Baseball Wins Sixth Straight, Defeats Mercer, 5-3

Tuesday, May 12

Huntsville, Ala. (Joe Davis Stadium)

6:30 p.m

Alabama

29-24

Mercer

29-20

Mercer

Alabama

Baseball Wins Sixth Straight, Defeats Mercer, 5-3

5/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

May 12, 2015

Box Score | Box Score PDF

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- With a strong relief effort from junior Will Carter, Alabama baseball defeated the visiting Mercer Bears by a final score of 5-3 on Tuesday evening inside Joe W. Davis Municipal Stadium. With its sixth consecutive win, the Crimson Tide continues its hot streak and improves to 29-24 overall on the season.

"We saw what we wanted to see tonight from our guys," said Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard. "We brought a lot of momentum and energy into the game, and Will Carter was dynamite in helping us to get the win. He was outstanding, with good velocity and control in his first relief appearance."

Entering in the top of the fifth to relieve starter Alex Watkins, Carter worked an impressive 5.0 scoreless innings in his first career appearance out of the bullpen as a member of the Crimson Tide. The right-hander limited the Bears offense to just two hits and a pair of walks while striking out a season-high nine batters on the way to his third win of the season.

Casey Hughston stayed hot in non-conference play, leading the offensive attack for Alabama. He finished 2-for-4 with three RBI and a stolen base. Hughston came through in a big spot early, capping a three-run third inning with a two-out, two-run single to give the Tide its first lead of the night. The sophomore later added an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh with another two-out single.

Mercer jumped out to the early lead, 1-0, thanks to back-to-back, one-out doubles in the second. The Crimson Tide would regroup to take its first lead with a trio of runs in the third. With two down and one on, an error by the shortstop put runners at first and second for Georgie Salem. The junior would knock a liner up the middle to tie the game and then Salem and Avant, who reached on the error, would advance into scoring position on the throw.

The Bears intentionally walked J.C. Wilhite in the next at-bat to load the bases and force a Mercer pitching change. Hughston stepped in and singled to right to bring his first two RBI across and set the Crimson Tide ahead at 3-1.

In the fourth, MU scored one on an infield groundout after the first two batters walked and doubled to lead off the frame. The Bears would then use a sacrifice fly to center to plate another and even the score at 3-3.

Alabama regained the lead in the home half of the fourth frame, using a one-out single from Will Haynie to score Wilhite, who reached on a triple in the prior at-bat. The 4-3 lead stuck until UA added one more in the seventh. Hughston knocked home the runner from third for his third RBI of the night with a single to right, setting the Tide ahead, 5-3, on the way to the win.

Salem and Will Haynie added two hits and a run apiece on the night, with Haynie also adding an RBI. Overall, Alabama collected nine hits against seven Mercer arms by night's end.

"Offensively, we continued to have good at-bats throughout the ballgame," Gaspard said of his hitters. "We had some key two-out hits that helped us bring home the win."

Following tonight's final midweek contest, Alabama closes out its regular season with a three-game series against seventh-ranked Vanderbilt inside the Hoover Met The two teams are scheduled for a 7 p.m. CT start on Thursday and Friday airing on SECN+, with Saturday's season-finale set for 3:30 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.

Get all the latest information on the team by following AlabamaBSB on Twitter and Instagram and on Facebook at Alabama Baseball. General athletic news can be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.

ALABAMA POSTGAME NOTES

The game in Huntsville was the Crimson Tide's final home contest away from home. Alabama has also played single contests in Birmingham and Montgomery along with a three-game series in Mobile this season.
Will Carter made his first relief appearance as a member of the Crimson Tide.
Carter tossed 5.0 innings out of the bullpen and recorded a career-high nine strikeouts.
Alex Watkins made his second start of the season and has now earned the nod in consecutive Tuesdays.
Kyle Overstreet went 1-for-4 on the night with a double to extend his hitting streak to six games. Across that time, the junior is batting .308 (8-26) with two doubles, an RBI and five runs scored.
Will Haynie finished the night 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored to extend his hitting streak to five games. Across the streak, the sophomore is batting .368 (7-19) with two home runs, five RBI, five runs scored and two walks.
Casey Hughston collected three RBI, his highest output since Feb. 24 in game one vs. Savannah State when the sophomore put together a four-RBI game.
Cody Henry's five-game hitting streak came to an end. Across the streak, Henry batted .474 (9-19) with five doubles, a triple, six RBI, seven runs scored and two walks.
Henry recorded at least one extra-base hit in the final four games of the five-game streak.
Chandler Avant's hitting streak ended at eight games. Across the eight-game streak, the freshman is batted .382 (13-34) with two doubles, six RBI, five runs scored, five walks and a stolen base.