No. 11 Alabama baseball lost two out of three games to No. 4 Texas in the Crimson Tide’s first series in Austin since the Longhorns joined the SEC.
Game 1: Texas 10, Alabama 2
Texas dismantled Alabama 10-2 in the first game of the series Friday night.
“The story of the game was they just kind of kicked our tail in every phase tonight,” head coach Rob Vaughn said.
The Longhorns came out swinging in the bottom of the first inning. Catcher Carson Tinney crushed a two-run homer to right, and second baseman Ethan Mendoza lined an RBI single to center, making it 3-0.
In the bottom of the third inning, the Longhorns extended their lead to 4-0 on a double play with the bases loaded from Mendoza.
Longhorns third baseman Temo Becerra tacked on another in the bottom of the fifth via a sacrifice fly, making it a 5-0 ballgame.
The Crimson Tide responded with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth thanks to some aggressive base running. It looked like the Longhorns had shortstop Justin Lebron picked off, but the throw hit Lebron, allowing center fielder Bryce Fowler to score. While Lebron was stealing third, there was a wild pitch, and Lebron didn’t hesitate as he trotted home, making it a 5-2 game.
However, in the bottom of the inning, the Longhorns responded with three more runs. Center fielder Aiden Robbins lined an RBI double to left center. Left-hander Connor Lehman replaced Crimson Tide starter Tyler Fay and allowed Tinney to line an RBI double to left, and left fielder Anthony Pack Jr. sent an RBI single up the middle, making it 8-2.
Fay tossed 5.1 innings, surrendering 12 hits and seven runs. He didn’t walk anybody and struck out two on 89 pitches.
The Longhorns tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the eighth. Pack Jr. lined an RBI double to right-center. Owen Sarna took over for Lehman and allowed a sacrifice fly to Mendoza, extending the Longhorns’ lead to 10-2.
Game 2: Texas 3, Alabama 1
The Longhorns took down the Crimson Tide 3-1 in a low-scoring affair to take the series.
Fowler worked an 11-pitch walk to lead off the ballgame, then moved up to third on a single from Lebron. Right fielder Brady Neal drove in Fowler via an RBI double to right center, giving the Crimson Tide an early 1-0 advantage.
The Longhorns had an opportunity to tie the game and take the lead in the bottom of the sixth, but Crimson Tide starting pitcher Zane Adams picked up a huge strikeout to strand two runners in scoring position.
Left-hander Matthew Heiberger replaced Adams on the mound in the bottom of the seventh and surrendered a game-tying RBI single to Jayden Duplantier, the Longhorns No. 9 hitter. Sam Mitchell took over for Heiberger with the bases loaded and one out and gave up an RBI single to Tinney to give the Longhorns the lead. Shortstop Adrian Rodriguez extended the lead to 3-1 thanks to a sacrifice fly.
The Porter, Texas native Adams threw six shutout innings, allowing five hits, walking two, and striking out seven on 104 pitches.
“Zane was incredible,” Vaughn said. “He was exactly what we needed. It’s a big moment right, a Texas kid coming back to Texas, and he’s in a big spot in a game we really need, and he just didn’t try to do too much. He went out and trusted his stuff, and wow, he was good today. An unbelievable job to hold that offense scoreless through six.”
Lebron was able to draw a walk with two outs to bring the tying run to the plate in the top of the eighth. However, Neal struck out looking at a perfectly placed 98 mph fastball on the inside corner.
Mitchell remained in the game for the bottom of the eighth and worked a 1-2-3 inning to keep the Crimson Tide’s deficit at two runs.
In the top of the ninth, the Crimson Tide struck out in order to end the ballgame 3-1 and give the Longhorns the series win. The Crimson Tide struck out 19 times in the game.
Game 3: Alabama 2, Texas 1
The Crimson Tide took down the Longhorns 2-1 to salvage the final game of the series and snap its five-game losing streak in SEC play. This was the Crimson Tide’s first win over the Longhorns since 1904.
“Just a much-needed win, man,” Vaughn said. “And like, I don’t care how we get it. I told them, I said, if we win 24-23 or 1-0, it doesn’t matter as long as you’re on the right side of it.”
The Crimson Tide struck first in the top of the second inning thanks to a two-out RBI base knock from third baseman Jason Torres, to give them a 1-0 lead.
Crimson Tide starting pitcher Myles Upchurch picked up the first out of the bottom of the sixth, then handed the baseball over to left-hander Ashton Crowther, who picked up the final two outs of the inning.
Upchurch held one of the nation’s best offenses to just one hit over 5.1 shutout innings, walking three and striking out four on a career-high 102 pitches.
Flower and Lebron both singled to begin the seventh inning, putting runners at the corners with nobody out. The next batter, Neal, bounced into a 6-4-3 double play to bring across a huge insurance run, making it 2-0.
Crowther remained in the game for the bottom of the seventh and faced the minimum, thanks to a web gem 6-4-3 inning-ending double play started by a beautiful diving stop from Lebron. Crowther came back out for the eighth and worked a 1-2-3 inning.
Crowther came back out for the bottom of the ninth, looking to pick up the final three outs and snap the Crimson Tide’s five-game SEC losing streak. Crowther surrendered an RBI single to Mendoza, making it a 2-1 game. However, Crowther dialed in and picked up the final couple of outs to record the save and strand the tying run at first base.
The Crimson Tide bats were quiet all series, scoring just five runs and striking out 49 times in three games, the most since at least 2010.
“We’ve got some work to do,” Vaughn said. “I mean, just call it what it is. We’ve got to get better in some areas, and we’re going to put our heads down and work.”
The Crimson Tide will be back in action at Sewell-Thomas Stadium on Tuesday night, hosting UAB with the first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.
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