Tide Baseball Week Recap: Alabama Shines During Road Trip

In their first week away from Sewell-Thomas this season, the Crimson Tide took care of business in their four matchups, going 3-1, with their only loss being a twelve-inning thriller against Dallas Baptist. The Tide rose to No. 15 in D1Baseball's Top 25 following their strong performance last week.

The Tide kicked off their week in Birmingham, Ala., against the UAB Blazers. The Tide won in extras after having to rally back from down four to survive the Blazers.

Alabama freshman reliever Matthew Heiberger earned the win for the Tide against UAB. Heiberger took the mound in the ninth to close the game for the Tide, throwing 1.2 innings and allowing one run while striking out three to help Alabama outlast UAB.

The Alabama offense was led by infielders Gage Miller and Bryce Eblin, who combined for six hits and four RBIs while tacking on a home run and a double. SS Justin Lebron also made a significant impact for the Crimson Tide, getting on base four times in the win.

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Alabama would open the Frisco Classic with a bang, decimating the then No. 20 ranked Indiana Hoosiers 12-0 in the Tide's sixth run-rule win of the season.

Alabama Friday starter Ben Hess mowed through the Hoosier lineup, tossing five innings of shutout ball while racking up ten strikeouts to earn his third win of the season.

Coulson Buchanan would relieve Hess in the sixth and was equally dominant, striking out three Hoosiers in two hitless innings to take home his first save of the season.

The Alabama offense would score in bunches, knocking home five runs in the first and seven in the fourth. LF Ian Petrutz led the way for the Tide, going 2-for-3 while driving in three runs. In addition to a great night from Petrutz, Alabama's Will Hodo, Evan Sleight, and Gage Miller all racked up multiple RBIs in the winning effort.

Saturday, Alabama would face the Arizona Wildcats, where the Crimson Tide had to surmount another four-run deficit to come out with a 7-6 win.

After three scoreless innings from both ball clubs, the Wildcats bats came alive in the bottom of the fourth, scoring four runs off Aidan Moza to take a four-run advantage on the Tide.

However, the Alabama offense would respond in the top of the fourth thanks to a Mac Guscette two-run shot and a Gage Miller RBI single.

Will Hodo would tie things up at four-a-piece with a solo homer in the sixth, backing up Alabama reliever Tyler Fay's scoreless frames in the fifth and the sixth.

Fay would get replaced by Alton Davis II after allowing a walk and a double to start the bottom of the seventh. A Brendan Summerhil sacrifice fly and a Mason White single would drive home two; both would be credited to Fay.

The Tide would respond, landing a lucky blow after Evan Sleight and Mason Swinney scored on a throwing error from Arizona third baseman Richie Morales to retake the lead.

Alton Davis II would pitch a scoreless eighth for the Tide to stave off the Wildcat offense.

Matthew Heiberger would come in to close the game for Alabama, forcing a flyout and a strikeout to put the Wildcats on their last out. The southpaw would make a heads-up play to end the game, catching 'Zona's Brendan Summerhil stealing home to finish the game. Marking Heiberger's first save of the campaign.

The last game of the week for the Tide would be a twelve-inning thriller that didn't end Alabama's way, as the Crimson Tide fell to current No. 20 Dallas Baptist 7-5.

The Crimson Tide would jump out to a 3-1 lead in the second, a lead they would hold until the sixth inning, where DBU's Chayton Krauss smacked a two-run shot into left-center field to tie the ballgame up at six apiece.

Both offenses went dormant the rest of the game until Patriot's catcher Jay Grant sent a 468-foot bomb into left-center to give DBU a one-run advantage; Dallas Baptist would later add an insurance run thanks to a Chayton Krauss single to make it a 7-5 game. The Alabama offense couldn't respond, marking the Tide's first loss during the 2024 campaign.

Dallas Baptist reliever Tyler Schott was credited with the win, while Alabama reliever Coulson Buchanan was marked with a loss.

Alabama showed a lot of grit and maturity last week, toughing out some close wins while also being able to handle the ups and downs of a blowout win and crushing loss.

The No. 15 Alabama Crimson Tide (11-1) is set to face Jacksonville State on Tuesday and Troy on Wednesday while hosting Lipscomb for a three-game series this weekend.

For more Alabama Baseball content from Simon Besnoy, follow him on X/Twitter at @SimonBesnoy and stay tuned to Tide1009.com for daily news.