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Braden Montgomery (Photo by Eddie Kelly / ProLook Photos)
A week ago, Alabama welcomed the No. 1 team in the country to Sewell-Thomas Stadium with an upset. The Crimson Tide beat Arkansas twice, handing the Razorbacks their first series loss of the season.
The scenario was similar this week in Tuscaloosa. Again, Alabama was facing the No. 1 team in the country at home, as Texas A&M arrived in town just a few days after taking over as the top-ranked team. Only this weekend, there would be no upset.
The Aggies and the Tide on Friday played a doubleheader after poor weather Thursday forced the series opener to be delayed by a day. A&M took care of business, sweeping the twin bill with a 10-5 victory in the opener and an 18-9 victory in the nightcap.
Alabama started the day well, opening a 5-0 lead after four innings in the opener. They knocked out lefthander Ryan Prager after just three innings and had gotten strong work on the mound out of lefthander Greg Farone. But the game – and the entire day – shifted in a hurry in the fifth inning as Farone started the third time through the order.
Three of the first four hitters in the inning got hits and A&M quickly had two runs. After a groundout and a two-out walk, Alabama went to the bullpen for Tyler Fay. He walked the first hitter to load the bases and Caden Sorrell followed with a grand slam to give A&M a 6-5 lead.
The Aggies didn’t trail for the rest of the day and went on to scored 21 more runs, hitting eight home runs in the two games. Sorrell homered twice in the first game and outfielder Braden Montgomery homered in both games. It was an impressive display from the A&M offense, as it scored 28 runs on 29 hits and 14 walks in the sweep.
A&M also got great work from its bullpen. Six relievers combined to hold Alabama to four runs in 10.2 innings with Chris Cortez (2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K) and Shane Sdao (3.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K) leading the way in the opener.
Alabama (24-15, 6-11) came into the day 18-5 at home and with plenty of confidence after its big series win against Arkansas. A&M (35-4, 13-4) wasn’t fazed as it extended its winning streak to seven games and clinched a third-straight series win against a ranked conference opponent (at South Carolina, Vanderbilt, at Alabama).
A&M won’t be resting on its laurels in Saturday’s finale, but it can already count this as a successful road trip. Alabama, meanwhile, has some urgency in the third game. The Tide has lost nine of its last 12 games and has already piled up 11 SEC losses. While the rest of its conference schedule is easier – it shouldn’t have to play the No. 1 team in the country again in the season’s final month – three of its final four series are on the road, where it is just 3-7 this season. Saturday isn’t a must-win for Alabama, but getting something out of this weekend would be a big boost.
Friday night is for the aces. Here we highlight some of the best pitching performances of the day.
Ryan Gallagher, RHP, UC Santa Barbara: Gallagher threw a two-hit shutout to lead UCSB to a 3-0 win at UC Davis. He struck out seven batters, walked none and hit one while facing just two batters more than the minimum. He retired the final 14 batters he faced. Gallagher improved to 4-1, 2.49 with 54 strikeouts and 14 walks in 47 innings.
Gage Jump, LHP, LSU: Jump struck out 14 batters in seven innings as LSU routed Missouri, 12-1, in seven innings. The junior held the Tigers to one run on three hits and a walk and finished the game by striking out the side. Jump is 3-0, 3.49 with 52 strikeouts and 12 walks in 38.2 innings.
Richard Long, RHP, Jacksonville: Long threw a two-hit shutout in Jacksonville’s 10-0, eight-inning victory against crosstown rival North Florida. The junior struck out five batters and walked one while throwing a complete game against the Ospreys for the second straight year. Long improved to 4-2, 4.85 on the season.
Payton Tolle, LHP, TCU: Tolle threw seven scoreless innings to help TCU to a 5-0 victory at Texas. The junior struck out seven batters and worked around four hits and two walks. Tolle improved to 4-3, 3.43 with 90 strikeouts and 23 walks in 57.2 innings this season.
Ben Vitas, RHP, Central Michigan: Vitas threw a five-hit shutout to lead Central Michigan to a 2-0 upset win at UCF. The senior walked two batters and struck out just one but was able to work around the traffic for the program’s first nine-inning shutout since 2016. Vitas is 2-4, 6.59 with 28 strikeouts and 10 walks in 41 innings this season.
C.J. Williams, RHP, FAU: Williams threw a five-hit shutout to lead FAU to a 5-0 victory against Tulane. The senior struck out five batters and walked two en route to throwing the program’s first shutout since 2016. Williams is 5-2, 2.83 with 53 strikeouts and 24 walks in 60.1 innings this season.
- Playing in front of a record 6,922 fans at Kentucky Proud Park, No. 7 Kentucky rallied to defeat No. 3 Tennessee, 5-3. The Wildcats (32-5, 15-1) trailed 3-1 at the seventh inning stretch before pushing ahead with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Kentucky got strong pitching all night from starter Trey Pooser (6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 K) and relievers Travis Smith (2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K) and Johnny Hummel (1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K). The Wildcats have won 11 straight SEC games.
- No. 14 Wake Forest edged past No. 5 Florida State, 5-4, to continue its hot streak. With the game tied at three in the eighth, the Demon Deacons pushed ahead with a bases-loaded walk from pinch hitter Antonio Morales and added a key insurance run on a sacrifice fly from Adam Tellier. Wake (25-12, 10-9) has won seven of its last nine games (including six of its last seven ACC games) since it was swept at home by North Carolina at the end of March.
- Jac Caglianone homered in his ninth straight game, tying an NCAA Division I record, but it wasn’t enough for Florida. No. 13 Vanderbilt defeated the Gators, 5-2, to clinch the series in Nashville. Lefthander Carter Holton held Florida to just a pair of solo home runs over seven innings, striking out 10, and Ryan Ginther and Greysen Carter combined for a pair of perfect innings to close out the victory for the Commodores (29-10, 10-7).
- In a first-place showdown in the Sun Belt, No. 21 Coastal Carolina defeated No. 20 Louisiana, 9-1. Righthander Riley Eikhoff (7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K) delivered a quality start for the Chanticleers (26-11, 10-6) and the lineup scored nine runs, the most runs the Ragin’ Cajuns (30-10, 14-2) have allowed since March 15, when Arkansas State scored 11 runs on them. Friday’s loss was also Louisiana’s first in conference play since that game, snapping a 14-game winning streak in Sun Belt games.
- All-Americans Travis Bazzana and JJ Wetherholt both left games early due to injury earlier in the week, causing scares for Oregon State, West Virginia and draft followers. Both on Friday returned to their lineups, though it wasn’t enough for the No. 8 Beavers or the No. 18 Mountaineers to avoid upsets on the road. Bazzana went 1-for-5 in Oregon State’s 10-8 loss at California and Wetherholt went 0-for-1 with a walk as Texas Tech routed West Virginia, 15-2.