Three-run ninth wins it for Tide baseball team

ATHENS, Ga. | The University of Alabama found itself in the same situation on Saturday afternoon that it had faced in the second game of Friday night’s doubleheader against Georgia.

This time, with the score tied in the ninth inning and Georgia’s All-America closer Joshua Fields on the mound, the Crimson Tide found a way to win.

Alabama scored three runs off Fields in the ninth inning to take a 16-13 win over the SEC champion Bulldogs, winning their fifth straight SEC series and potentially taking a huge step to a possible at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Fields helped the UA cause, hitting a batter and unleashing a crucial wild pitch with two outs.

Alabama will be the No. 5 seed in the SEC Tournament at Regions Park. The Crimson Tide finished in a tie with Kentucky at 16-14 in SEC play, but the Wildcats hold the tiebreaker due to their early-season sweep.

The two teams will play the fourth game in Wednesday night’s opening session, scheduled to start at 8 p.m.

Georgia had rallied from a four-run deficit in the bottom of the eighth inning to tie the score at 13-13 and set the stage for Fields. It looked like a daunting task for the Crimson Tide — but it was a challenge that Alabama actually anticipated.

“The dugout was excited,” Wells said. “They wanted to get to the plate. They weren’t like ‘Oh gosh, it’s Goose Gossage out there.’

“Fields’ velocity was a little bit down from where it was last night. It wasn’t all 95 miles per hour. There were some 88’s mixed in there.”

Tide freshman shortstop Josh Rutledge led off the inning with a single and freshman shortstop Ross Wilson walked. Brandon May then struck out attempting to sacrifice and Alex Avila flew out to left field. Fields then hit Kent Matthes with a 1-2 pitch, loading the bases.

With Matt Bentley at the plate, Fields (2-2) uncorked a wild pitch. Rutledge charged home and Georgia catcher Jake Crane threw the ball away, allowing Wilson to score as well.

“I saw the ball get away and I just came as fast as I could to try and score,” Rutledge said. “Coach told me before I went to the plate to start the inning that I should be aggressive and that’s what I tried to do.”

Bentley then doubled to score Matthes and put the Tide ahead 16-13.

Austin Graham, who had been rocked for four runs, including a mammoth three-run home run by Bryce Massanari in the bottom of the eighth inning, came back to retire Georgia in order in the bottom of the ninth and earn the win. Graham is now 6-1 this season.

In a series that saw 20 home runs and 68 runs scored, Saturday’s see-saw slugfest was an appropriate finale.

Alabama (32-24 overall, 16-14 SEC) scored two first inning runs, fell behind 3-2 in the bottom of the third, moved ahead with two runs in the top of the fourth, then gave up six runs in the bottom of the fourth as Georgia (35-19-1, 20-9-1 SEC) took a 9-4 lead.

Avila’s solo home run in the top of the fifth — his third of the series — cut the lead to 9-5, and Alabama then exploded for six runs in the top of the sixth inning to take an 11-9 lead.

Avila was eight for 14 with three tape-measure home runs in the series.

The Crimson Tide pushed the lead to 13-9 before Georgia’s two-out rally in the eighth inning.

Massanari’s third home run of the weekend — he was eight-for-11 with 11 RBIs in the series — pulled Georgia even. But the Crimson Tide just kept on scoring.

“There is not a better offensive team in the country,” Bentley said. “At least I haven’t seen them. We are getting production for all nine spots in the lineup, and our pitching staff is going to come through for us in Hoover.”

Reach Cecil Hurt at cecil.hurt@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0225.