By Will Miller Sports Illustrated
TUSCALOOSA, Ala.- Sewell-Thomas Stadium welcomed the Alabama baseball team home on Tuesday, and the Crimson Tide delivered with a midweek win over a ranked team.
No. 12 Alabama defeated No. 23 Southern Miss 10-6 behind a six-run sixth inning and some later insurance off freshman Peyton Steele's bat.
"Just love the fight with our guys," Crimson Tide head coach Rob Vaughn said. "Just a good win. I thought our guys came in and did a great job. Really happy with the performance, happy with the toughness."
The Golden Eagles (22-11) scored the first four runs of the game, two apiece in the second and the third. Shortstop Ozzie Pratt took Crimson Tide starter Aeden Finateri yard for the first two runs of the ball game.
Second baseman Garrett Staton blasted his second home run in as many games (both times, Alabama was down 4-0), a two-run shot to make it a game again and give the lineup a lift. The full payoff wouldn't come until inning number six.
"I felt a little bit of tightness until G-Stat pumped that ball," Vaughn said. "When he hit the homer, it was like, 'Okay, we're actually good again, we're good.' It let everybody breathe a little bit."
It started innocently enough (at least when compared to the overall picture of the sixth inning); right fielder Bryce Fowler was plunked with the bases juiced to make it a one-run contest. For Southern Miss, that was the first crack in the dam. Catcher Brady Neal's biggest hit in an Alabama uniform sent the water all the way out.
Neal's two-out bases-clearing double gave the Crimson Tide the lead. Center fielder Richie Bonomolo Jr. added another run with a home run over the scoreboard in left, his fourth of the season. Southern Miss got two runs in the top of eighth.
"You just gotta slow it down," Neal said. "I've played in a lot of big games, and that's a big situation right there. That's a team that could host. They've hosted a couple times in the past couple years. It's just about slowing it down. The more you speed yourself up, the less of a chance you're gonna have."
In the home half of the eighth inning, Alabama (28-6) met pitcher Colby Allen, who was very effective against the Crimson Tide last season in Hattiesburg. Alabama tagged him. Steele hit a leadoff solo home run against him, and Allen surrendered four hits with two runs.
"He was good last year," Vaughn said. "I wish I could take credit for that [the performance Tuesday], but that's Pap [assistant coach Anthony Papio]. That's Pap preparing our hitters... I love my players. I think I have unbelievable assistant coaches that work really hard. When you see them able to prepare our guys, it's huge."
Carson Ozmer brought his save total to double digits with his 10th on Tuesday night. Southern Miss has a good lineup. Pratt got three hits. Three visiting players had a multi-hit game. Ozmer slammed the door on anything Christian Ostrander's squad might have had going after the eighth.
"The best teams we've ever been on have guys at the beginning, and a dude at the end," Vaughn said. "You can piece together innings five, six, seven with matchups and with some different things... You've gotta have a dude on the backend, and we knew Oz coming in could be that for us."
Steele was making the first start of his college career. Vaughn said he knew the freshman wouldn't be afraid, and Steele, with a two-hit day, proved his head coach right. Vaughn praised Steele's attitude in addition to the job he did during the game.
"I was really happy for Peyton Steele," Vaughn said. "It's great for us, but really happy for him personally as well... Every one of those freshmen, position players and pitchers, are working their butts off."
Neal, too, has noticed what Steele brings to the table. Steele got to play as the coaching staff continues to ease Kade Snell back from a collision during the Oklahoma series. Snell has been playing, but was again penciled in at designated hitter Tuesday. Snell singled home the second run surrendered by Allen.
"You come out on Wednesday [in practice], and you watch the live ABs, and you think 'That guy should be hitting on the weekends,'" Neal said. "I've seen it a couple times over the last couple of years, a young freshman working hard when nobody's watching... He got his opportunity and just did what he does."
Crimson Tide senior first baseman Will Hodo is from Mississippi, and this week, Alabama plays all Mississippi teams; it faces Mississippi State from Friday to Sunday. Against the Golden Eagles, Hodo had four walks and a triple.
"Will Hodo had the most Will Hodo day of all time," Vaughn said. "That's Doe in a nutshell. The at-bats really got better as they went."
Shortstop Justin Lebron led the team in hits (3-for-5). Bonomolo joined Steele in the two-hit club. The Crimson Tide hit three home runs in the game. Six extra-base hits will play, regardless of the opponent. It was enough on Tuesday night to beat a program that Alabama lost to last spring.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/alabama as Alabama Baseball Comes Alive Late, Powers Past No. 23 Southern Miss.
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This story was originally published April 8, 2025 at 8:16 PM.
