By By Mark Etheridge/staff writer
April 21, 2002
TUSCALOOSA Brent Boyd had a pair of homers including an grand slam as Alabama beat Ole Miss 12-2 in game two of their three game set Saturday in front of 5,827 at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
In Friday's game Alabama (34-6 overall 13-3 in SEC play) left thirteen runners on base in a one run loss. The Crimson Tide served notice early that would change on Saturday. Boyd, getting his first career start at firstbase jumped on Ole Miss ace Peter Montrenes (8-3) with a first inning grand slam. The Tide went on to score seven runs in that first inning.
In the big inning, leadoff man Scott McClanahan was hit by a pitch. Adam Pavkovich singled and Jeremy Brown walked setting the stage for Boyd's blast.
Montrenes promptly plunked the next hitter Allen Rice drawing ire from the Tide dugout. After Beau Hearod singled, Grant Redding singled to left but Rice was cut down trying to score.
Travis Garner followed with an RBI double scoring Hearod. McClanahan, batting for the second time in the inning, then laced a single into left scoring both Redding and Garner. When all was said and done, Alabama sent eleven batters to the plate and put seven runs on the board early.
Alabama got their second complete game pitching performance in two days as sophomore left-hander Jeffrey Norris (4-0) got his fourth win of the year.
Brown plated another run in the second with an RBI double by Brown extending his hitting streak to eleven games.
Brown scored on an infield hit by Hearod.
The Rebels (31-9 overall 11-6 in SEC play) scored in the fourth on an RBI double by Drew Rogers scoring Seth Smith.
The Rebels looked to be headed for a big inning with two on and no outs when starter Jeffrey Norris fanned yesterday's hero Josh Christian and the Tide catcher Brown picked runner Chad Sterbens off first.
In the fifth, Redding worked a walk and took third on a Garner single.
He scored on a McClanahan sacrifice fly. Bama added a run in the seventh as Redding legged out a double and scored on a McClanahan single. Ole
Miss scored a run in eighth on an RBI single by Michael Swearengin.
Boyd capped the Tide scoring with his second homer of the game, a solo shot to left.
The series finale is Sunday at 2 p.m. (CT) Freshman right-hander Alan Horne (2-1, 5.27 ERA) will pitch for Ole Miss while Alabama will start senior right-hander Shane Sanders (5-1, 3.86 ERA).