Ted McClenning / AllHogs
Alabama Baseball Routs No. 6 Arkansas in Game 1 of Weekend Series
Something about the first game of a weekend series in Fayetteville.
Alabama Baseball went into Baum–Walker Stadium and left with a 12-1 victory over the No. 6 Arkansas Razorbacks on Friday night.
The Crimson Tide beat the Razorbacks 16-1 in the first game of the series in 2021.
It nearly did it again on Friday night.
Alabama's offense was lethal. The Crimson Tide (21-6, 3-4 SEC) stacked up 22 hits. Every batter in Alabama's lineup recorded at least one hit on the night. Four Crimson Tide batters had three hits — four had two hits.
Drew Williamson, William Hamiter, Colby Shelton and Mac Guscette all had home runs.
The sixth-ranked Razorbacks (21-5, 4-3 SEC) had no answer on offense either. RHP Ben Hess started and threw four innings, allowing one run on two hits and two walks.
The Alabama bullpen threw five shutout innings — including four frames from RHP Hagan Banks. Banks is yet to allow a run this season in 16.5 innings pitched.
“It was just our night," Alabama head coach Brad Bohanon said in a release. "It was one of those nights where we hit a lot of balls hard, everything that we hit found a hole and we pitched great.
"Ben Hess gave us a really good start, and Hagan Banks was outstanding in relief. We out-hit a team 22-3 – that just doesn’t happen often. I’m really proud of our effort and hope we can carry this momentum into tomorrow.”
For Arkansas, the loss snapped a 15-game home winning streak.
The last time the Crimson Tide smashed Arkansas in Game 1, the Razorbacks responded and won back-to-back games to take the series. Alabama will look to avoid that this time around.
First pitch for Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.
How It Happened
See Also:
An Outlook on Alabama Baseball Moving Forward: Just A Minute
Alabama Baseball Storms Away Late to Pick Up 20th Victory of Season
Alabama Baseball Wins Series Finale on Wild Eighth-Inning Sequence Against Kentucky
