In the first game of the 2022 SEC baseball tournament in Hoover, No. 11 seed Alabama met No. 6 seed Georgia in a single elimination game Tuesday.
The scheduled 9:30 a.m. CT start, which was twice delayed because of rain, was considered a must-win for Alabama if it wants any hope of qualifying for back-to-back NCAA tournaments.
Here were the live updates throughout the day:
Bottom 9th: Dylan Ray replaced Guffey on the mound and struck out his first batter. That tied a nine-inning SEC tournament record with the 27th combined strikeout of the day. He struck out his next batter for a record-setting 28th, including 17 from Georgia batters. Then Ray forced a fly out to end the game.
Top 9th: Dominic Tamez singled to lead off the inning, the first hit for Alabama since the fifth inning. William Hamiter sacrificed Tamez to second base, and Tamez advanced to third base on a wild pitch. But Zane Denton then struck out and Bryce Eblin grounded out to strand Tamez, who was Alabama’s 11th runner left on base.
Bottom 8th: Guffey retired the first two batters but allowed an infield single and then a two-run home run to Connor Tate to make the score Alabama 5, Georgia 3. Guffey then ended the inning on a strike out.
Top 8th: Georgia began the inning by hitting an Alabama batter for the fifth time. But Alabama’s next three batters were retired to strand the runner.
Bottom 7th: Hess began the frame with another strikeout, his 10th in 13 batters. But Georgia’s next two base runners reached on a single and a walk, the first base runners for the Bulldogs since the second inning almost four hours prior. That prompted coach Brad Bohannon to pull Hess after 79 pitches, 10 strikeouts and one hit allowed in four and one-third innings. He was replaced by Brock Guffey. The runners advanced on a ground-out, and with two outs, Guffey ended the inning on a strikeout.
Top 7th: William Hamiter was hit by a pitch to start the inning, the fourth time a Tide batter has been hit. But Georgia struck out the side to end the frame.
Bottom 6th: Hess struck out the first Georgia batter of the frame for his eighth. After a fly out, he added a ninth strikeout to end the inning. Hess has retired all 12 batters he has faced since entering the game following the rain delay.
Top 6th: Alabama’s bats continued to be quiet post-rain delay, with Pinckney striking out, Drew Williamson flying out and Dominic Tamez striking out.
Bottom 5th: Hess increased his streak of strikeouts to six, then seven. The streak ended when the third Georgia better lined a 3-2 count to the first baseman for the final out.
Top 5th: After William Hamiter struck out, Zane Denton singled and reached second base on a ground-out. Georgia intentionally walked Tommy Seidl to add a baserunner. But No. 9 hitter Jim Jarvis drew a walk, loading the bases with two outs for lead-off hitter Caden Rose. But Rose popped up to end the inning with three stranded, increasing the Tide’s total to eight for the game.
Bottom 4th: Hess struck out the side to make it five strikeouts in a row.
Top 4th: Jaden Woods became Georgia’s third pitcher of the game to start the inning. Andrew Pinckney came close to hitting a lead-off home run but was robbed at the wall by Georgia’s left fielder. That was the start of Alabama’s first frame without a baserunner.
Bottom 3rd: Freshman Ben Hess relieved McMillan after the rain delay and retired the Georgia side, including two strikeouts.
Middle 3rd: The game is scheduled to resume at 1:20 p.m. CT after a two-hour, five-minute rain delay.
Middle 3rd: Light rain is falling again in Hoover, but with heavier rain expected, the tarp is coming onto the field around 11:15 a.m. CT. The first two-and-a-half innings of this game took 70 minutes to complete.
Top 3rd: Alabama got its first base runner with two outs when Tommy Seidl was hit by a pitch, the second HBP for Georgia pitcher Chandler Marsh. Seidl stole second, and Jim Jarvis was hit by a pitch to put another runner on base. With Georgia’s bullpen stirring again, Caden Rose struck out to end the frame.
Bottom 2nd: After a ground-out, Georgia’s Parks Harber hit a solo home run to make it Alabama 5, Georgia 1. Another ground-out preceded a two-out walk and single that put two runners on base. But McMillan then recorded a strike out end the inning.
Top 2nd: Tommy Seidl singled up the middle to lead off the second inning with Alabama’s fourth hit of the game. Jim Jarvis’ sacrifice bunt advanced Seidl to second. Georgia has action in their bullpen. Bulldogs starter Luke Wagner walked his next batter, reaching 37 pitches in the process. That was it for Wagner, who was pulled for Chandler Marsh with one out. Marsh threw his first pitch in the dirt and then hit batter Andrew Pinckney with his third pitch to load the bases. A wild pitch then scored Seidel to make it Alabama 4, Georgia 0. Drew Williamson then lined out to center field, scoring Rose to make it Alabama 5, Georgia 0. After a two-out walk by Dominic Tamez, a fly-out by William Hamiter ended the frame. Alabama has now scored 31 runs in its past 20 innings. Georgia’s two pitchers have combined for 52 pitches in two innings.
Bottom 1st: Georgia led off with an infield single. After striking out the next batter, McMillan caught a sizzler up the middle and then turned a double play to end the inning. The first inning took 27 minutes and included 45 total pitches thrown.
Top 1st: Alabama is off to a quick start, with Caden Rose hitting a lead-off double over the left fielder’s head and Andrew Pinckney driving him in on an RBI single to make it Alabama 1, Georgia 0. Pinckney stole second and then advanced to third on a ground-out. After a nine-pitch walk put runners on the corners, William Hamiter fouled out but Pinckney scored to make it Alabama 2, Georgia 0. Zane Denton then knocked in Tamez with an RBI, two-out single to make the score Alabama 3, Georgia 0. Bryce Eblin ended the frame on a deep fly-out to center field.
PREGAME:
-- The tarp is coming off the field shortly after 9:40 a.m. CT, with the small crowd huddled under the Hoover Met’s overhang applauding. First pitch is announced for 10:05 a.m. CT.
-- Steadier rain began to fall shortly after 9:30 a.m. CT, and the tarp is being pulled onto the field. The game start time is now TBD, it’s announced.
-- First pitch has been pushed back to 9:45 a.m. CT because of rain.
-- As expected, Garrett McMillan will make the start for Alabama. The starting lineup: (1) CF Caden Rose; (2) RF Andrew Pinckney; (3) 1B Drew Williamson; (4) C Dominic Tamez; (5) DH William Hamiter; (6) 3B Zane Denton; (7) 2B Bryce Eblin; (8) LF Tommy Seidl; (9) SS Jim Jarvis.
Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.