Alabama’s hot start to the baseball season continued Sunday in North Carolina.
A 2-0 win over Brown closed the USA Baseball-Irish Classic with a 3-1 weekend and a 10-2 overall record. The only loss of the weekend came in a 2-1 Saturday game with No. 8 NC State.
The Sunday win came via two ninth-inning runs and a shutout on the mound. Chance Vincent’s sacrifice fly scored Cobie Vance for the first run. An RBI single from Conner Short supplied the final score.
“We found a way late there,” Alabama coach Mitch Gaspard said. “It’s about winning games. Today wasn’t real pretty, but we walk away from the tournament 3-1, and 4-1 overall on the road this week.”
Three Tide pitchers combined for the shutout. Ray Castillo went the first four innings, allowing a single hit with three strikeouts. Brock Love gave up two hits in his two winnings before Kyle Cameron went the final three for the win.
Left fielder Keith Holcombe, also an Alabama football player, went 2-for-4 in the only multi-hit game for the Tide.
Alabama returns to Tuscaloosa for a 6:30 p.m. Thursday visit from No. 8 Oregon. A three-game series with No. 21 Houston starts Friday.
