. The Bulldogs issued 12 walks in seven innings.
Alabama would get more runs on the long ball in the SEC matchup. Dominic Tamez hit a two-run home run in back-to-back at bats in the fifth and sixth innings.
Tamez now has four home runs and 18 RBIs this year. The catcher is batting .300 on the season.
Alabama got a quality start from Luke Holman (5-1). Holman pitched 5.2 innings, allowed three hits, one earned run, walked two and had four strikeouts. He was followed by Riley Quick and Alton Davis II who held the Bulldogs scoreless the rest of the way.
"It's not about the guy in the box. It's about the pitch you're throwing and what you're doing," Holman said.
Alabama will square off with Mississippi State in the rubber game of the series tomorrow. As of now first pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.