Alabama infielder Jim Jarvis (Photo: Courtesy of Alabama Athletics)

Alabama baseball paired consistent pressure on offense with a solid pitching performance to cruise to a 9-2 win over Alabama State on Wednesday afternoon at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. With the midweek victory, the Crimson Tide is now 5-0 on the season.

Alabama combined for a season-high 14 hits and scored in five of the eight innings, posting two runs apiece in the second, third, sixth and seventh frames to go with a single tally in the fourth. The Crimson Tide was led offensively by Jim Jarvis. The junior shortstop finished 2-for-4, including his first career home, to go with a career-high three runs scored and team-high tying two RBI. Also homering in the game was Drew Williamson with the senior matching Jarvis in RBI and adding a run and a walk to his totals.

Six tide pitchers combined to allow just two runs on the day, only one of which was earned. The group struck out seven and was highlighted by Hunter Ruth (1-0), who was credited with the win. The redshirt senior tossed 2.0 innings of scoreless baseball and struck out three. Hagan Banks made his first collegiate start in the game, posting 2.0 scoreless frames with a walk and two punchouts.

From Assistant Coach Jason Jackson

“We performed well in back-to-back midweek games ahead of a really exciting weekend (at Texas). We had bad weather in and out of the area, so we have had some schedule changes, so you start to worry about guys kind of getting out of their routines and losing focus. But this group has been great about handling their business, and they showed it today.”

How It Happened

  • B2 | Jim Jarvis was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Will Hodo followed with a double off the wall in right to put the pair in scoring position for Caden Rose. A wild pitch then scored Jarvis with Hodo coming around on a Rose RBI single to left. (2-0, Alabama)
  • B3 | Owen Diodati led things off with a single. One-out later, Jarvis launched a two-run shot over the wall in right to add to the tide advantage. (4-0, Alabama)
  • B4 | William Hamiter sent a two-out single up the middle to keep the inning alive. Diodati then picked up his second hit of the afternoon with a double to left-center to score Hamiter. (5-0, Alabama)
  • T6 | Jabronski Williams doubled to left center with one out. A single in the next at-bat scored Williams to get ASU on the board. (5-1, Alabama)
  • B6 | Will Portera led off the inning with a double to the wall in left. Drew Williamson followed with his second roundtripper of the season, sending a blast over the wall in right. (7-1, Alabama)
  • B7 | Andrew Pinckney led off the tide inning with a triple and came in to score on a passed ball in Jarvis’ at-bat. The Tide shortstop then singled to left and moved to third on a double from Eric Foggo. Two batters later, a pinch-hit single off the bat of Davis Heller crossed Jarvis. (9-1, Alabama)
  • T8 | Williams singled to right and made his way to third on a tide miscue. He was brought home in next at-bat on a single to left. (9-2, Alabama)

Postgame Notes

  • The Crimson Tide is now 39-3 under head coach Brad Bohannon in the month of February.
  • Eleven of the 13 Crimson Tide hitters recorded at least one hit on the afternoon.
  • The tide bats combined for a season-high 14 hits. Alabama has now totaled double-digit hits in three of the five games this season.
  • Jim Jarvis hit his first career home run.
  • Jarvis also tallied a team-high and career-best three runs in the contest.
  • Hunter Ruth picked up his first win as a member of the Crimson Tide.
  • ATTENTION: 2,292

Next up for Alabama is a trip to Austin, Texas, to square off with the top-ranked Texas Longhorns. The three-game series is set to start on Friday with a 7 pm CT first pitch. Game two of the weekend is scheduled for a 1:30 pm first pitch with the series finale slated for 2:30 pm All three games will air live on the Longhorn Network.

*** This information was acquired from a recent press release from Alabama Athletics.

Did you know that BOL has a podcast? The BamaOnLine Podcast brings you the latest Alabama news and insight from Travis Reier, Charlie Potter, Hank South and Tim Watts. Catch the latest episode right here or subscribe on iTunes today!

Contact Charlie Potter by personal message or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR