No. 17 Alabama Baseball Takes Series Over Valparaiso with Big Game 2 Win

The Alabama baseball team dominated again en route to its second series win of the season.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— The recurring theme resurfaced at Sewell-Thomas Stadium as the Alabama baseball team rode big innings all the way to another run-rule win on Saturday. The 13-3 victory also meant the No. 17 Crimson Tide (7-0) clinched the weekend set against Valparaiso.

The Beacons (2-4) got to Alabama starter Aidan Moza early, plating two in the top of the first, the only time the Crimson Tide has trailed thus far in 2024. "We always say if they're gonna throw a jab, we're gonna throw a haymaker, and we did that," head coach Rob Vaughn said. 

By the time the second inning came around, the lead was gone. Alabama’s bats combined for four home runs in the home half of the opening inning, the lone inning for Valpo starter Josh Cottrill, the day's losing pitcher. Moza got his second win of the campaign. Initially, the thought was he had a blister, but it turned out his fingernail was bothering him, and that was taken care of. 

"I tell our starters, they wanna be perfect, they wanna be great, that's what makes them awesome, but their job is to go out and give our team a chance to win and set the tone," said Vaughn. "[Moza] did a great job competing through that."

First, Gage Miller took the team lead with his fourth home run on an 0-2 pitch. The lead in the game came when left fielder Ian Petrutz hit his first long ball as a member of the Crimson Tide, also scoring TJ McCants after the latter tripled. Designated hitter Coleman Mizell then hit his first collegiate home run and shortstop Justin Lebron went back-to-back with him, launching one so long it would’ve qualified him for bonus time in Major League Baseball’s Home Run Derby. Alabama batted around in the frame. When all was said and done, the home team had plated seven runs in response to the first deficit it had faced all season.

"We did exactly what we do as an offense. We just had that pack mentality all game," Petrutz said. "We didn't stop. We were just persistent. Just kept going. We wanted to keep doing that today. We don't want to take no prisoners on this journey." The ball carried on Saturday. Lebron's blast didn't need the help. "It was definitely an experience to actually get it over the fence this time," he said, referring to his first career home run last Sunday when he hit an inside-the-parker. "During the at-bat, I was just looking for something that I can keep the rally going, put a runner on base and get the next guy up. That's something that he [Vaughn] preaches."

Vaughn said it would be a problem if his club was one of those that could only hit well if the park was playing offensively. However, that hasn't been the case up to this point. Even so, the coaching staff remains focused on honing scoring skills with the players. 

Moza went four innings on the afternoon. He surrendered the first home run allowed by Alabama this season in the third, then briefly left the game with the trainer before returning and tossing 1.1 more innings. Two of his runs were earned. Valparaiso elected to let its second pitcher of the day, Adam Guazzo, throw 96 pitches. He gave up six runs.

The third inning featured a five-spot by the Crimson Tide, in which none of the runs came by way of the home run. Two of those runs scored on a wild pitch and subsequent throwing error. Another of the runs, scored by third baseman Will Hodo, went in the books unearned because of a dropped popup in foul territory earlier in his at-bat. It was a poor defensive day for the Beacons. Right fielder Evan Sleight doubled in Hodo to score the contest's final run in the fifth. 

Alabama once again posted double-digit hits in the game with 14. 

"The best teams I've ever coached, they don't panic when they go down," Vaughn said. "They just keep running good at-bats off. Doesn't matter if they're down 15 or they're down two... I think that'd be the best compliment this offense can get as we go."

Coulson Buchanan and Jackson Baker also pitched for Alabama. Valparaiso had a man in scoring position in the top of the seventh, looking to stave off the run rule, but the Crimson Tide ultimately finished the job with a pair of Baker-induced groundouts. The series was clinched in just 14 innings. "It was good to get Jackson Baker in there," said Vaughn. "That guy can really sink the baseball, and executed some stuff." He reiterated the same point he said during the opening series against Manhattan, that sweeps take character, and it'll take running out another good plan to win again on Sunday afternoon. 

How It Happened:

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• Baker shuts the door, and Alabama run rules Valpo again 13-3.

• No new score in the sixth inning. Jackson Baker coming on to shut the door.

• Five innings down, and Alabama has reached the magic number: it has a 13-3 lead, and if this holds, it'll be another run-rule win.

• 1, 2, 3 for Valparaiso in the fifth. McCants to lead off the home half for Alabama. Still 12-3.

• Alabama goes down in order in the fourth inning. Coulson Buchanan coming in to pitch for Moza.

• Three up, three down for Moza in T4. Still 12-3.

• Through three innings at The Joe. It is now 12-3, Alabama. Five Alabama runs scored in the third inning.

• Three Alabama runs score in B3, with two coming off a wild pitch and a throwing error. This one is out of hand. 10-3 Crimson Tide.

• B3 on deck with Lebron, Eblin and Miller up. Moza retires the side in T3 with an inning-ending strikeout.

• Moza stays in.

• After a shaky start to the third, including a Beacon home run to make it 7-3, Aidan Moza leaves the game with the trainer. Even though Coulson Buchanan warmed up, Moza appears to be coming back. He'll toss some warm-up pitches.

• Adam Guazzo comes in to pitch for the Beacons and puts up a scoreless B2.

• Moza gets through the second without any troubles.

• Mercifully, the Beacons get out of the inning. It is likely, if not a certainty, the visitors go with a pitching change in the second. For now, T2 on deck.

• Gage Miller gets an RBI single on a shallow fly ball that the Valpo fielders couldn't bring in. Bryce Eblin scores. 7-2.

• Justin Lebron sends a missile in the direction of the Crimson Tide bullpen. His second home run of the season and first to leave the yard. 6-2 Alabama.

• DH Coleman Mizell hits his first collegiate home run to extend the Crimson Tide lead to 5-2. The ball is carrying today, folks.

• Just like that, Alabama has the lead. Ian Petrutz hits a home run, his first, after TJ McCants triples. 3-2 Alabama with nobody out in B1.

• Gage Miller battles, fouling them off, until he sends an 0-2 into left for his fourth home run of the season. He cuts the Valpo lead in half, 2-1.

• No further damage, but a lot of hard contact for the Beacons in the first frame. 2-0, Valpo, with Miller, McCants and Petrutz up in the home half.

• This is the first time Alabama has trailed this season.

• A sacrifice fly leads to a second Beacon run.

• Back-to-back hits for Valpo to lead off the game results in a 1-0 lead in T1.

• Valparaiso makes a change to its lineup: Liam Patton behind the plate. Aside from that, same first nine as yesterday for the Beacons.

• Alabama batting order: 1. Gage Miller, third base; 2. TJ McCants, center field; 3. Ian Petrutz, left field; 4. Will Hodo, first base; 5. Evan Sleight, right field; 6. Mac Guscette, catcher; 7. Coleman Mizell, designated hitter; 8. Justin Lebron, shortstop; 9. Bryce Eblin, second base; P: Aidan Moza, RHP

• Valparaiso opts for different uniforms, which appear cream from the press box, as opposed to the brown jersey tops from Friday. Alabama will go with crimson instead of pinstripes, its usual Saturday getup. Takes one back to the 1980s, the days of the Houston Astros in the NL.

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No. 17 Alabama Baseball Opens Second Weekend with Victory over Valparaiso