FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
CLEMSON, S.C. – The No. 16 Alabama baseball team scored four runs in the second inning and then rode the clutch pitching of junior right-hander Jimmy Nelson, senior left-hander Jonathan Smart and senior right-hander Jake Smith to a 5-4 win over No. 13 Clemson in game one of the 2010 NCAA Super Regional in front of a jam-packed crowd of 6,346 fans at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Saturday night.
Alabama (42-23) has won 13 of its last 15 games, including a four-game winning streak, and moved to within one win of its first College World Series appearance since 1999 with the one-run win over the Tigers.
“I thought that was a really good college baseball game with lots of excitement; it came down to the wire," Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard said. "Jimmy [Nelson] competed hard in the heat. We did a nice job offensively, especially in the third inning to take the lead, but Clemson came right back. Our bullpen did well…the key was our defense and the double plays. The guys competed hard for nine innings on both sides, especially in the back end.”
