Kade Snell's Walk-Off Homer Powers Tide Over South Alabama In Midweek Action

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Crimson Tide captain and left fielder Kade Snell came up big as ever in extra innings with a solo walk-off home run to give Alabama a 6-5 extra-innings midweek win in a thriller Tuesday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.

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Ranked No. 12 in D1baseball.com's Top 25 Poll released Monday, Alabama's win Tuesday was in its first extra-innings action of the 2025 campaign.

Tide second baseman Brennen Norton got things going in the bottom of the second inning, singling before advancing to third on a follow-up base hit by Snell.

Catcher Will Plattner, swinging a hot bat in the lineup after earning more starts behind the plate, then doubled in Norton to put the Tide ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the 2nd.

Cullman native J.T. Blackwood started on the mound for the Tide, coming into the game with a 2-0 record and a 3.94 ERA. However, he threw only 24 total pitches and did not get the decision.

Blackwood threw one scoreless inning before being pulled for Aden Finateri, who pitched two innings and surrendered two earned runs.

Former Northridge High and Shelton State Community College standout Tate Robertson was called from the pen to face a tough situation in the top of the fourth and surrendered two more earned runs of his own in a brutal four-run top of the fourth inning for the home squad

Other Alabama arms that saw relief work in Tuesday night's midweek win: Coulson Buchanan, Beau Bryans and Braylon Myers.

Third baseman Jason Torres got the Tide back on the board in the bottom of the fifth after Alabama fell behind, coming up clutch once again by singling in a run to close the gap to 4-2.

Will Hodo, the Tide's hot-hitting first baseman, then hit a 336-foot home run into the right field stands to put Alabama back ahead 5-4 in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Alabama closer Cason Ozmer came on looking to record his sixth save of the season but quickly ran into trouble when he Ozmer gave up a towering home run to USA outfielder John Smith in the top of the ninth to tie the game at 5 but got out a jam with two runners on to get out of the inning with just the one run.

Austin Morris was brought on in the top of the 10th and worked a 1-2-3 inning before Snell — who finished 2-of-4 on the night — roped a ball to the opposite field that carried over the left field wall and gave Alabama its 21st win of its red-hot start to 2025.

The win also gives Morris his first of the season.

The home squad came up big when it counted, despite the the Jags ultimately out-slugging the Tide with 12 hits compared to Alabama's 8.

As a relevant side note: USA third baseman Kyle Morrison, a former Shelton State Community College standout who owns the SSCC career home run record, got on base with a single through the infield in his first at-bat of the game.

Morrison went on to a 1-for-5 night in his return to Tuscaloosa.

Alabama (21-1, 3-0 SEC) will return to action Thursday when the Tennessee Volunteers (20-1, 3-0 SEC) come to town for the Crimson Tide's SEC home-opening series.

First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.

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