NCAA regional: Tide rolls to 8-1 lead in third inning
It took less than three innings for Alabama to ruin the NCAA regional debut of ECU rookie pitcher Seth Maness. The Conference USA freshman of the year was pulled after allowing nine hits and two home runs in 2 2/3 rough innings.
Alabama wound up batting around in a five-run third inning that made it 8-1 — and the sun hasn’t set yet at Coastal Carolina.
The inning began with a walk and three consecutive hits — ended by a three-run home run by Tide first baseman Matt Bentley, who easily cleared “The Rooster’s Nest” fan area down the right-field line. Jake Smith and Alex Kubal added singles to chase Maness.
Alabama has 10 hits already.