Anemic Bats Send Bama To 6-0 Loss

Memphis left-hander Alex Gunn threw seven scoreless innings and allowed only four base runners to lead the Tigers to a 6-0 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide on Tuesday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. With the loss, Alabama falls to .500 (8-8) for the season, while the Tigers improve to 10-5 overall.

Gunn allowed just three Alabama hits, with a walk and four strikeouts to improve to 1-1 on the season, leading the Tigers to their fifth victory over a Southeastern Conference opponent this season. Jon Reed threw the final two innings to combine for the shutout. Reed allowed one hit with one strikeout and faced just six batters.

“Tonight we looked really poor in every aspect of the game,” Tide Coach Mitch Gaspard said. “We got a poor start on the mound and had command issues. Offensively, we’ve had a week and a half struggle. We saw a totally different arm tonight than we saw this weekend, but with the same result, very few hits and very few good at-bats. It has been a battle the last week and a half, trying to get some offense together. We have to get back to work and get back on track before this weekend.”

Alabama sophomore lefty Taylor Guilbeau (1-1) was charged with the loss in his fourth start, going four innings and allowing three runs on five hits, with three walks and two hit batters. Guilbeau struck out one of the 18 batters he faced. Ben Moore, Brett Booth, Ryan Blanchard and Georgie Salem accounted for Alabama’s four hits.

Guilbeau allowed base runners in each of the first three innings, but double plays turned by White and Overstreet in each of the innings eliminated the threats to hold the Tigers scoreless. However, a walk and three third home run of the season by Memphis left fielder Jake Little put the Tigers on the board in the fourth, 2-0. Little finished the night 3-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored. Memphis added another run in the inning when Ford Wilson singled up the middle, scoring Tucker Tubbs.

After Guilbeau hit the first batter of the fifth inning, Keaton Haack entered for the Tide and had another solid outing out of the bullpen. Haack threw three hitless innings, but two walks and defensive miscues allowed the Tigers to put a run on the scoreboard in the seventh inning to take a 4-0 lead. Freshman right hander Mike Oczypok got his first action of his career, allowing two runs on five hits in two innings.

Alabama returns at home to host the Memphis Tigers for their Wednesday night matchup, with first pitch set for 6:05 p.m. CT, from Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The starting pitchers are yet to be determined.