No. 14 Alabama completed their SEC series opener against No. 5 Tennessee, taking two of three from the Vols at Sewell-Thomas Stadium this weekend.
In the series opener on Friday, Alabama lost to Tennessee 11-3.
Tennessee grabbed an early lead with a run in the first inning, but Alabama responded with two runs in the bottom half, courtesy of consecutive home runs from TJ McCants and Ian Petrutz. However, the Volunteers quickly regained the lead with a two-run third inning, sparking a streak of 10 unanswered runs until a ninth-inning homer by Will Hodo brought the final score to 11-3.
AJ Causey earned the win for Tennessee, pitching 6.2 innings and allowing two runs on six hits and a walk while striking out eight. Ben Hess took the loss, marking his first of the season.
The Crimson Tide bounced back on Saturday with a 6-3 win over Tennessee in the second game of the series.
Alabama took an early lead, scoring one run in the first inning, two in the second and three in the third, establishing a six-run advantage after three innings. Tennessee narrowed the gap with solo home runs in the fourth and seventh innings, adding one more run in the eighth, but couldn't catch up, resulting in a 6-3 final score.
The strong start allowed Crimson Tide starter Greg Farone (3-0) to settle in on Saturday. The senior pitched 5.1 innings of one-run baseball, giving up five hits and one walk while striking out four for the win. Tyler Fay and Alton Davis II combined for the final 3.2 innings, holding the Vols to only two runs and striking out three for the series-tying victory.
The Crimson Tide’s offense was well-distributed, with all nine starters reaching base safely and seven of them contributing at least one hit. Justin Lebron stood out with a 2-for-3 performance, including a team-high two RBI and a run scored.
Alabama carried Saturday’s momentum into Sunday’s rubber match against Tennessee, winning the series finale 7-6.
The Crimson Tide took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning on an Ian Petrutz RBI single. Tennessee stormed back with four runs in the top of the third inning to take a 4-1 lead. Alabama scratched their way back scoring two in the third and one more in the fourth to tie it up. The Vols broke the 4-4 tie with a run in the top of the seventh.
Down by one in the bottom of the eight, Gage Miller hit a three-run-blast into the parking lot to put Alabama ahead by two. In the bottom of the ninth, Tennessee loaded the bases but was unable to complete the comeback.
Braylon Myers was awarded his second win of the season pitching three innings in relief allowing just one hit. Aidan Moza came in with the bases loaded and only one out in the ninth and struck out two and walked in a run to record his first save of the season.
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