A pair of runs in the ninth inning proved the difference, as Alabama baseball shut out Brown, 2-0, on Sunday at the final day of the USA Baseball-Irish Classic. The win helped the Crimson Tide finish 3-1 at the three-day tournament and moves the team record to 10-2 overall.

“We were outstanding on the mound again today,” said Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard. “Ray (Castillo) gave us a good start, Brock (Love) was solid in the middle and (Kyle) Cameron was really good on the back-end. They kept us in the game, and then the offense came through late.”

Alabama senior Ray Castillo earned the start and was followed by freshmen Brock Love and Kyle Cameron, with the trio combining to blank the Bears on Sunday. Castillo tossed 4.0 innings of one-hit baseball with three walks and three strikeouts before turning it over to Love. The freshman worked 2.0 innings, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out one batter.

Cameron (1-0) shined in the final three frames, notching 1-2-3 innings in the seventh and eighth and striking out three by game’s end. He allowed one hit and walked one across his 42 pitches and worked out of a jam in the ninth to claim his first career win.

The Crimson Tide had scoring chances throughout the day but was unable to plate any runs until the final inning. In the ninth, Cobie Vance was hit by the first pitch of the inning before Cody Henry sent a double to right field to put the pair in scoring position. Henry was replaced by Hunter Webb at second immediately following his double, which would prove key before the inning was over.

Chance Vincent stepped in and sent a deep sac fly to left to score Vance and give the Crimson Tide the game’s first run. One out later, Connor Short plated the inning’s second run with a clutch single to center on the first pitch he saw to add insurance to the Tide advantage. The insertion of Webb provided the speed on the basepaths necessary to score on a single and give Alabama the 2-0 lead.

“We found a way late there,” Gaspard added. “It’s about winning games. Today wasn’t real pretty, but we walk away from the tournament 3-1, and 4-1 overall on the road this week. We’re looking forward to getting back home, and getting our offense back in-sync for the big weekend coming up with Oregon and Houston.”

The Crimson Tide will have four days before returning to action in a single contest against the No. 8 Oregon Ducks on Thursday, March 10, 2016, at 6:30 p.m. CT. Following the lone game on Thursday, Alabama will host the Houston Cougars for a three-game series over the weekend.

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