TROY, Ala.— Troy entered its midweek game against Alabama with its highest ranking in program history, sitting at No. 19 in D1 Baseball’s rankings and No. 14 in Baseball USA’s poll. The No. 23 Crimson Tide ensured that ranking will be significantly lower next week with a dominant 10-2 victory over the Trojans.

The Crimson Tide hit the ground running. After Bryce Fowler grounded out to start the game, Justin Lebron hit a bomb to deep left for his sixteenth home run of the season, moving the sophomore into a tie for third in the SEC. Alabama was just getting started. Kade Snell and Richie Bonomolo Jr. followed the dinger up with consecutive base hits before Will Hodo got hit by his seventeenth pitch of the season to load the bases with one out.

Troy head coach Skylar Meade came to the mound to speak with starter Jacob Roettgen. Any attempt to calm the senior’s nerves did not work, as Garrett Staton took two low pitches before ripping a line drive to left to bring in Snell and Bonomolo. Coleman Mizell grounded out for the second out of the inning, but Hodo was able to score from third. The inning finally ended on a Jason Torres groundout, but Alabama had set the tone with a four-run opening frame.

Roegotten had only given up three total earned runs over seven outings this season, with all three coming in a disastrous March 26 outing against Florida A&M, where he gave up three runs and six hits without recording a single out.

After JT Blackwood put the Trojans down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first, Adam Falinski took the mound for Troy. The pitching change did not yield any new results. Will Plattner grounded out to start the inning before Fowler and Lebron were plunked consecutively. Snell, leading the SEC in batting average, uncorked a bomb over the 27-foot “Monster” in right field, and just like that, Alabama held a touchdown lead over the Trojans. Hodo also recorded a base hit, but no further damage was done in the second.

“That’s going to be a really high seed in the NCAA tournament,” Alabama head coach Rob Vaughn said. “It’s a good win. I thought we came out of the gates ready to go. That’s what was impressive. It’s good to see Lebron run that ball out of here. And then just Kade (Snell) had a whale of a night. I mean, Kade was unbelievable. So all in all, just relentless offense.”

Falinski came through in the top of the third, holding the Crimson Tide to one hit. Troy’s bats started to wake up in the bottom of the inning, notching two hits but stranding both runners as Blackwood got Blake Cavill swinging to get off the field.

Lebron knocked a one-out double to left in the fourth, but hurt himself diving into second. After lying face down for about fifteen seconds, he got up but was pulled for Jon Young Jr. Young made it home on another Kade Snell RBI that got right past Troy’s shift to put the game at 8-0.

Vaughn added that Lebron will be good for the weekend series against Georgia and that he was pulled as a precautionary measure. Lebron could have re-entered the game as he was pulled for concussion protocol, but with the game already out of hand, Vaughn opted to keep Young in.

“That’s a good game for Jon to get out there,” Vaughn said. “You never know what’s going to happen in the postseason. You might need Jon ready, and those are invaluable reps on the road for him.”

Alabama’s bats finally cooled off as the Crimson Tide would go scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings. Meanwhile, the Trojans’ got their best opportunity yet during the fifth. With one out and Peyton Watts at first, leadoff batter Houston Markham hit into what should have been a routine double play right to Young at short. Young, a second baseman, was unable to field the ball cleanly, and both runners were safe. Cavill grounded out to first, but it advanced both runners yet again. With two runners in scoring position for the first time all game, Aeden Finateri, who replaced Blackwood at the start of the fourth, held strong, getting Jimmy Janicki to pop up to Staton to get out of the jam.

After stranding six batters through five innings, Troy finally got on the board in the sixth. Cleanup batter Sean Darnell fought through an eleven-pitch at bat and uncorked a bomb that almost cleared the Monster and turned into a standup double. Steven Meier brought him home two pitches later with a single down the middle.

Connor Lehman was brought into the game, but promptly walked his first two batters and was pulled immediately. With two outs and the bases loaded, Troy had its first legitimate shot to cut a serious dent into Alabama’s lead. But the pitching remained clutch, as Austin Morris got Markham to ground out, and, for the fourth consecutive inning, the Trojans stranded runners in scoring position.

Alabama got its eight-run lead back in the top of the seventh, as Staton recorded his third RBI, driving Bonomolo home on a deep shot to left field that was about five feet shy of a homer. The Crimson Tide would add one final run in the eighth as Snell drove in Young on a single once again.

“We score seven in the first two, but then we kept kind of adding runs, which is a big piece of this thing,” Vaughn said. “We didn’t let them hang around.”

Troy would add another run of their own with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, driven in by Meier once again. Fittingly, Troy stranded two batters in that final frame, putting the total at 13 for the game. Alabama improved to 36-12 with the win while Troy dropped to 34-15 with the loss. Alabama finished its midweek slate perfect on the season. Troy broke its attendance record as fans flocked in to see the ranked in-state matchup.

“I think the state of baseball in our state is really strong, and that’s great for everybody around here. It’s a lot of fun.”