Alabama
26-10, 0
Arkansas
23-13, 0
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 15 | 14 | 2 |
| Alabama | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 2 |
No. 8 Alabama Baseball Drops Game Two to No. 22 Arkansas
4/11/2026 9:45:00 PM | Baseball
The Crimson Tide will attempt to salvage the series finale on Sunday
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 8 Alabama baseball (26-10, 8-6 SEC) again fell victim to a late-game outpouring of offense from No. 22 Arkansas (23-13, 7-7 SEC), as the Crimson Tide was defeated 15-6 by the Razorbacks at Sewell-Thomas Stadium on Saturday.
Zane Adams orchestrated a solid effort on Saturday, totaling 6.0 innings while having been responsible for five hits and four runs (three earned), issuing just two walks to go with four strikeouts. Adams departed the game with the score tied 4-4 after six full innings. The Crimson Tide bullpen eventually surrendered 11 earned runs over the game's final three innings, the result of nine hits, two walks and a hit batter.
Justin Lebron was 1-for-5 with one RBI, three stolen bases and one run scored, as the Tide shortstop created a run in the 1st on a steal of third before driving in a run with an RBI single in the 3rd. Brennan Holt finished 1-for-2 with two RBI, two walks and one run scored, while Bryce Fowler and Caleb Barnett both contributed one RBI apiece.
From Head Coach Rob Vaughn
"Very reminiscent of yesterday. Seven really good innings of back-and-forth, tough baseball and in the eighth inning it just kind of got away from us. You give up back-to-back five spots and 11 runs in the last three innings, you're going to lose. You have to credit Arkansas, they swung the bats really well late. As a coach, the thing that frustrates you is some of the mental mistakes in the eighth on the defensive end. Maybe you can argue it would not have changed anything, but we play to a standard and we just didn't do some of those little things right. It might not have made a difference in the score, but we're still going to do it right. I've said it all along, we weren't going to go through the rest of this SEC schedule unscathed, and we haven't had any semblance of adversity in about a month, and now we're here. We were in a situation at Kentucky where we weren't able to push the envelope and get it done. We're going to be frustrated about this for the next few minutes and then we'll get our minds right, come back and try to throw a punch tomorrow."
How It Happened
- B1 | After reaching on a fielder's choice, Justin Lebron stole second and third, with the throw towards third on the successful steal escaping into the outfield, allowing Lebron to score. (1-0, Alabama)
- T3 | Carter Rutenbar doubled with one out before a Ryder Helfrick produced an infield single, placing runners on the corners. Maika Niu then bounced into a fielder's choice to bring Rutenbar home. (1-1)
- B3 | Brennan Holt opened the inning with a walk and a steal of second. With one out, Lebron singled up the middle, driving in Holt. (2-1, Alabama)
- B4 | With two outs, Chase Kroberger laid down a bunt single, with Luke Vaughn following him with a walk. Holt then came through in a big two-out situation, lining a single into center to plate Kroberger. (3-1, Alabama)
- T5 | Nolan Souza produced a one-out double, leading to TJ Pompey's hit-by-pitch. With two on and one out, Rutenbar singled up the middle, scoring Souza. With Helfrick at the plate, a double steal saw Pompey reach third and Rutenbar take second, though a throwing error in the direction of third allowed Pompey to score and Rutenbar to advance to third. Helfrick then capped the three-run inning with a sacrifice fly to bring in Rutenbar. (4-3, Arkansas)
- B6 | Pinch-hitting for Kroberger, Justin Osterhouse smoked the first pitch he saw for a single up the middle. The next batter, Vaughn bounced a groundball to third, but a throwing error allowed Vaughn to reach and advance Osterhouse. With Holt at the plate, a passed ball pushed both men to scoring position, but a walk by Holt wound up loading the bases. Bryce Fowler then lined a sacrifice fly to left to plate Osterhouse and tie the game. (4-4)
- T7 | Pompey led off the inning with a double to left, advancing to third on a groundout. With one out, Helfrick grounded out to shortstop, plating Pompey (5-4, Arkansas)
- T8 | Cam Kozeal started the inning with a double to left and scored one batter later on a Cesar Ruiz single to left-center. Kuhio Aloy followed Ruiz with a single of his own before Reese Robinett laid down a bunt single, loading the bases with no one out. Souza then lifted a sacrifice fly to center to drive in Ruiz. With two on and one out, Pompey connected on a three-run homer to left. (10-4, Arkansas)
- B8 | Eric Hines lined a single into left as the leadoff man and was pushed to second after a groundout. Vaughn produced a single of his own, placing runners at the corners with one out. Holt then contributed his second RBI with a fielder's choice at second base. (10-5, Arkansas)
- T9 | Niu was plunked to start the inning and advanced to second on a groundout before stealing third. Ruiz then walked and took second on a pitch. With two men in scoring position, Aloy singled to center to score Niu. Robinett drew a walk after the Aloy single, leading to Souza's two-run single. Then, Pompey singled to drive in Robinett, while Christian Turner's fielder's choice plated the fifth run of the inning. (15-5, Arkansas)
- B9 | Peyton Steele drew a pinch-hit walk and too second on defensive indifference. Caleb Barnett then pinch-hit for Jason Torres and drove an RBI single through the right side. (15-6, Arkansas)
Postgame Notes
- Caleb Barnett's pinch-hit single marked his first collegiate hit and RBI
- Bryce Fowler improved his team-leading on-base streak to 30 games
- Brady Neal extended his on-base streak to 27 games
- Justin Lebron advanced his on-base streak to 16 games
- Attendance: 5,249
Up Next
- Alabama will close its series with No. 22 Arkansas on Sunday, April 12
- First pitch between the Crimson Tide and Razorbacks is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT, airing on SEC Network+
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Colin Fisher (3-4)
L: Mitchell, Sam (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Carter Rutenbar 1 ; Camden Kozeal 1 ; Nolan Souza 1 ; TJ Pompey 1
HR: TJ Pompey 1
RBI: Carter Rutenbar 1 ; Christian Turner 1 ; Ryder Helfrick 2 ; Maika Niu 1 ; Damian Ruiz 1 ; Kuhio Aloy 1 ; Nolan Souza 3 ; TJ Pompey 4
SH: Damian Ruiz 1
SF: Ryder Helfrick 1 ; Nolan Souza 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Carter Rutenbar 2 ; Maika Niu 1 ; Camden Kozeal 1 ; Damian Ruiz 2 ; Kuhio Aloy 2 ; Reese Robinett 2 ; Nolan Souza 2 ; TJ Pompey 3
SB: Carter Rutenbar 1 ; Maika Niu 1 ; TJ Pompey 1
CS: Maika Niu 1
HBP: Maika Niu 1 ; TJ Pompey 1
Batting:
2B: Neal, Brady 1
RBI: Fowler, Bryce 1 ; Lebron, Justin 1 ; Barnett, Caleb 1 ; Holt, Brennan 2
SF: Fowler, Bryce 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lebron, Justin 1 ; Steele, Peyton 1 ; Hines, Eric 1 ; Kroberger, Chase 1 ; Osterhouse, Justin 1 ; Holt, Brennan 1
SB: Lebron, Justin 3 ; Holt, Brennan 1
