Alabama struck back following Washington State’s game one upset victory, beating the Cougars 8-1 and tying the series at 1-1. After an amazing Friday performance on both sides of the ball, the Cougs were unable to get any sort of momentum going in game two.
The game started out slowly as both teams failed to score in the first three innings. Through the first two innings there were zero hits from either team and outside of a walk for Alabama center fielder Bryce Fowler in the bottom of the first, no one was able to successfully get on base.
Despite no runs, things picked up in the third inning, especially for the Cougs. In the top of the third WSU managed to get the offense rolling with the first hit of the game as center fielder Trevor Smith singled, allowing second baseman Luke Tiele to grab second base. The Cougars continued to gain momentum on offense in the fourth as third baseman Ollie Obenour hit a double to right field. A few bats later left fielder Matt Priest hit a single, yet the momentum died with zero runs.
After three innings of defensive dominance, Alabama managed to break through the cracks of WSU’s pitching in the bottom of the fourth. Following a Jason Torres walk, the Tide set the tone with a two-run homer from first baseman Luke Vaughn that sailed over the left center field wall.
Following an unsuccessful fifth for the Cougars, Alabama continued on their hot streak in the bottom of the fifth. After a single from second baseman Brennan Holt and walks from Fowler and short stop Justin Lebron, bases were loaded for the Tide. With bases loaded and only one out, Alabama was in prime position to score, and they did just that. Torres singled to center field, allowing Lebron to advance to third and both Fowler and Holt to reach home plate. The scoring did not stop just yet for the Tide, however, as designated hitter John Lemm hit a pop fly to center field, which allowed Lebron to score and set Alabama up for a 5-0 lead heading into the sixth.
After a rough two innings for the Cougs, they managed to build some momentum on offense themselves. In the top of the sixth, down 5-0, WSU struck back. Following a walk and a single from Priest, outfielder Mason Pirello singled to center field, allowing Obenour to score the Cougars’ first run of the game.
Despite the Cougs getting on the board, Alabama managed to strike back in the bottom of the sixth. Left fielder Justin Osterhouse walked and managed to steal his way to third. All it took was a hit from Holt that managed to let Osterhouse sneak in to score, snagging a 6-1 lead as they entered the seventh.
The seventh proved to be as slow as the first three innings, as outside of a single from Alabama’s Torres, there was no offense. The momentum picked back up for the Tide in the eight, however, as following only one hit for WSU from right fielder Max Hartman in the top of the seventh, the Tide managed to increase their lead. In the bottom of the eight both Osterhouse and Holt walked, leading to a single from catcher Brady Neal that allowed Holt to snag second and Osterhouse to score. The scoring didn’t end there for Bama either, as a wild pitch from pitcher Gabe Schneider allowed for Neal to advance to second and third on a throwing error, which also allowed Holt to slide in for the score, solidifying an 8-1 lead for the Tide.
Down seven with the game on the line for WSU, they needed to make it happen in the top of the ninth. Yet strikeouts from first baseman Ryan Skjonsby and catcher Joel Fernandez, on top of a fly ball from catcher Alexandre Giguere ultimately led to the end of the game.
Alabama successfully roared back after an 8-4 game one upset, coming out victorious in a dominant 8-1 victory in game two. With this win the Tide has tied the series 1-1, leading to a winner takes all game three.
