TUSCALOOSA -- Senior Allen Rice provided the game winning RBI in the bottom of the eighth inning as the 13th ranked University of Alabama baseball team defeated the South Alabama Jaguars 9-8 Wednesday night to record its 18th come-from-behind win this season. Trailing 8-7 in the bottom of the eighth, the Tide rallied behind the bats of Cale Iorg, who went 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI, and Rice, who added two hits and two RBI, including the game-winning two-run triple.
Iorg started the rally with a double off the wall in left-center, narrowly missing the game-tying home run. After pinch hitter Matt Grooms walked, Rocky Scelfo struck out for the first out of the inning. Rice then laced a triple past a diving Tyler Jones in center field to score Iorg and Grooms and gave Alabama a 9-8 lead. Freshman right-hander David Robertson finished the job for Bama, striking out two of the three Jaguar batters he faced in the ninth to earn his fourth save of the season. Jordan Davis (4-2 3.37 ERA) earned the win for the Tide, going two innings and allowing one run and two hits. "It was a very good win against a good team that came out swinging the bats well" said Iorg. "I've been fortunate to come out and make some good plays. If you get opportunities you have to make them. Being able to come back against another good team gives us a lot of confidence." South Alabama (26-18) took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on David Freese's two-run home run. Alabama (30-13) tied the game in the bottom of the second inning when Zac Welch scored on a wild pitch and Michael McCallister scored on Scelfo's sac fly to right. The Jags took a 4-2 lead in the top of the third on a two-out, two-run single by Jeff Cunningham. The Crimson Tide cut the lead to one in the bottom of the inning as Gabe Scott doubled, Evan Bush walked and Morrow Thomley singled up the middle to make it a 4-3 game. Iorg then extended his hitting streak to 10 as the freshman shortstop slammed a three run homer, his third of the year, to give Bama a 6-4 lead. McCallister scored on Scelfo's one-out single in the sixth to give Bama a 7-4 lead. However, Alabama left the bases loaded and that loomed large as the Jags came to bat in the seventh inning. South Alabama scored four runs on four hits off Matt Downs and Davis in the inning to take an 8-7 lead. Downs gave up and walk and two hits without retiring a batter and Josh Morgan greeted Davis with a two-run double to make it a 7-6 game. Guillermo Martinez sac fly scored Ryan Nichols with the tying run and Bruce Froemming singled home Morgan to give the Jags an 8-7 lead. Rice's two-run triple came off losing pitcher Justin Rayborn (1-2), who gave up two runs and two hits in two innings and fanned six UA batters. Alabama looks to maintain its lead in the SEC Western Division with a three-game series against the Georgia Bulldogs this weekend at the Joe. The series opener is Friday, April 29 at 6:36 p.m. The game will be televised by the Alabama Cable Network. Game notes Alabama picked up its 30th win of the 2005 season with a 9-8 come-from-behind win over South Alabama at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The 30 wins surpass the Crimson Tide's win total of last season. Alabama was 29-26 last year. Alabama also recorded its 18th come-from-behind win of the season with the win over South Alabama. Of the 18 comeback wins, 10 have come in the sixth inning or later, including tonight's win over the Jags. Senior DH Allen Rice (2-for-4, 3B, 2 RBI) drove in the tying and winning runs with a two-run triple in the bottom of the eighth inning for the win. South Alabama scored two runs in the top of the first inning on David Freese's two-run home run. Alabama has now trailed in 31 of 43 games this season. Alabama senior LF Gabe Scott (2-for-5, 2B) singled in his first at-bat and has now reached base safely in 32 consecutive games, dating back to Feb. 18. Scott has hit safely in 29 of his last 30 games for the Tide, dating back to Feb. 25. Freshman SS Cale Iorg (2-for-3, 2B, HR, 3 RBI) gave Alabama a 6-4 lead with a three-run home run down the left field line with two outs in the fourth inning. Iorg has three home runs this season. Iorg doubled to lead off the eighth inning and scored the tying run on Rice's two-run triple that gave the Tide a 9-8 win. The Knoxville, Tenn., native extended his hitting streak to season-best 10 games with that three-run home run. During the streak, Iorg is batting .395 (15-for-38) with 11 runs scored, five doubles, two home runs and eight RBI. Senior LHP Brent Carter pitched three scoreless innings out of the pen for Alabama. He allowed three hits, walked one and struck out four batters. In his last three relief appearances, Carter has nine scoreless innings out of the bullpen. Carter has made six relief appearances this season and worked 11 1/3 innings and allowed nine hits and one earned run, with three walks and 13 strikeouts. He has not allowed a run in five of his six relief outings this season. With four strikeouts, Carter now has 282 career strikeouts at Alabama. He needs seven strikeouts to tie Lance Cormier's (1999-2002) all-time record of 289 career strikeouts. Junior RHP Matt Downs allowed three runs and two hits and did not record an out in the seventh inning. Downs issued a leadoff walk and then consecutive base hits, before leaving the game. Junior RHP Jordan Davis replaced Downs and allowed all three inherited runners to score. Davis was also charged with one run and two hits in the inning as the Jags took an 8-7 lead. Davis was the winning pitcher as UA scored two runs in the eighth inning. Freshman RHP David Robertson earned his fourth save of the year with a scoreless ninth inning. He had two strikeouts in the inning. Robertson has four of the Tide's seven saves this season and the only save in SEC play. Alabama has hit 24 home runs in 15 games in the month of April. Bama has homered in 13 of 15 games this month. Alabama made three errors in the win over South Alabama. _______________________________________________ RTF mailing list RTF@rolltidefan.net http://rolltidefan.net/mailman/listinfo/rtf_rolltidefan.net
