March 9, 2022

By Alex Thompson

University of Alabama Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball suffered a 9-5 loss to North Alabama on Wednesday afternoon at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.

The Crimson Tide is now 9-5 on the season.

North Alabama got out front early with two runs in the first and three in the second. The Lions added one apiece in the third and fifth with a two-run seventh on the way to the win. Alabama chipped away at the lead with solo home runs in the second, third and fifth innings while adding two runs in the ninth as part of a late rally but could get no closer than a 9-5 final. The win was credited to North Alabama reliever Jacob James (1-0) while Crimson Tide starter Ben Hess (0-1) suffered the loss.

The Tide’s solo home runs came from Zane Denton, Owen Diodati (Niagara Falls, Ont.) and Jim Jarvis. Diodati finished his day with a team-high tying three hits while adding a run and two RBIs. Matching Diodati in hits was Tommy Seidl who went 3-for-5 with a double and a run.

From Head Coach Brad Bohannon

“First, I would like to congratulate UNA. They really came in here and took it to us, outplayed us, and this was a bad loss for us. We really didn’t do anything well enough to win. Our defence was fine, but we didn’t pitch it well out of the gate. I do believe that we are going to pitch it well this season, we just didn’t pitch well tonight. We have to make some strides offensively and in a hurry. It was a really bad performance by our group tonight, but we have to come back and get better tomorrow.”

How It Happened

T1 | A pair of doubles with one away got the Lions on the board first. UNA added one more run with two down, using a third double in the inning to widen the gap. (2-0, North Alabama)

T2 | A three-run home run by Drew Hudson added to the lead for the Lions. (5-0, North Alabama)

B2 | Owen Diodati sent a 2-2 pitch over the wall in center to get the Crimson Tide on the board. (5-1, North Alabama)

T3 | The Lions began the inning with a single to center and moved the runner to second on a sacrifice bunt. UNA crossed the leadoff man in the next at-bat thanks to an RBI-single through the right side. (6-1, North Alabama)

B3 | Jim Jarvis blasted a solo home run to right to cut into the UNA lead. (6-2, North Alabama)

T5 | The Lions got a one-out baserunner with a single. A wild pitch moved the man to second before a ground out placed him at third. The next at-bat saw a balk bring across the runner for UNA. (7-2, North Alabama)

B5 | Zane Denton led off the home half with a solo home run. (7-3, North Alabama)

T7 | A bases loaded double down the line in left scored two for UNA. (9-3, North Alabama)

B9 | Drew Williamson worked a one-out walk and was followed by a single from Tommy Seidl. Eric Foggo followed with a ground out that resulted in a UNA error to load the bases. Andrew Pinckney then crossed Williamson on a fielder’s choice ground out. One out later, Diodati picked up his third hit of the contest with a single up the middle to score Seidl. (9-5, Alabama)

Postgame Notes

-With his 1-for-5 day, Jim Jarvis has recorded a hit in five straight games. Over the streak, the junior is batting .476 (10-for-21) with a double, a triple, one home run, an RBI, five runs, one walk and a pair of stolen bases.

-Drew Williamson’s 12-game hitting streak came to an end. The senior batted .362 (17-for-47) with five doubles, two home runs, 11 RBIs, seven runs, three walks, one hit-by-pitch and a stolen base across that stretch.

-Williamson has reached base safely in 13 straight games. He drew a pair of walks in today’s contest.

-Ben Hess made his collegiate debut on Wednesday afternoon.

Next up for Alabama is the final non-conference series of the season as the Tide welcomes Binghamton to The Joe for a three-game set this weekend. The Crimson Tide and Bearcats are scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT first pitch on Friday followed by a 2 p.m. start on Saturday. Things wrap up on Sunday at 1 p.m. with all three games airing live on SEC Network+.