No. 25 Alabama baseball improved to 24-12 overall and 6-9 in SEC play over the weekend by taking two of three games against No. 1 Arkansas. The series win over Arkansas marks the first time the Crimson Tide have won a series against the No. 1 team in the country since 2009.
Alabama’s late-inning rally came up short, and it lost 5-3 to Arkansas in the first game of the series at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
Arkansas launched consecutive home runs in the first inning, securing an early 3-0 lead. They extended their lead to 5-0 with two more runs in the third inning, maintaining this score until the bottom of the eighth. In the eighth inning, Alabama managed to score three runs. Bryce Eblin and Gage Miller kickstarted the rally with back-to-back singles, followed by consecutive RBI singles from Ian Petrutz and Justin Lebron. After loading the bases with a walk, Alabama added another run on a TJ McCants sacrifice fly. With the tying runs on base and only one out, a strikeout and a groundout ended the inning with the score at 5-3, which remained the final score.
The Crimson Tide evened the series 1-1 with a 4-3 victory in game two.
The Alabama Crimson Tide got off to a hot start with back-to-back solo home runs from Will Hodo and Gage Miller. But Arkansas clawed their way back with a pair of solo homers of their own by Peyton Stovall and Jared Sprague-Lott. In the eighth inning, TJ McCants put the Tide back in front with an RBI double. However, Arkansas wouldn't go down without a fight, as Peyton Holt launched a two-out solo homer in the ninth to tie the game. The game went to extra innings, where the Crimson Tide emerged victorious. In the tenth inning, Mason Swinney scored the winning run on a throwing error by Arkansas pitcher Jake Faherty.
Alabama relied heavily on starting pitcher Zane Adams on Sunday afternoon, clinching a 5-0 shutout win.
Adams picked up the victory on Sunday, delivering an outstanding performance from the mound. The freshman pitcher threw 8 scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and a walk while striking out five batters. Alton Davis II took over in the ninth, adding a scoreless inning with one walk and one strikeout to complete the shutout.
Alabama's offense gave Adams ample support, scoring a run in the third inning, two in the seventh, and adding two insurance runs in the eighth. The Tide's hitters amassed 10 hits against the Razorbacks, with four players recording two-hit performances. Bryce Eblin led the charge, going 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI, and one run scored. TJ McCants, Ian Petrutz and Kade Snell also contributed with two hits each.
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