Eighth-Inning Implosion Dooms Alabama Baseball In Series-Opening Loss To Arkansas

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama's bullpen had been elite.

The unit that many highlighted as the biggest area of concern for the Crimson Tide had put together consecutive lights-out weekends, giving up just five runs over 22.1 innings of work in series wins over Auburn and Oklahoma.

That level of play was unsustainable, but the fall back to earth was jarring on Friday night, when a six-run eighth-inning propelled Arkansas to a 7-5 win over an Alabama team that looked in complete control.

"The last four weeks, when those moments happened, we met the moment and got it done," head coach Rob Vaughn said. "Tonight we didn't. And that's baseball."

There was not much scoring early, as starters Tyler Fay and Hunter Dietz pieced together great outings. Alabama scored two runs off Dietz via solo blasts from freshman Eric Hines and Brady Neal, while the Razorbacks' lone run came off a fifth-inning Camden Kozeal double. Alabama added one more in the seventh off reliever Gabe Gaeckle to extend the lead to 3-1 in what appeared to be a great defensive battle.

"Fay was unbelievable," Vaughn said. "Just two big-time SEC aces going at it and going toe to toe. And, I thought Fay was a little bit better, to be honest with you."

Fay went six innings, throwing 98 pitches and allowing just one run. It was his fourth straight good outing following a shaky day in Lexington in the SEC opener.

Matthew Heiberger took over in the seventh for the Crimson Tide, and pieced together a scoreless frame, bringing up the eighth inning, where things went haywire. Kozeal opened the frame with a leadoff home run to left field to make it a one-run game. After Heiberger recorded the first out, Nolan Souza doubled and then scored moments later off a Zack Stewart single to tie the game.

A mound visit ensued, and Heiberger responded by striking out Reese Robinett, but a Kuhio Aloy double ended his day. With two outs and runners on second and third, Hagan Banks entered the game.

Banks had been elite, with 1-2-3 innings in each of his last two appearances to clinch series wins for Alabama. His first pitch to pinch-hitter Maika Niu should have ended the frame, as the ball was routinely grounded to Justin Lebron, who approached the ball normally, ready to make the play.

Bobbled.

The star shortstop was unable to field the ball cleanly. Pinch-runner Landon Schaefer would come in to score, as the throw to first was not going to be on time. Lebron still fired it to Luke Vaughn.

Off target.

The ball got past Vaughn, and Eloy came home as well. Two runs scored, both unearned, both on errors from Lebron.

The fallout became twice as bad moments later, as nine-hole batter TJ Pompey demolished a ball to left field, literally breaking the Alabama scoreboard, to blow the game open for the Razorbacks. Lebron now has a career-high 13 errors on the season, none as costly as this one.

"Give me that ball hit to him 100 times, and I will take that 100 times out of 100," Vaughn said of Lebron. "He's a resilient kid. He's a tough kid. Just has to keep showing up, and he's going to be the guy that makes that play more times than not. Got him tonight, and it is what it is."

Evan Steckmesser came in for Banks and promptly recorded the final out. Alabama would runners in the corners with nobody out in the bottom of the inning following a Hines single (his third hit of the day) and come up empty. Neal cut into the deficit with a two-RBI single in the ninth that gave Alabama a sliver of hope with the tying run at the plate and nobody out, but it was too little too late. Despite the fight, there would be no overcoming the eighth-inning implosion.

"We ran out of time tonight," Vaughn said. "In that situation, with a chance to win the game after a little bit of a struggle there in the eighth, we should have just folded it up and gone home. You give up six in the eighth, and they have that pitching staff, it's like, 'Well, let's try again tomorrow.' And our boys didn't stop believing. They just kept showing up, kept having tough with bats. Just came up probably a swing short."

An Alabama team that has found ways to come through in big moments over the past month was unable to do so on Friday night, leaving 10 runners stranded. Now, for the first time in a month, the series will be on the line for the Crimson Tide in game two.