Errors Continue To Plague Alabama Baseball as Tide Falls 11-2 to UAB

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Midweek results, in a vacuum, do not matter in college baseball. But when those results are indicative of the issues that have regularly plagued a team, they can serve as a microcosm of a season.

Such was the case on Tuesday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium, where Alabama baseball committed five errors in an 11-2 loss to UAB.

"What happened tonight, in the manner in which it happened, is inexcusable," head coach Rob Vaughn said.

Luke Smyers took the mound for his second start of the season, looking to continue the momentum from what, overall, had been a solid freshman campaign. It hit a major road bump against the Blazers, as he allowed five earned runs while recording just one out, setting the tone for what would be a long day at The Joe.

After Smyers picked up the first out on the game's opening pitch, the next eight UAB batters reached safely. The Virginian missed on a pickoff attempt, allowing JP Head to reach third base on the game's first error. He then plunked consecutive batters to load the bases before giving up consecutive RBI singles to give the Blazers a 3-0 lead.

After allowing a third hit moments later to Wesley Helms to load the bases, Smyers' evening was done. He was replaced by JT Blackwood, who started last week in Birmingham against UAB. The Blazers scored two more runs, both credited to Smyers, on his first at-bat, before Alabama's second error came on a throw to first from Jason Torres.

After the dust finally settled, Alabama found itself in a 7-0 hole entering the bottom of the first. The bats didn't fare much better than the defense, being held to just five hits on a day where the only scoring came off a two-run John Lemm homer.

"I don't think it was apathetic," Vaughn said of his team's response. "I don't think it was a, we don't care, whatever, the game's over. I think we were so frustrated as a unit on how the top of the first went that we couldn't get out of our way."

UAB added two more runs in the fourth, one of which was unearned thanks to an error from Brady Neal, who simply dropped a ball in right field as he unwound to throw it. That exact sequence of events unfolded again in the seventh as Neal, who had just three errors on the season, committed two in one game.

Four of UAB's eleven runs on the day were unearned, but it did not matter much for the result as the Alabama bats remained stagnant. The Crimson Tide drew a season-low two walks, and outside of a third inning where it stranded the bases loaded, got just one runner into scoring position.

The errors were nonetheless the story of the game, and, frankly, the story of the season. Alabama leads the SEC with 61 errors and has the lowest fielding percentage in the conference. This marked the team's third game with five or more errors. The rest of the conference has three such games combined.

"To me, it's a way deeper thing that stems from the fact that I didn't have them in good headspace before this game started," Vaughn said. "Because that's not a physical thing right there. That was a focus, being in the moment, expecting to make a play. Some of them were more lazy. Some of them were just mistakes, but I've seen them make it 1000 times."

The Crimson Tide has now dropped three midweeks this year, after going undefeated in them last season. The results are not the problem. Plenty of elite teams have regular Tuesday night hiccups. But the manner in which Alabama composed itself on the diamond against the Blazers bodes poorly for the home stretch of the season of a team with sky-high potential.

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