What Went Wrong In Alabama's Stunning Loss To Washington State?

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The biggest upset in the nation on Opening Day of the 2026 NCAA Baseball season happened in Sewell-Thomas Stadium, where an Alabama team that was the subject of national hype and discourse was stunned at home by Washington State.

The Cougars, picked to finish eighth in the nine-team Mountain West Conference, looked like the more poised team from the first pitch, scoring two runs in the top of the first and never looking back en route to an 8-4 victory.

"I didn't think we played soft, I thought they just got bigger hits than we did," Alabama head coach Rob Vaughn said. "I knew we were going to get a tough team, and they flat out beat us tonight."

Alabama's pitching, the subject of much preseason scrutiny, looked flat. Starter Tyler Fay gave up five earned runs in 3.2 innings of work, and relievers JT Blackwood and Austin Morris did not fare much better, each allowing an earned run in a combined 3.1 innings.

"He did some good things. I thought he really threw the ball well in some spots," Vaughn said of Fay's performance. "His real one mistake was the cutter that stayed out of the plate for a homer to right. At the end of the day, he executed at a really high level. He had some things not bounce his way, and we couldn't get him the support offensively that he needed."

The Cougars hit two home runs in the win, the aforementioned bomb off of Fay and a fifth-inning blast off of Blackwood. Washington State delivered in the game's biggest moments while Alabama folded, stranding 11 runners on base in the loss.

"We threw a lot of jabs tonight and couldn't throw a haymaker," Vaughn said. "We just got beaten in the zone too much... Sometimes you wake up, and you lose. We did not do enough things right tonight."

Despite a slow start, Alabama had a golden opportunity to get back in the game in the fifth inning. Trailing 7-1, Bryce Fowler, Justin Lebron and Johnny Lemm all walked to load the bases with one out. While Jason Torres would also walk to bring in one run, Luke Vaughn, Justin Osterhouse and Peyton Steele all struck out swinging to end a game-altering opportunity.

"That was the difference in this game," Vaughn said. "We were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and two outs. We were 1-for-3 with a runner on third and less than two outs... they were better."

Alabama is now in a vastly different position than last year, when the Crimson Tide started 16-0 and climbed into the national polls before losing a game.

"We won like 20 straight, we were ranked, and everything was awesome, but at the end of the day, we were two-and-out in the regional," Vaughn said. "So at the end of the day, I'd rather learn some things. And I, by no means, ever want to lose on opening night. But we did. So now we have a choice. So, what's our mentality going to be? What's our preparation going to be? How are we going to attack it?

"That's what I really want to see from this group. Their preparation has been so outstanding the past four weeks. Does this make them start to doubt? Does this make them start to question? Does this make them be like, 'Oh my gosh am I good enough...' Interested to see the response. I feel very strongly that I know what that response will look like. But I'm excited to get out on the field tomorrow and compete."

Zane Adams takes the mound for the Crimson Tide tomorrow as Alabama looks to tie the series up. First pitch is currently set for 2 p.m., but we could see changes to the schedule, as anticipated rain on Sunday has created the possibility of a doubleheader on Saturday.