Alabama Baseball Downs Samford 9-3, Completes Season Sweep

Six solid innings from starting pitcher Ben Hess alongside 15 hits from Alabama bats gave the Crimson Tide all it needed to take down the Bulldogs.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alabama baseball picked up its second win in a row on Tuesday night, downing Samford 9-3 and completing the season sweep of the Bulldogs.

Crimson Tide starting pitcher Ben Hess was a key contributor to Alabama's win, allowing just one run off three hits through six innings pitched. Along with walking just two batters and striking out three, Hess retired the Samford side in order in four of his six innings pitched.

Alabama's offense was able to score runs in five of nine innings, totaling 15 hits while seeing nine batters walked. However, the Crimson Tide also left 13 runners on base.

"It was good to see some hard contact up and down the lineup tonight," Alabama head coach Brad Bohannon said. "We also had a lot of baserunners, which was great to see. It took us a little while to bust it open, but I was really happy to see us be able to do it.

"We had good production from everyone in the lineup, so it was a great all-around effort by our offense."

Designated hitter Owen Diodati led Alabama on the night with four hits, going 4-for-4 with three runs, one RBI with a home run and one walk. Caden Rose also reached base in all five of his at-bats, going 2-for-2 at the plate with three walks, one run and an RBI.

With the win, the Crimson Tide improved to 25-17 on the season. The Bulldogs fall to 18-20 with the loss. Up next, Alabama will travel to Columbia, S.C. to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks in a three-game SEC series beginning on Thursday (6 p.m. CT, SEC Network).

"Now we have to have a good day of practice tomorrow and get ready for a tough series with South Carolina starting Thursday," Bohannon said.

Alabama Stats

Samford Stats

Here's a complete rundown of how it happened:

Play-By-Play

(most recent update at the top)

Final Score: Alabama 9, Samford 3

Bottom 9

• Strand grounded out to first. Three out. Ball game.

• Hampton doubled to center. Salvo scored. 9-3 Alabama. Runner on second, two out.

• Salvo advanced to second on a wild pitch.

• Salvo singled through the left side. Runner on first, one out.

• Hopkinson struck out looking. Two down. Samford is down to its final out.

• Klein popped up to short. One out.

• Brayden Gainey on to pitch for the Crimson Tide, replacing Banks. Final line for Banks: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

Top 9

• Denton popped up to short, and Alabama leaves three runners stranded. Side retired. If the game holds, the Crimson Tide will have left 13 runners on base at the game's end.

• Foggo struck out looking. Two down.

• Pinckney singled to right, both runners advance 90 feet. Bases loaded, one out for Eric Foggo, who is pinch hitting for Williamson.

• Heller walked. Runners on first and second, one out for Pinckney.

• Rose singled through the left side. Runner on first, one out for Davis Heller, who will pinch hit for Jarvis.

• Eblin grounded out to second. One out.

• Mason McCormack replaces Ganley on the mound. Final line for Ganley: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Bottom 8

• David struck out swinging. Inning over.

• Bennett struck out looking. Two out.

• Howe stole second.

• Howe drew a walk. Runners at the corners, one out.

• Staton advanced from first all the way to third on a wild pitch that bounced off of Portera's glove all the way to the dugout. Runner on third, still one out.

• Staton hit by pitch and will take a free trip to first.

• Strand grounded out to second. One out.

• Hampton hit a solo home run to left field. 9-2 Alabama.

• Hagan Banks replaces Furtado on the mound. Final line for Furtado: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

Top 8

• Hayslip struck out swinging. Side retired.

• Will Hodo hits a solo home run to right field. 9-1 Alabama.

Hodo’s first career round-tripper: pic.twitter.com/VBHQwy8lJo

— Joey Blackwell (@_JoeyBlackwell) April 27, 2022

• Tamez flied out to right field. Two away.

• Denton struck out swinging. One out.

• Dominic Ganley replaces Byers on the mound for Samford. Final line for Byers: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 2 K.

Bottom 7

• Salvo flied out to left field, leaving two runners stranded. Inning over.

• Ledbetter struck out swinging. Two down, runners at the corners.

• Klein singled to right field off the glove of Williamson. David advanced to third. Runners at the corners, one out.

• David reached on a fielding error by Eblin at second. E4. Runner on first, one out.

• Bennett grounded out back to first. One out.

• Hunter Furtado replaces Hess on the mound for Alabama. Final line for Hess: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K.

Top 7

• Williamson struck out swinging. Inning over, Pinckney left stranded on first.

• Pinckney singled to right field. Rose and Eblin scored. 8-1 Alabama.

• Jarvis grounded out to first, but all three runners advanced. Diodati scored. 6-1 Alabama. Two out, runners on second and third.

• Rose walked. Bases now loaded with one out for Jarvis.

• Eblin walked. Runners on first and second, one out for Rose.

• Diodati stole second base.

• Seidl struck out swinging. One out.

• Diodati singled to left. Runner on first, nobody out.

• Drew Byers replaces Newman on the mound. Final line for Newman: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K.

Bottom 6

• Howe struck out swinging. Hess has gotten better and better as the night has progressed. Through six innings pitched, he has retired the side in order four times. Inning over.

