On Sunday, the University of Alabama baseball team defeated Boston College in a rain-delayed game in the NCAA regional tournament in Tuscaloosa 8 to 0. This dominating victory followed a come-from-behind win Saturday night over Troy University.
The Tide scored four runs in the first inning, one in the second, one in the third, and two runs in the eighth inning. Five Tide players combined for eight hits, while seven Tide players scored runs in the game. Dominic Tamez had 2 hits, 2 runs, and a run batted in from 3 at-bats. Mac Guscette had 3 hits in 4 at-bats, 1 run, and 4 runs batted in. While the Tide scored 8 runs, there were no home runs hit.
Jacob McNairy was the Tide’s starting pitcher. He pitched 7.2 innings, giving up only 3 hits, 3 bases on balls, no runs, and a 3.7 ERA. McNairy had a career-high 11 strikeouts. He was followed by two relievers who only gave up 1 hit. Boston College, on the other hand, played eight different pitchers.
“What an awesome night for our baseball program, for our fanbase, and the players,” said Alabama interim Coach Jason Jackson. “I couldn’t be prouder of everybody that’s been involved and has worked hard to get to this point. We’re not done yet, but I’m just so excited that we got to do this on our field in front of our fans and move on to the next round.”
The Tide is making a deep playoff run despite the mid-season firing of head baseball Coach Brad Bohannon who was the subject of an Ohio sports gambling probe.
Jackson has won 13 of 17 games since taking over for Bohannon.
5,800 fans were on hand, a sell-out to watch the Tide advance.
The Crimson Tide is 43 and 19 this season. Alabama baseball is now in the super regionals for the first time since 2010.
The Tide will play the Wake Forest Demon Deacons next. Wake Forest (50 and 10) is the number-one seed in the tournament. The winner of the Wake Forest Alabama three-game series will advance to be one of eight teams to earn a berth in the Baseball College World Series at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, beginning on June 16.
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