Five Arms Lead Alabama Baseball to 2-0 Shutout of Middle Tennessee
Alabama baseball used five pitchers to combine for a 2-0 shutout of Middle Tennessee on Tuesday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The shutout was the third of the season and moved the Crimson Tide’s overall record to 16-2. The victory also extended UA’s winning streak to 12 games which ties for the eighth-longest streak in program history.
“I was glad to see us play a really clean game,” said Alabama head coach Brad Bohannon. “We didn’t walk a batter, and we didn’t make an error – it’s tough for the other team to score when you do that. I was really proud of the focus throughout the lineup today, as well.”
The Crimson Tide pitchers did not allow walk or throw a wild pitch while the defense played an errorless game for a clean performance in the field. Alabama’s arms combined for five strikeouts and threw 89 strikes across 121 total pitches in the shutout victory.
“I’ve been talking a lot about the length of our pitching staff and that’s a strength for us,” Bohannon added about his team’s effort on the mound. “I was really excited about Tyler Ras and Dylan Smith who pitched early. Those are two freshman that are really talented, and they get better every time out. Then we were able to use the older guys later in the game. I’m just really, really proud of the pitching and defense.”
Freshman Tyler Ras got the start before handing it over to fellow rookie Dylan Smith. The duo tossed 5.0 frames and allowed only four hits over that time. Redshirt junior Davis Vainer (1-0) followed with 2.0 dominant innings that included three punchouts for the win. Kyle Cameron, also a redshirt junior, worked the eighth before graduate closer Jeremy Randolph entered for the ninth, striking out the final batter for his third save in as many chances. In total, the five pitchers allowed only six hits to Middle Tennessee batters.
Alabama matched MTSU with six hits of its own, but Drew Williamson’s two-out, two-RBI double in the sixth proved the difference in the game. Senior Keith Holcombe began the rally with a one-out single before junior John Trousdale put the pair in scoring position with a double to right. One out later, Williamson sent a single back up the middle on a 1-2 pitch to bring in both runners for the 2-0 advantage, the eventual final.
The Crimson Tide will now take to the road this weekend to begin Southeastern Conference play in Oxford against No. 8 Ole Miss. The three-game series is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. start on Friday followed by a pair of 1:30 p.m. first pitches on both Saturday and Sunday. Fans can catch all the action live on SEC Network+.
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