No. 1 seed Alabama dismantled the No. 4 seed Alabama State 21-3 in the Tuscaloosa Regional, marking Rob Vaughn’s first postseason win as Alabama head coach.
“It’s good, hopefully we’ve got about two more in us this weekend,” Vaughn said of his first postseason win at the helm. “But it’s not about me, man. It’s about these guys getting their stuff done. But good win to start the weekend and get off on the right foot.”
Crimson Tide starting pitcher Tyler Fay kicked off the ballgame with a scoreless top of the first inning with a pair of strikeouts.
In the bottom half of the first, the Crimson Tide kicked off the scoring. Center fielder Bryce Fowler led things off with a triple to deep center field. Shortstop Justin Lebron followed with a sacrifice fly to drive in Fowler and give the Crimson Tide a 1-0 advantage.
Crimson Tide first baseman Luke Vaughn extended the lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the second with a two-run moon shot to left.
The Hornets responded with a two-run homer of their own in the top of the third from Miguel Oropeza to make it a one-run ballgame.
Crimson Tide second baseman Brennan Holt led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a perfectly placed bunt single and moved up to second on an E3, the fourth error in as many innings for the Hornets. Holt came around to score on an RBI base knock from Vaughn. Fowler drove in Vaughn with an RBI single of his own, right back up the middle. Then right fielder Brady Neal brought Fowler across to score on an RBI double to extend the Crimson Tide’s lead to 6-2.
Neal’s RBI double knocked the Hornets’ starting pitcher Jorhan LaBoy out of the ballgame, who was tagged with the loss. The Hornets’ new pitcher, Camden Matthews, didn’t fare much better. A wild pitch from Matthews allowed Neal to score. Designated hitter and Tuscaloosa native Eric Hines then plated two more runs thanks to a base hit up the middle, making it a 9-2 game.
Lebron extended the Crimson Tide’s lead to 12-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning with a 400-foot no-doubt three-run shot to left.
Alabama baseball player Tyler Fay (#8) celebrates against Alabama State on May 29, 2026, at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. (CW / Noah Bruce)In the top of the sixth inning, the Hornets got a run back thanks to a solo home run from Trey Callaway, making it 12-3. Left-hander Evan Steckmesser took over for Fay on the mound and picked up the final out of the frame.
Fay tossed 5.2 quality innings, allowing three runs, six hits, walking a batter and striking out eight on 93 pitches, earning credit for the win.
The scoring was far from done for the Crimson Tide. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Holt drilled an RBI single to right field. Another run came home on a wild pitch. Moments later, left fielder Peyton Steele plated another run with an RBI groundout. Fowler followed with a two-run bomb into the Right Field Ragers, putting him a double shy of the cycle and extending the lead to 17-3.
“I guess I was just seeing the ball well,” Fowler said. “Obviously, it was fun to play in front of our fans. I mean, you can come out, and I don’t know how many people were there, but right there was slam, and the grandstands were slammed.”
A couple of batters later, Neal joined the home run barrage with a solo shot into the right field stands.
Steckmesser came back out for the top of the seventh and worked a nice and easy 1-2-3 inning.
The Crimson Tide tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Freshman first baseman Andrew Purdy, who pinch hit for Luke Vaughn, brought home a run on a sacrifice fly. Then Evan Taylor pinch hit for Fowler and laced a two-run double down the third base line for his first collegiate hit, giving the Crimson Tide a season high 21 runs.
Alabama baseball player Luke Vaughn (#13) runs the bases against Alabama State on May 29, 2026, at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. (CW / Caleb Miele)Freshman Owen Sarna took over for Steckmesser on the mound in the top of the eighth inning and worked a scoreless frame. Crimson Tide catcher John Lemm was forced to leave the ballgame after taking a foul ball off his finger in the inning.
“I’ll get with our trainers tonight and kind of get an update on where he’s at, but I really haven’t heard yet,” Vaughn said of Lemm.
Left-hander Tate Robertson got the call for the top of the ninth and worked a scoreless inning to put the finishing touches on a dominant 21-3 Crimson Tide victory.
The Crimson Tide will face USC Upstate in the winners’ bracket Saturday at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
“We’re just playing for each other right now,” Luke Vaughn said. “We know our lives are on the line this weekend, and we don’t wanna go home. So playing for each other and playing for the guys all in the dugout and just keeping all the momentum in our dugout the whole time.”
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