Alabama’s Jason Torres hits game-changing grand slam as Tide push for CWS berth
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Alabama third baseman Jason Torres just might have struck the blow that sends the Crimson Tide to the College World Series.
With Alabama clinging to a 3-2 lead over pesky St. John’s in the top of the seventh on Sunday, Torres stepped to the plate hoping to give the Tide some much-needed breathing room in Game 2 of the Tuscaloosa Super Regional.
Sure, Alabama already had the lead and even had the knowledge that if it lost on Sunday, there would be another chance to earn a trip to Omaha in a winner-take-all Game 3 on Monday. The Crimson Tide earned that cushion with Saturday’s 8-0 blanking of the Red Storm in Game 1, so it’s not like Torres had the weight of the world on his shoulders and bat as he dug in with the bases loaded and 2 outs.
No matter.
Torres met the big-time moment and gave Alabama a 7-2 lead after belting a grand slam to right field off St. John’s righty Jack Nestler. In an instant, the Crimson Tide had a 5-run lead and were 9 outs away from Omaha. While Torres seized the moment, Alabama’s broadcasters on Crimson Tide Sports Network had the wonderful opportunity to bring the moment home, with play-by-play man Roger Hoover calling the shot along with David Kindred.
Here is the special swing along with a memorable call:
The only thing that could seemingly get in Alabama’s way on Sunday was the weather. Not too long after the grand slam and that grand call, the game was delayed in the top of the eighth, with the Tide still up 7-2 and with a runner on first base with nobody out.
There was still work to be done for Bama, not to mention some clearing of the weather, but Torres had already made sure that the Tide had a nice cushion in those late innings.
Alabama was closing in Sunday on that coveted trip to Omaha, where the Crimson Tide would be competing with the sport’s best for a national championship. Here is what the Kalshi odds are currently saying about those elite teams it believes have the best shot to be the last one standing with the trophy at the College World Series:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
