Adams, Upchurch, Lead Tide To Victory

The Alabama baseball team defeated Washington State two games to one to win their opening season series two games to one. Because of threat of bad weather on Sunday the series was truncated to a single game Friday and a double header on Saturday. The Cougars shocked the Tide with a 8-4 win on opening day, but Bama bounced back to sweep Saturday’s twin bill by scores of 8-1 and 11-1. Game three was shortened to seven innings by the run rule.

Game One. Lost 8-4

Opening day is always such a grand occasion, but the visiting Washington State Cougars ruined the feel good day for the Crimson Tide. WSU scored early and didn’t let up as the Tide fell 8-4 in game one. Last season Bama didn’t lose a single out of conference game, forging a 25-0 record. The visitors made sure that the same wouldn’t happen this year.

Redshirt junior Tyler Fay took the ball for the Tide as opening day starter. Fay established himself as a mainstay in the Bama rotation about midway through last season and turned down the draft to return to Tuscaloosa for one more year. Left hander Luke Meyers was Fay’s counterpart for the Cougars.

Washington State took advantage of an infield dribbler for a single and a hit batter to strike in the top of the first. Trevor Smith led off the game with a little dribbler down the third base line that he easily beat out. Fay caught the next man looking for a strikeout, then hit Max Hartman with a pitch. Fay notched his second strikeout then WSU DH Dustin Robinson lined a single to bring both runners home. A pop out ended the inning. Bryce Fowler led off the bottom half with a single for the Tide. Justin LeBron rapped a hard ground ball to third that turned into a double play. A fly out by Johnny Lemm ended the Tide’s first.

Fay struck out the side in the second and the Tide cut into the lead in the bottom half. Justin Osterhouse worked a two out walk and raced home on a ringing double by Peyton Steele. The Cougars added to their lead in the top of the third. Smith led off with a bloop single to left then stole second. Gavin Roy grounded out to shortstop for the first out, but Hartman roped a run scoring single to make the score 3-1. Hartman was thrown out trying to steal by Will Plattner and Fay struck out Obenour again, ending the inning.

In the bottom of the third the Tide had a chance to get back in the game. Fowler was robbed of a hit on a great play by WSU second baseman Luke Thiele for the second out. LeBron drew a walk and promptly stole 2nd base. Lemm also drew a walk before LeBron also stole third base. With the tying runs on base, Luke Vaughn struck out swinging to end the threat.Being on a pitch count, the 4th was going to be Fay’s last frame. After a fly ball for out one Matt Priest drew a walk. Cougar first baseman Ryan Skjonsby rocked a two run home run into the right field plaza for a 5-1 lead. With 76 pitches under his belt, Fay was replaced by senior right hander JT Blackwood. Blackwood closed the inning with a strikeout and the Tide down 5-1.

Bama wasted singles by Jason Torres and Will Plattner in the bottom of the fourth. Blackwood returned for the top of the fifth and quickly retired the first two batters on ground outs before running into trouble. Hartman drilled a line drive home run into the plaza for a 6-1 lead. The Cougars were not finished. Obenour reached on an infield single followed by another infield from Robinson. Priest singled to plate the seventh run for WSU. Blackwood finally stemmed the rally on a comebacker to the mound.

The Tide wasted a golden opportunity to get back in the game in the bottom of the fifth. Cougar reliever Gavin Derr walked Fowler, LeBron, and Lemm to lead off the inning. Washington State coach Nathan Choate called on side winder Rylan Haider to douse the fire. And he did just that. After striking out Vaughn for out one, Haider walked Torres to drive in the Tide’s second run of the game, but struck out Osterhouse and Steele back to back to put out the fire. After five inning Bama trailed 7-2.

Austin Morris took over on the mound for the Tide in the 6th and tossed a scoreless frame with a walk and a strikeout. Haider kept Bama off the board in the bottom half, only allowing a walk to Fowler. WSU added another insurance run off of Morris in the top of the seventh on a walk, a single, and a fielders choice. The Tide didn’t threaten in the seventh or eighth innings.

Sam Mitchell took over on the mound in the top of the 8th for Bama and pitched two scoreless innings allowing only one hit and striking out two. The Tide got a rally going in the ninth when Fowler singled to lead off and scored in front of LeBron’s first home run of the season. The star shortstop blasted the first pitch he saw into the right field plaza to cut the lead to 8-4. With one out Andrew Purdy reached on a hit by pitch, but two strikeouts ended the game with the Cougars on top.

