News and notes from Alabama Crimson Tide athletics on Tuesday, April 1st.
Alabama baseball holds off Samford, wins 11-9
For a while on Tuesday, it looked like Alabama baseball was going to cruise to an easy win over Samford in their mid-week tune-up prior to the Iron Bowl of Baseball this weekend on the Plains.
Alabama scored the first five runs of the game and held a 10-2 lead through three innings. Richie Bonomolo Jr. drove in five runs with a three-run homer in the 2nd inning and a two-RBI double in the 3rd.
Things started falling apart for the Tide in the 7th inning as Samford scored seven unanswered runs to pull within one run at 10-9. Jack Ketchum and Connor Ball combined to give up six runs in the 7th without recording a single out. Hagan Banks and Carson Ozmer were able to settle things down in the 8th and 9th while Garrett Staton added some insurance with an RBI single in the 8th as Alabama held on to an 11-9 win.
The win pushes Alabama to 26-4 on the season and a perfect 9-0 in this mid-week contests. The Tide will hit the road this weekend to face off with Auburn in a three-game series that begins on Friday.
Softball wins a double-header
Alabama softball is on a four-game winning streak. Following back-to-back wins over Georgia this past weekend to claim a much-needed series win, the Crimson Tide beat Alabama State and Samford in a Tuesday double-header.
In game one, Alabama trailed 4-3 in the third inning to Alabama State before Riley Valentine hit a three-run homerun to give Alabama a 6-4 lead. Catelyn Riley pitched an excellent three-innings down the stretch to shut the door and preserve the 6-4 Alabama win.
In the second game, Alabama scored the first seven runs as they coasted to a 9-3 win over Samford. Abby Duchscherer and Brooke Ellestad both hit homeruns to pace the offensive effort.
Alabama now sits at 27-13 overall and 4-5 in SEC play. Next up for Patrick Murphy's team is a big road series in Baton Rouge against highly-ranked LSU.
Nate Oats, Alabama basketball pushing in the Transfer Portal
Nate Oats and Alabama basketball have already landed a big commitment in the Transfer Portal with 7-foot Bucknell transfer Noah Williamson committing to the Crimson Tide on Monday.
Alabama hosted LSU transfer forward Corey Chest for a visit on Monday and should get a visit from Florida State transfer forward Taylor Bol Bowen at some point this week, too.
Oats will be angling to get as many high priority targets into Tuscaloosa by Wednesday as a recruiting dead-period opens starting on Thursday and running through April 10th.
Other Crimson Tide targets include Jacksonville State guard Jaron Pierre Jr., Kansas guard Rylan Griffen, Miami (FL) guard Jalil Bethea, UAB forward Yaxel Lendeborg, and Monmouth wing Abdi Bashir Jr.