Alabama baseball lost to No. 12 Southern Miss by a score of 14-4 on Tuesday at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The game ended after eight innings due to the 10-run mercy rule. Alabama’s record now stands at 7-2 for the season, while Southern Miss improved to 7-1.
Luke Vaughn led Alabama offensively, going 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI. He drove in a run with a single in the first inning and added a two-run homer in the fourth. Jason Torres contributed with a sacrifice fly in the opening frame but finished without a hit. Bryce Fowler and Peyton Steele each recorded one hit.
Pitcher JT Blackwood made his second midweek start and took the loss after allowing six hits and five earned runs over two innings. The Alabama bullpen struggled to contain Southern Miss, as Connor Lehman gave up two runs in one inning, and Evan Steckmesser surrendered five runs while recording just one out in the fourth.
Bobby Alcock provided some relief for Alabama by pitching 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out two batters. Luke Smyers, Joe Chiarodo, and Tate Robertson combined for 2.1 innings, allowing two unearned runs while each collecting a strikeout.
In the first inning, Bryce Fowler led off with a single before an error put two men on base. Jason Torres’ sacrifice fly scored Fowler, followed by Vaughn’s RBI single that brought home another run for an early lead.
Southern Miss responded quickly; Ben Higdon hit a grand slam in the second inning to give them control of the game. Another grand slam by Kyle Morrison during an eight-run fourth inning further extended their advantage.
The Golden Eagles continued scoring through walks and errors from Alabama’s defense, ultimately ending the game when a walk-off run came home following another error in the eighth inning.
John Lemm reached base three times despite not recording a hit—drawing two walks and being hit by pitch—which extended his on-base streak to 42 games dating back to March of last season. Luke Vaughn set a new career high with three RBI and has now reached base in six consecutive games. Peyton Steele extended his hitting streak to seven games; Justin Lebron has reached base safely nine straight times; Alabama remains perfect stealing bases this season at 16-for-16 attempts across its first nine games.
Attendance was reported at 5,538 spectators.
Next up for Alabama is participation in the Frisco College Baseball Classic beginning Friday, Feb. 27 against Iowa at 6 p.m., which will be streamed live on D1Baseball.com.
