HOOVER – It was do or die for the Alabama Crimson Tide yesterday when they took the field against the Kentucky Wildcats in the third game of the loser goes home round of the 2016 SEC Baseball Tournament, and it didn’t take long for the Tide to get the sticks going.
Bama’s catcher Will Haynie got the offense going with a one-out single under the diving Wildcat shortstop, Riley Mahan, into left field. Cody Henry followed with a single of his own. Chance Vincent reached on an error that the Tide would quickly cash in.
“Well, I guess it was as obvious as it would seem to you,” said Kentucky head coach Gary Henderson of the costly error. “Anytime you give a really good team extra base hits, extra outs, I think realistically we gave them six outs. When you give somebody six outs, they will take it and score. That is just the reality of it.”
Daniel Cucjen would draw a bases-loaded, five-pitch walk to score Haynie. Not content with just one, Hunter Webb cracked a two-run single to left, plating Henry and Vincent to put the Crimson Tide on top 3-0 after one and a half innings.
“I was just trying to put a good swing on something,” said Webb of his two RBI hit. “I knew (Zach Logue) hadn’t thrown a lot of breaking balls. I thought he was going to come back with a fastball. I wasn’t trying to get a home run or anything, I was just trying to get a good swing on it.”
Nick Eicholtz was phenomenal on the mound for the Tide. He would allow just two runs on three hits, the same number of hits he allowed in a regular season meeting with the Wildcats. He would finish the game with three strikeouts and two base on balls.
“I felt great. My arm felt fresh,” Eicholtz said of his gem on the hill. “The extra days off for me really helped. I honestly thought I was going to get through the whole game, but I got a little tired. They made a couple of pitching changes, which was unfortunate, but bringing in Matt (Foster) and Tommy (Burrows), you can’t get much better than that.”
Kentucky would pick up their first hit of the game with a homer off the bat of Evan White, a solo shot over the Hoover sign in the left field corner on a fast ball that was down the middle and belt high. The dinger gave Kentucky 52 on the year, good enough for the SEC home run lead. Riley Mahan would pull the Wildcats to within a single run when he smashed a two-out double to left; however, this was as close as the Wildcats would get.
In the top of the ninth, Haynie would again play a part in the Tide offense, this time with a game-changing two-run blast that put Bama on to 5-2 and ended the SEC tournament for the Kentucky Wildcats.
“My experience here (Hoover) over the past 20 years has been phenomenal,” said Henderson of the effort Hoover has put into the SEC Baseball tournament over the years and the possibility that the tournament might be moving. “I am just disappointed we don’t get to stay.”
Haynie would finish the game three for five, one being his two-run shot, two RBIs and two runs scored. Webb was three for four at the dish, with two RBIs. Cucjen was officially zero for three but he did draw the bases-loaded walk to earn an RBI. Along with Henry and Vincent, Chandler Taylor would also add a base knock.
Mahan would be the only Kentucky hitter with two hits, going two for three with an RBI. White collected the other lone hit and RBI.
Alabama advances to the double elimination rounds. They will face the No. 1 seed and regular season SEC champions, the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
OTHER SCORES:
SESSION ONE
Vanderbilt 7, Mizzou 0
Ole Miss 5, Georgia 1
SESSION TWO
Alabama 5, Kentucky 2
LSU 5, Tennessee 4 (walk-off)
