No. 18 Alabama Baseball Suffers Second Consecutive Midweek Loss, Splits Season Series With UAB

The Alabama baseball team suffers its fifth home loss of the year.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— The No. 18 Alabama Crimson Tide (24-13, 6-9) baseball team suffered its second consecutive midweek loss to the UAB Blazers (16-19, 4-8) 5-2 on Tuesday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. 

The Blazers struck first as the team plated two runs in the top of the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Nick Hollifield and a fielder’s choice. The Crimson Tide responded in the home half of the inning with two solo home runs by Gage Miller and Justin Lebron. 

The contest remained tied until fifth when UAB’s Brayton Brown hit a solo home run into the right field corner to put the Blazers back in front and tacked on an additional run on a wild pitch. In the eighth, UAB scored one final run on a sacrifice fly by Mayes White to seal the victory. 

“Tale of 48 hours,” said Alabama baseball head coach Rob Vaughn. “Come out on Sunday and play really high level baseball really all weekend and tonight was about as polar opposite of that as we could get. It started in the top of the first, they were dribbling balls in the infield and we couldn’t make routine plays and gift wrapped two runs to start the game. We answered really well there in the bottom of the first with the two homers, we just could not figure out their bullpen.”

Dual threat junior Kade Snell started on the mound for the Crimson Tide as well as played in the designated hitter position. In his fourth start of the year, Snell went two innings and allowed two hits, two runs (both earned), and struck out one. At the plate, he went 1-of-2 and Mason Swinney came in to pinch hit for him in the sixth. Austin Morris, Jansen Kenty, Coulson Buchanan, and Braylon Myers made appearances out of the bullpen. 

For UAB, right-handed pitcher Brooks House started on the mound. The freshman went one inning and allowed four hits and two runs, both earned. Collin Patterson, Christian Clack, and John Luke Marlin made appearances out of the bullpen. Patterson was credited the win, while Marlin was credited the save.

“It felt like we swung at a lot of balls tonight," said Vaughn. "We’d get to good counts and swing at a ball or get to good counts and get beat by a heater and fastball, just stuff we didn’t do this weekend but that’s what I told them, I said 'That’s college baseball and you’re gonna get the best version of every team that comes in here, particularly the other in-state teams.'”