Alabama baseball needed to defeat the Georgia Bulldogs, who are ranked sixth, in the final home series of the regular season in order to maintain their aspirations of hosting a Regional in Tuscaloosa. After being shellacked in game one, their hopes appeared a little desperate.
The Bulldogs defeated Alabama 19-3 on Friday, dominating the first game of the series. For the much-maligned Crimson Tide pitching staff, it was yet another dismal performance.
Because Tuscaloosa had rainy weather all weekend, a scheduled Friday doubleheader did not happen. Rather, the series’ second game, which began on Friday, didn’t conclude until Sunday. However, Alabama won 9-3 and forced a rubber match by holding onto the 6-2 lead it had established.
After Riley Quick pitched 4.1 solid innings, Carson Ozmer and Braylon Myers were excellent out of the bullpen for Alabama. In order to prevent a possible Georgia rally, Ozmer pitched two innings.
Justin Lebron, Bryce Fowler, and Richie Bonomolo Jr. all hit homers to pace the offensive effort.
To make sure there were no problems with travel plans, game three was rescheduled to a seven-inning contest. In a weekend full of delays, the two clubs still had to put up with another 20-minute wait.
Alabama prevailed in a crucial contest that had regional ramifications. Zane Adams pitched four solid innings for the Tide, striking out eight batters while allowing two runs.
Alabama built an early 4-0 lead during Sunday’s rubber match. An RBI single by Will Hodo in the 1st inning was followed up by home runs by Jason Torres and Kade Snell in the 2nd to push the Tide’s lead to four.
Before Justin Lebron crushed an RBI double in the fifth to put Alabama ahead 5-2, Georgia trimmed the lead in half with a homer of their own. In the sixth inning, Dan Jackson hit a two-run homer to reduce Alabama’s lead to just one.
Carson Ozmer had already thrown 22 pitches in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader when Rob Vaughn called on him again in the seventh. Ozmer was all they needed to get two outs. After forcing a ground ball out, he hit Kolby Branch to complete the outing.
The win improved Alabama to 39-13 on the season and 15-12 in SEC play heading into the final series of the regular season.