M Squared: Miller, Moza Make Difference in Alabama Baseball's Series Win Over Tennessee

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Sunday's rubber game of the weekend series between No. 14 Alabama and No. 5 Tennessee came down to the wire.

In the opening weekend of conference play, the Crimson Tide and Volunteers split the first two contests on Friday and Saturday. The third and final game, a St. Patrick's Day matchup, was for the series. It went back and forth, with Tennessee (18-3, 1-2 SEC) flipping a 1-0 Alabama lead into a 4-1 advantage. 

The Crimson Tide scored in the first inning in every game of the weekend. A rally to tie the game at four punctuated by a fourth-inning Will Hodo solo blast was met with the Volunteers taking the advantage back at 5-4 on an RBI groundout in the seventh.

With two men away in the bottom half of the eighth inning and runners on the corners, leadoff man Gage Miller stepped up. The team's home run leader had hit the ball hard all weekend, including teeing one off in his first plate appearance Saturday that just missed leaving the yard. 

Against Tennessee reliever Nate Snead, who pitched 5.1 innings and to that point had only surrendered a single run, Miller left nothing to chance, launching one to the pull side to give his team a 7-5 lead. "I was just looking for a fastball," he said. "The first two ABs before that, I barely missed it. I knew I wasn't gonna miss it again." He did not shy away from the pressure of the moment, choosing instead to focus on what he was doing.

"There was no doubt," he said with a wry smile. The crowd agreed, getting up and getting loud before the ball even finished its path beyond the left field playground at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. 

The next piece to the puzzle was right-handed pitcher Aidan Moza. Moza began the season as the Saturday starter, but by his own assessment, things hadn't been going his way. He's come out of the bullpen in his last few appearances and surrendered a home run to these same Volunteers on Friday night, in a game the Crimson Tide (17-3, 2-1 SEC) lost 11-3. 

His number was called in relief of freshman flamethrower Matthew Heiberger during the ninth inning. Owing largely to defensive miscues, such as a dropped foul popup, Tennessee loaded the bases with one out. Moza spent some time getting warm. He was then thrust into an impromptu closer's role with Alton Davis II unavailable. "When we talk about toughness, grit, resiliency, all that stuff, that dude [Moza] came in and embodied that," head coach Rob Vaughn said. "Had a tough outing on Friday... Went to work, came back, and was absolutely electric."

"When I first got the call, going in the game, I just knew it was a moment built for me," Moza said. "I've been griding this whole entire year. Really hasn't gone my way so far, and you know, kinda self-doubt getting into your head a little bit, but then being able to talk with J.J. [pitching coach Jason Jackson] and Coach Vaughn and them having confidence in me to go out there and just keep doing me... It paid off today for sure."

He first struck out Tennessee right fielder Kavares Tears, whose power got Alabama on Friday and to whom the RBI on that lead-snagging groundout in the seventh inning belonged. Tears swung through an 0-2, bringing the visitors to their final out. "It doesn't matter if there's a guy on base or not, I have the same approach to every hitter," Moza said. "That's just kinda the way I look at it so I can block out everything else."

He next walked left fielder Dylan Dreiling. Dreiling proved a tough out in the series. His bases-clearing triple in the third inning gave the Volunteers the 4-1 lead. He also robbed Crimson Tide second baseman Bryce Eblin of extra bases on the defensive end. The base on balls scored Cannon Peebles, who made Alabama pay for the dropped foul pop with a leadoff single. Facing designated hitter Robin Villeneuve, who hit a ball out on Saturday for a solo home run, Moza rallied again. Villeneuve struck out on three pitches, going down swinging. Game over. Davis was the first to meet a fired up Moza on his way off the mound.

Moza and Vaughn had a summertime phone conversation while the latter was in the Birmingham airport some months ago. During that hourlong talk, Moza affirmed to Vaughn that he'd do whatever he had to, assume whatever role, to help Alabama win. Starter Moza helped begin the season as part of the weekend stable. On Sunday, reliever Moza locked down the first SEC series win for Vaughn as a head coach in the league.

"He's done unbelievable things for this program. He's built such a great culture already," said Moza, who's in his second year with the team following a transfer from UAB. "This first SEC weekend means more to us as players just because it proves to us that we are actually as good as we think we are. And Coach Vaughn has been feeding into us this whole time, just telling us, 'You guys are ready. You guys are prepared for this.' Today really showed us that we are able to go out there and compete with the best of the best."