Baseball team earns spot in SEC Tournament with win against Bulldogs

ATHENS, Ga. | The University of Alabama baseball team slugged five home runs, turned four double plays – and needed it all to win its way into the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

The Crimson Tide pounded out 20 hits and built a big early lead, then held on for a 17-13 win over 2008 SEC champion Georgia in the first game of an SEC doubleheader on Friday.

The win put Alabama at 15-13 in SEC play and, according to calculations by the SEC office, assured the Crimson Tide of a spot in next week’s SEC Tournament at Regions Park in Hoover.

Alabama scored six runs in the second inning thanks to a two-run home run by Jake Smith and a grand slam by Alex Avila. The Tide added four more runs in the top of the third inning to take a 10-1 lead, but Georgia, taking advantage of Alabama’s control problems and its own power hitting, gradually cut into the lead.

The Bulldogs pulled as close as 14-12 when designated hitter Bryce Massanari slugged his second home run of the day, a three-run shot off reliever Josh Copeland in the bottom of the eighth.

But the Crimson Tide (31-23 overall) used a sparkling double play started by second baseman Ross Wilson to get out of the inning, then picked up three critical insurance runs in the top of the ninth inning as sophomore Del Howell bashed a three-run home run to right field.

Georgia’s Matt Cerone started the bottom of the ninth with a solo home run off UA reliever Austin Graham, but Graham retired the next three hitters to notch his fourth save.

Miers Quigley, the Tide starter, allowed six runs in five innings but picked up the decision for his first SEC win since March of 2007. Quigley is now 5-4 on the season. Georgia starter Trevor Holder (7-4) took the loss.

Jake Smith slugged two home runs for the Crimson Tide. Wilson and Avila each drove in five runs, while Tyler Odle had four hits. Massanari drove in six

Despite the 30 runs and 34 hits, the game was played in less than three hours (2:56).

The win clinched a tournament berth for Alabama because it holds the tiebreaker against South Carolina, which could still finish at 15-15. Alabama is assured of finishing ahead of South Carolina, Tennessee, Auburn and Mississippi State, and the Crimson Tide could still finish as high as second overall in the league, depending on additional results this weekend.