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Live Updates As No. 8 Alabama Baseball Opens Series Against No. 22 Arkansas

Score updates and analysis from Sewell-Thomas Stadium as the Crimson Tide looks to continue its momentum against Arkansas.
Theodore Fernandez|
Alabama infielder Justin Lebron throws the ball for an out in the second game of the series against Rhode Island on Feb. 21, 2026.
Alabama infielder Justin Lebron throws the ball for an out in the second game of the series against Rhode Island on Feb. 21, 2026. | Sarah Munzenmaier/Alabama Crimson Tide on SI

Tuscaloosa, Ala. — Alabama is on fire.

The No. 8 Crimson Tide is firing on all cylinders as winners of 11 of its last 12 games. Rob Vaughn's squad has taken three straight SEC series for the first time of his tenure, and is coming off an electric 16-2 thrashing of Samford on Tuesday.

The opposite has been true for Arkansas. The No. 22 Razorbacks, at one point a top-five team with a series win over No. 3 Mississippi State, have lost six of their last seven SEC games, including consecutive series losses to Florida and Arkansas, two teams that Alabama swept. Its been a disappointing month for a team that opened the season with title aspirations, but the talent is still there and a turnaround could be looming.

Friday's series opener will feature a heavyweight matchup between a pair of aces in Tyler Fay and Hunter Dietz. Fay is dealing as well as anybody, with three consecutive elite outings dating back to his no-hitter against Florida, while Dietz, a menacing 6-foot-6 left-hander, allowed just one run over seven innings against Auburn last week.

Friday's game is set for a 6 p.m. CT first pitch from Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+ and is available via radio on Tide 100.9 or The Varsity Network online. Follow along for live updates and analysis as Alabama looks to win its fourth straight series opener.

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B7

Holt moves Vaughn to third with a single to right.

Vaughn walks on five pitches to start the frame.

Right-hander Gabe Gaeckle is taking over on the mound for Arkansas. Starter Hunter Dietz gave up three hits and two runs over his six innings, but had thrown 107 pitches.

T7 — Alabama 2, Arkansas 1

Heiberger strikes out Pompey and Rutenbar to end the frame and strand Aloy.

Niu hits Heiberger with a line drive, but he is able to throw him out. Aloy advances to second.

Maika Niu is pinch-hitting for the Razorbacks.

Heiberger walks Aloy to start his relief appearance.

Matthew Heiberger is taking over on the mound for Fay.

B6 — Alabama 2, Arkansas 1

Kroberger grounds out to third to end the inning. Alabama has just three hits today. Fortunately for the Crimson Tide, two of them have cleared the wall.

Lemm and Hines strike out consecutively. Hines' at-bat ended a streak of seven straight plate appearances reaching base.

Torres reaches on an error after hitting into what should have been a routine groundout to second.

Neal takes ball one and then crushes the next pitch into the Alabama bullpen. Alabama 2, Arkansas 1

T6 — Alabama 1, Arkansas 1

Fay got out of the frame three pitches later as Robinett flew out to Neal in right field.

Fay hits Stewart with an inside 3-2 pitch. The 2-2 appeared to be inside the zone, but was called a ball, extending the at-bat.

Fay gets a quick two outs, as Helfrick strikes out and Souza grounds out to Lebron.

B5 — Alabama 1, Arkansas 1

Lebron goes down looking to end the inning.

Holt draws a walk, but Fowler then strikes out looking on a 3-2 pitch up the middle.

Vaughn strikes out to start the frame.

T5 — Alabama 1, Arkansas 1

Kozeal doubles to deep center field. Turner comes in to score and tie the game. Fowler gets it to Lebron, who makes a perfect throw home to nab Rutenbar at the plate and end the frame. Alabama 1, Arkansas 1

Pompey flies out for the second out, but Rutenbar follows it up with a single to the right field corner. Neal airmails the cutoff and gets the ball to Lemm to hold Turner at third.

Tuner singles through the left side for the Razorbacks' second hit of the game.

Fay records his fourth strikeout, getting Aloy swinging on a 2-2 breaking ball to start the inning.

B4 — Alabama 1, Arkansas 0

Kroberger grounds out to short, stranding the two runners.

Eric Hines notches another hit, a single through the left side. He's now reached base in seven straight plate appearances dating back to Saturday against Oklahoma.

Lemm draws a six-pitch walk on an at-bat that started 0-2 to extend the inning.

Neal and Torres strike out consecutively to start the frame.

T4 — Alabama 1, Arkansas 0

Fay strikes out Robinett, ending another hitless frame. His pitch count is now at 65 through four.

Stewart draws a 10-pitch walk, a huge at-bat for Arkansas. Fay's pitch count is now up to 60.

Souza grounds out to Torres.

With the count full for the first time of the day, Helfrick grounds out to Holt to start the inning.

B3 — Alabama 1, Arkansas 0

Alabama goes down 1-2-3. Brennan Holt grounds out, and then Fowler flies out to shallow left. Two Arkansas fielders nearly got into a collision, but avoided it to make the catch. Lebron then grounded out to short to end a very quick inning.

T3 — Alabama 1, Arkansas 0

Rutenbar singles, Arkansas' first hit of the game, but Kozeal flies out to end the frame two pitches later.

Fay gets his first strikeout of the game, as TJ Pompey goes down swinging.

Christian Turner grounds out to Lebron on the first pitch of the inning.

B2 — Alabama 1, Arkansas 0

Vaughn grounds out to first to end the inning.

Kroberger nearly makes it back-to-back home runs. He flies out to the warning track in center field for the second out.

Eric Hines crushes a baseball for his second home run of the week. He's reached base in five straight plate appearances. Alabama 1, Arkansas 0

Lemm grounds out to first to start the second.

T2 — Alabama 0, Arkansas 0

Reese Robinett and Kuhio Aloy fly out to end a 12-pitch frame.

Zack Stewart flies out to Fowler in left-center field. Fowler and Kroberger appeared to be struggling to track that ball before Fowler settled under it.

Fay waks Nolan Souza, the first baserunner of the day for the Razorbacks.

B1 — Alabama 0, Arkansas 0

After Fowler moves to second on a wild pitch, Brady Neal and Jason Torres strike out consecutively to end the inning.

Bryce Fowler draws a leadoff walk for Alabama. Lebron then lines out for the first out.

T1 — Alabama 0, Arkansas 0

Fay starts the game with a 1-2-3 frame. Justin Lebron makes an impressive play at short to throw out Ryder Helfrick, who was ruled safe. The call was overturned after a Rob Vaughn challenge.

Camden Kozeal grounds out to Luke Vaughn at first for the second out.

Brennan Holt makes a nice play at second for the first out of the game. He delivered a tough throw to first to beat Carter Rutenbar.

First pitch was at 6:02 p.m.

Pregame:

Arkansas' starting llineup
Arkansas' starting llineup | BamaCentral

With A-Day scheduled for tomorrow, fans are encouraged to use the Capstone Parking Deck located diagonally across from the stadium.

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Published | Modified
Theodore Fernandez
THEODORE FERNANDEZ

Theodore Fernandez is BamaCentral’s baseball beat reporter and a co-host of The Joe Gaither Show. He also works as a weekend sports anchor at WVUA 23 News in Tuscaloosa and serves as one of the station’s lead high school sports reporters. Fernandez is a news media student at The University of Alabama and is pursuing a master’s degree in sports management.

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