Alabama Baseball: 3 Things Needed To Win Houston Series

The Alabama baseball team was back in action on Friday against the number 21 ranked Houston Cougars and dropped the series opener, 3-1.

ICYMI: Alabama Basketball: Tide’s Week In Nashville Over With Loss To Kentucky

It certainly wasn’t the outcome that Alabama baseball fans wanted on the Friday to open the series at Sewell-Thomas Stadium, but it isn’t the end of the world.

The Tide did hold the Cougars scoreless through four innings until Geoffrey Bramblett gave Houston the 1-0 lead. Alabama tied things back up in the seventh until the Cougars scored two more runs in the eighth which proved to be the difference in the game.

Houston is a tough team and with the Tide seeing the Cougars’ ace Andrew Lantrip , runs as well as hits came at a premium. Lantrip worked through a solid eight innings of work, punching out 13 Tide batters allowing six hits with no walks.

What will the Tide need to do to take the remaining two games and the series?

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Alabama must capitalize with some clutch hitting.

The opportunities were there for the Tide as they left 12 batters on base Friday night. The Tide batted .200 for the night and was 1-9 at the plate with runners on. Hopefully for the final two games, they can get the ball into play and give those a chance to put some runs in the score.

Keep Up The Great Pitching

Like you have already read, the game was a low-scoring affair. If Alabama can generate some offense like listed above and keep up the great outings on the mound, they could easily pick up the two wins from the Cougars. Bramblett got the start on the mound for Alabama and only gave up four hits and the one home run before Coach Mitch Gaspard went to the bullpen. Kyle Cameron, Matt Foster, and Dylan Duarte kept Houston in check for the most part with the exception of that three hit, two run eighth inning.

Rely On What Got You To The 10-3 Record So Far

If the Tide is to get the series win against the Cougars, they will more than likely have to lean on the arms of the pitching staff and to hope for some timely hits during at bats with some runners in scoring position to bring a few runs across. If you take a look at the stats, the Tide ranks near the top in almost every pitching statistic for the conference. On the other hand, they come in near the bottom for most of the offensive stats at the plate.

More crimson tide: SEC Football: Five Contenders For Off-Season Championship

The Tide will face the Cougars in Game Two on Saturday at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. CT and the game will be carried on SEC Network+.