The Tide hit 6-32 in the game, drew nine walks, had one hit batter, struck out 11 times, had two stolen bases, a double and a home run. Fowler was 2-3 with two walks and two runs scored. LeBron was 1-3 with two walks, two stolen bases, a home run, and two driven in. Fay was the loser, pitching 3.2 innings, allowing five hits, five runs, with one walk, one hit batter, and struck out seven. Washington State collected 10 hits, walked three times, struck out 12 times, and left four men on base,.

WSU took advantage of every opportunity and the Tide did not. Hits in clutch situations was the difference in the game. Last season Alabama did not lose a single out of conference game in the regular season. This season they won’t be a concern going forward.

Game Two- Won 8-1

With inclement weather a possibility for Sunday, the teams agreed on a double header Saturday, starting at noon. In the days first game the Tide sent junior left hander Zane Adams to the mound. Adams was a draft eligible sophomore last year but chose to return for his third season. Nick Lewis took the hill for Washington State.

Adams was sharp from the get-go, slinging 96 mile an hour fastballs, mixed with a sharp curve and a deadly change up. The Cougars went down on a ground and two strikeouts in the top of the first. The Tide threatened in the bottom half when Bryce Fowler led off with a walk and a stolen base. With one out Jason Torres drilled a hard single to left that was hit too hard for Fowler to score. A pop out and strikeout stranded both runners.

Adams stuck out the side in the second, giving him five straight K’s. Bama went down in order in the bottom half. In the top of the third the Cougars used small ball to mount a two out threat. Luke Theile layed down a bunt that Adams fielded but threw away. Trevor Smith followed with a perfect bunt that he beat out for a hit. Adams induced a fly ball to end the inning with the game still scoreless. Again the Tide went down in order in the bottom half.

In the top of the fourth Adams gave up the only hard hit ball he allowed in his outing when Ollie Obenour slapped a one out double. Matt Priest followed with another bunt single, putting runners on first and third with one out. Adams reared back and struck out the next two batters, both on full counts. The Tide finally took their first lead of the weekend in the bottom half. Torres led off the inning with a walk. Johnny Lemm blasted a drive in the left centerfield gap that looked like extra bases. However the WSU centerfielder, Smith, tracked it down and made a great play for the first out of the inning. Torres had to hustle back to first to keep from being doubled off. Next up Luke Vaughn collected his first career hit, and it was a big one, a long home run over the left field fence for a 2-0 lead.
Adams was back out for the fifth and had a perfect inning, including his ninth strikeout of the game. Bama added insurance in the bottom of the fifth. Brennan Holt led off with a single and advanced on a single by Fowler. As they did all weekend the Cougars pitched around LeBron, walking him on four pitches. Torres drilled a line drive single to score two runs and Lemm drove in another with a sacrifice fly to deep centerfield. When the dust settled the home team had a 5-o lead.

Adams gave way to Matthew Heiberger in the sixth inning. After two quick outs Obenour drew a walk and scored after two singles, closing the gap to 5-1. The Tide added another run in the bottom half on an RBI single by Fowler. Fowler was thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a double to close the inning, and had to leave the game with what looked like a hand or wrist injury.

Heiberger hurled scoreless frames in the 7th and 8th, striking out the side in the eighth inning. Bama added two more insurance runs in the bottom half. Jason Osterhouse led off with walk and advanced to second on a one out walk to Holt. Fowler singled in Osterhouse and Holt scored on an error to close out the scoring. Left hander Evan Steckmesser threw the ninth inning for Alabama and stuck out two batters in a perfect inning and the Tide had evened the series with an 8-1 victory. The win set up the rubber match after a 30 minute break.

The Tide hit 7-29 in the game with six walks, and six strikeouts. Torres led the way with his 3-4 game with two walks, and two RBI. Vaughn was 1-3 with a HBP, home run, and two RBI. Holt was 1-2 with a walk, two runs, a sacrifice fly, and an RBI. Fowler finished 1-3 with a walk, a run, and RBI, and a stolen base. Adams was the winning pitcher with his five scoreless innings, allowing three hits, no walks, and nine strikeouts. Overall the three Bama pitchers allowed six hits, two walks, one run, and struck out 14 batters.

WSU hit 6-33 in the game with Priest collecting two of the safeties. Lewis was the losing pitcher, throwing 4.1 innings, allowing three hits, five runs- three earned- with three walks and four strikeouts.

The Tide played much better in game two in all aspects. The pitching was sharp, the defense was stellar, and the offense took advantage of scoring opportunities. It all started with Adams who had as sharp an outing as he has had in his career.

Game Three- Won 11-1 (7 inning run rule)

Alabama called on freshman right hander Myles Upchurch to try and clinch the series in game three. Upchurch is highly regarded and is predicted to be one of the top freshmen in the country this season. If Saturdays performance is any indication, the hype is warranted.

