TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama and Southern Miss traded the lead numerous times on Tuesday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium, with the game finishing 5-4 in favor of the Golden Eagles. The midweek loss moves the 23rd-ranked Crimson Tide to 15-6 on the season.
Alabama built a two-run lead with one in the second and one in the fifth. Southern Miss countered with a three-spot in the top of the sixth before UA came back to post a pair of runs on a Will Patota RBI-double in the home half for a 4-3 advantage. The Golden Eagles would not trail for long, as USM posted two in the seventh to retake the lead, 5-4, for what would be the eventual final.
William Freeman was solid in his start for the Crimson Tide. The redshirt senior tossed a season-high 5.1 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits with a pair of strikeouts. Grayson Hitt (1-1) suffered the loss while Brock Guffey contributed 2.0 scoreless frames that included two strikeouts.
From Head Coach Brad Bohannon
“Tough night at the park for us. I thought William Freeman gave us a really good start, he was cruising and gave us a great opportunity to win which is huge in the midweek. The story of the game, in my mind, is that we need to get better offensively. We didn’t see the type of stuff tonight that should cause us to punch-out 13 times. We just have to get better and get better in a hurry. We have to keep working, keep competing, and get better quick with another top-five opponent this weekend.”
How It Happened
- B2 | Owen Diodati dropped an RBI-single in front of the USM center fielder. (1-0, Alabama)
- B5 | Peyton Wilson tripled to start the sequence. Jim Jarvis then brought Wilson in with a sacrifice bunt to double the Tide lead. (2-0, Alabama)
- T6 | Three straight singles for Southern Miss crossed their first run. A groundout brought across one more before the go-ahead run came in on a wild pitch. (3-2, Southern Miss)
- B6 | Alabama answered right back with a pair of runs on three hits to regain the lead. Drew Williamson began the frame with a single. One out later, Andrew Pinckney singled to put two on. After one more out and a Southern Miss mound visit, Will Patota came in to pinch-hit and delivered a two-RBI double to left-center. (4-3, Alabama)
- T7 | A two-out double brought in a pair for the Golden Eagles to help them retake the lead. (5-4, Southern Miss)
Postgame Notes
- Tonight’s game was delayed by 2:35. The game was originally set to start at 3 p.m. CT before being pushed back three times due to rain. First pitch came at 5:35 p.m.
- William Freeman worked a season-high 5.1 innings in tonight’s start. His previous high for innings this season was 4.0 which he had on two occasions, most recently against South Alabama on March 9. Freeman’s career-long for innings is 5.2 against Northern Kentucky on March 10, 2019.
- Jim Jarvis did not get aboard in tonight’s game to end his streak of reaching base safely at 18 consecutive games.
- ATTENDANCE: 1,764 (SELLOUT)
Next up for the Crimson Tide is a three-game series with third-ranked Ole Miss from Thursday through Saturday. The Thursday and Friday games are scheduled for 6 p.m. CT starts with the series finale set for a 1 p.m. first pitch at The Joe. The series will feature two national broadcasts, including ESPNU on Thursday and SEC Network on Saturday. Friday’s matchup is set to air on SEC Network+.
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