No. 8 Alabama baseball lost to No. 22 Arkansas by a score of 15-6 at Sewell-Thomas Stadium on April 11, as the Razorbacks used a late surge to secure victory in the second game of their weekend series.
The loss puts pressure on Alabama as it prepares for the final game of the series, aiming to prevent a sweep by Arkansas. The Crimson Tide now holds a record of 26-10 overall and 8-6 in Southeastern Conference play, while Arkansas improves to 23-13 and evens its conference record at 7-7.
Starting pitcher Zane Adams delivered six innings for Alabama, allowing five hits and four runs (three earned), with two walks and four strikeouts. Adams left the game with the score tied at four after six innings. However, Alabama’s bullpen struggled in relief, giving up eleven earned runs over the last three innings due to nine hits, two walks, and one hit batter.
Justin Lebron contributed offensively by going one-for-five with an RBI single and three stolen bases. Brennan Holt added one hit in two at-bats along with two RBIs and two walks. Bryce Fowler and Caleb Barnett each drove in a run for Alabama.
Head Coach Rob Vaughn said after the game: “Very reminiscent of yesterday. Seven really good innings of back-and-forth, tough baseball and in the eighth inning it just kind of got away from us. You give up back-to-back five spots and 11 runs in the last three innings, you’re going to lose. You have to credit Arkansas, they swung the bats really well late… As a coach, the thing that frustrates you is some of the mental mistakes in the eighth on the defensive end… We’re going to be frustrated about this for the next few minutes and then we’ll get our minds right, come back and try to throw a punch tomorrow.”
Caleb Barnett recorded his first collegiate hit with an RBI single as a pinch-hitter during Alabama’s final at-bat. Fowler extended his team-leading on-base streak to thirty games; Brady Neal reached base for his twenty-seventh consecutive contest; Lebron pushed his own streak out to sixteen games.
Attendance was reported at 5,249 spectators for Saturday’s matchup.
Alabama will attempt to salvage one win from its home series against Arkansas when both teams meet again Sunday afternoon.