Upchurch worked a perfect first on 11 pitches and punctuated the inning with a swinging strikeout. The Tide scored in the bottom half to take a lead they never relinquished. Bryce Fowler walked to lead off and was forced out at second on a Justin LeBron ground ball. LeBron stole second base and scored on a single by Johnny Lemm. Upchurch faced some adversity in the top of the second when the first two batters reached base on a walk and a single. On the second hit a single to right, the Cougar base runner was deeked by Bama right fielder Peyton Steele and was thrown out on a throw from Steele to LeBron. Upchurch notched two more strikeouts to end the inning.

In the bottom of the third Alabama sent all nine players to the plate. Brennan Holt led off the frame with a home run into the right field plaza. Fowler followed with a single and LeBron reached on an error. Lemm walked to load the bases before freshman Andrew Purdy laced a two run double. Jason Torres drove in a run with a fielders choice and Brady Neal brought one home with a sacrifice fly to deep center field. When the dust settled the Tide lead had ballooned to 6-0.

Upchurch struck out the side in the top of the fourth, working around a one out walk. The big freshman finished is outing with 4 innings pitched, two hits allowed, two walks, nine strikeouts, and no runs allowed on 76 pitches. The Tide piled on in the bottom half. Fowler walked with one out followed by singles by LeBron and Lemm to load the bases. Purdy walked to drive in a run, Neal laced a two out single to score two more, and Steele doubled to bring in another. Freshman Eric Hines made his first appearance, pinch hitting for Justin Osterhouse, and absolutely crushed the first pitch he saw to the wall in left where it was hauled in to end the inning.

Tate Robertson pitched the fifth for the Tide. After walking the lead off batter, the Tuscaloosa native retired the next three batters on a pop out and two strikeouts. Bama polished off their scoring in the bottom of the fifth when LeBron blasted his second home run of the weekend, this one onto the playground in left.

Left hander Ashton Crowther took over on the mound for the Tide in the sixth, allowing the Cougars only run of the game after two singles and a wild pitch. Bama was scoreless in the bottom half and freshman left hander Luke Smyers opened the 7th for the Tide. Smyers walked the first man he faced, then stuck out the second, at which point he was replaced by freshman right hander Joe Chiardo. Chiardo allowed a lead off single, but retired the next two batters on fly balls to end the game with the Tide on top 11-1.

The Tide hit 9-27 in the game with six walks and seven strikeouts. Upchurch earned the first win of his career. LeBron led the way with his 2-4 game, four runs, a home run, and one RBI. Lemm hit 2-3 with two runs, a walk, and an RBI. Purdy drove in three runs, scored two, doubled, walked, and scored twice. Fowler continued his outstanding weekend with a 1-2 game, two walks, and two runs. Neal drove in three, had a sac fly, a hit by pitch and was 1-1. The Tide hit 22-88 for .250 on the weekend with 21 walks, 24 strikeouts, and 24 men left on base.

Bama pitching held WSU hitters to 5-25 hitting with four walks, 12 strikeouts, and a single run. Kyler Northrup had two of the four safeties for the visitors. The Cougars hit 21-93 for a .225 average, walked nine times, stuck out 38 times, and left 17 on base over the weekend.

Ideally the Tide would have swept the Cougars to start off the season, but showed resilience in bouncing back from the opening game setback. Adams and Upchurch set the tone on the mound in games two and three. Fay pitched better than his stat line indicated as he was a victim of a couple of dribblers, a bloop, and an error. The bigger issue in game one was the offense and their inability to come up with any timely hits. The Cougars played a clean game offensively and defensively and capitalized on all their opportunities. Big bounce back by Bama to take the series.

Who did what/

Bryce Fowler: 4-8, 5 runs, 5 walks, stolen base, on base 9 of 13 plate appearances

Jason Torres: 4-10, 3 walks, 3 runs, 4 RBI

Justin LeBron: 3-11, 2 home runs, 3 walks, 3 stolen bases, 3 RBI, 6 runs

Johnny Lemm: 2-8, 3 walks, HBP, SF, 2 runs, 2 RBI

Zane Adams: W (1-0) 5 Ip, 3 hits, 0 walks, 9 strikeouts, 0 runs

Myles Upchurch: W (1-0) 4 Ip, 2 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts, 0 runs

Next Up:

Five games next week for the Tide. At Samford at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Alabama State at home Wednesday at 4 p.m. and a three set with Rhode Island over the weekend. The games are Friday at 4 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. All will be available on the ESPN App.
Roll Tide!

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