Crimson Tide Offense Stays Hot With 13-3 Decimation of Valparaiso

The No. 17 Alabama Crismon Tide (7-0) took down the Valparaiso Beacons (2-4) with a run-rule of 13-3 to clinch the series win. Tide starter Aidan Moza earned the win, while Valpo starter Josh Cottrill recorded his first loss of the season.

"Obviously, got a good day out there. I thought they did a good job at the top first, and I think they had a good plan. They kind of ambushed a couple of heaters, got on board early, and you know, we talk all the time about what to throw the first punch, and they obviously Valp threw the first one today, but we always say, man, if they're gonna throw a jab, we're gonna throw a haymaker" said head coach Rob Vaugh in his opening statement.

Junior Aidan Moza earned the ball for the Crismon Tide after Saturday starter Riley Quick underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this week.

The Valparaiso offense started hot, knocking around starter Aidan Moza. Leadoff batter Kaleb Hannahs started the Beacons off with a double down the left field line, followed by a Kyle Schmack double to drive Hannahs home - an error on the play pushes Schmack to third. The next at-bat, DH Ryan Maka, knocks a sac fly to bring home Schmack. Moza settled down to strike out Connor Giusti and forced a Kevin Denty ground out to end the inning.

This marked the first time this season the Crimson Tide faced a deficit.

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However, the Tide answered with an explosive 7-run inning in the bottom of the first.

3B Gage Miller started the Crimson Tide offense with a bang, slapping a homer to left field to put Alabama on the board. TJ McCants followed Miller's homerun with a triple to center, setting up a two-run shot from Ian Petrutz to push the Tide ahead 3-2.

Will Hodo and Evan Sleight struck out swinging the following two at-bats, but after Mac Guscette reached on an error, the floodgate of runs reopened.

Coleman Mizell shot a homer to left-center field to tack two more runs on the board, pushing the lead to three runs for the Tide. The next at-bat, freshman shortstop Justin Lebron put one over the fence for the Tide's fourth homer of the first inning. A Bryce Eblin HPB and steal set up Gage Miller to slap a single to center field to drive home Eblin.

"It kind of started out before the game. You know, we had a team who comes in and wears white on our field and that's that doesn't send a good message to us. [...] I mean, that just sets the tone for what we want to do. [...] We didn't stop. We were just persistent and just kept going, and we wanted to keep doing that today." said LF Ian Petrutz about the first-inning offensive onslaught.

After a scoreless second inning, Beacon's Kyle Schmack shot a ball out of Sewell-Thomas to eat into the Crimson Tide lead. Moza would later be taken to the dugout for an injury check-up; coach Rob Vaugh would say after that Moza's fingernail was cutting into his skin, but he was able to come back onto the mound and strike out Liam Patton to end the inning.

The Valparaiso offense would go dormant for the rest of the game.

A combination of elite Alabama offense and sloppy Valparaiso defense allowed the Tide to punch back with another high-scoring inning, tacking on five runs to shut the door on the Beacons.

After a quick 1-2-3 inning in the fourth for Aidan Moza, transfer Coulson Buchanan would relieve him.

An Evan Sleight double scored Will Hodo in the fifth inning, pushing the Tide lead into run-rule territory.

Freshman Jackson Baker would take the mound to finish the game for the Tide. An amazing Will Portera throw from first to third would end the game for the Crimson Tide.

For more Alabama Baseball content from Simon Besnoy, follow him on X/Twitter at @SimonBesnoy and stay tuned to Tide1009.com for daily news.