• Staton flied out to center. Two away.

• Bortak struck out swinging. One out. That is Hess' second strikeout of the evening.

Top 6

• Tamez reached on a fielder's choice. Denton out at second. Inning over.

• Denton hit by pitch. All runners advance. Eblin scored. Bases loaded, two down for Tamez. 5-1 Alabama.

• Williamson walked. Bases loaded, two out for Denton.

• Pinckney stole second on a wild pitch. Runners on first and second, two out for Williamson.

• Pinckney reached on a fielder's choice, Rose out at second, Eblin advanced to third. Runners at the corners, two out for Williamson.

• Jarvis struck out swinging. One away.

• Rose drew a walk. Runners on first and second, nobody out for Jarvis.

• Eblin doubled off of the wall in center field. Runner on second, nobody out.

• Jacob Newman is in to pitch for Hobbs. Final line for Hobbs: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.

Bottom 5

• Hampton grounded out into a 5-4-3 double play. Inning over.

• Dreier flied out to right field. One out.

• Ledbetter walked. Runner on first, nobody out.

Top 5

• Seidl grounded out into a double play. Side retired.

• Diodati beats out the throw from short with an infield single. Tamez advanced to second. Williamson advanced to third. Bases loaded with one out for Seidl.

• Tamez was walked. Runners on first and second, one out. Tamez has now been on base all three times he's stepped up to the plate.

• Denton struck out swinging at a ball in the dirt, was thrown out at first. One out, Williamson still on second.

• Williamson doubled off of the wall in left center. Runner on second, nobody out for Denton.

• Samford replaces Lynch on the mound with Carson Hobbs. Final line for Lynch: 4.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 0 K.

Bottom 4

• King attempted to score on a wild pitch, but Tamez scrambles and gets the ball back to Hess at home plate in time. Three out, inning over.

• Klein grounded out to second. King advanced to third, Howe scored. 4-1 Alabama. Two out.

• David grounded out to first. Both runners advanced. Runners on second and third, one out.

• King is walked. Runners on first and second, still nobody out.

• A wild pitch caused Howe to advance to second.

• Howe singled to left. Runner on first, nobody out.

Top 4

• Pinckney grounded out to short. Three out, Rose left stranded.

• Jarvis grounded out to second, Rose advanced to second. Two out, runner on second.

• Rose walked. Runner on first, one out.

• Eblin flied out to left field. One out.

Bottom 3

• Staton grounded out to third. Three out.

• Bortak singled to left, but stumbled while attempting to advance to second. The throw from second to first is in time to catch a retreating Bortak. Two down.

• Hampton popped up to second. One out.

Top 3

• Seidl grounded out to short. Side retired.

• Diodati singled through the left side.

• Tamez hit a home run to left field, two runs score. 4-0 Alabama.

Dom Bomb! It’s his fourth round-tripper of the season. pic.twitter.com/KOJ4qe2GeW

— Joey Blackwell (@_JoeyBlackwell) April 26, 2022

• Denton doubled to right-center field. Runner on second, two out for Tamez.

• Williamson flied out to center. Two away.

• Pinckney grounded out to third. One out.

Bottom 2

• Hess retires the side in order as Dreier struck out swinging.

• Ledbetter grounded out to first. Two away.

• Klein grounded out to short. One out.

Top 2

• Jarvis grounded out to second, and Alabama's side is over.

• Rose singled up the middle. Eblin advanced to second, Seidl advanced to third but was thrown out at home. Diodati scored. 2-0 Alabama with two out, runners on first and second.

• Eblin singled to center field, but the runners are only able to advance 90 feet. Bases loaded, one out for Rose.

• Seidl singled through the left side, Diodati advanced to second. Tamez scored. 1-0 Alabama, runners on first and second with one out.

• Diodati drew a full-count walk. Runners on first and second, one out.

• Tamez singled to left field. One out, runner on first.

• Denton popped it up to second base. One out.

Bottom 1

• David flied out to right field, and the Samford side is retired.

• Howe hit a leadoff single, but King followed it up by grounding out into a double play. Two out.

Top 1

• Three up, three down as the Crimson Tide side goes down in order.

• First pitch by Samford starting pitcher Will Lynch is a called strike and we are underway.

Pregame

• Umpires for tonight's game:
• HP: Eric Goshay
• 1B: Ricky Armstrong
• 3B: Danny Cricks

• Tonight's weather forecast: 70 degrees Fahrenheit, 1% chance of precipitation, winds 10 m.p.h. headed south

• Starting lineup for Alabama can be found below.

• Starting lineup for Samford:

Alabama Starting Lineup

Alabama Athletics

1. Jim Jarvis (SS)

Alabama Athletics

2. Andrew Pinckney (RF)

3. Drew Williamson (1B)

4. Zane Denton (3B)

Alabama Athletics

5. Dominic Tamez (C)

Alabama Athletics

6. Owen Diodati (DH)

Alabama Athletics

7. Tommy Seidl (LF)

8. Bryce Eblin (2B)

Alabama Athletics

9. Caden Rose (CF)

Alabama Athletics

Starting Pitcher: RHP Ben Hess