Alabama Falls 12-2 in Game One Against No.15 Vanderbilt

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - No.18 Alabama loses 12-2 to No.15 Vanderbilt in game one on Friday. The Tide struggled offensively and gave up 12 runs in the final three innings.  

Alabama's starting pitcher, Tyler Fay, had an impressive day. The sophomore recorded five strikeouts throughout 5.0 innings while he held the Commodores to only seven hits. Fay's day ended when Vanderbilt's infielder Brodie Johnston singled to left field to bring home the Commodore outfielder RJ Austin to give Vanderbilt a 1-0 lead.

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Following Johnston's RBI single, Alabama's Matthew Heiberger checked in to relieve Fay with runners on first and second base with no outs. Heiberger went on to allow the Commodores to drive home two runs with infielder Riley Nelson reaching home on a bunt, and Braden Holcomb advancing home on an RBI single from Vanderbilt’s Johnathan Vastine to make it 3-0 going into the seventh inning.  

Vanderbilt strikes again in the bottom of the seventh inning thanks to an RBI single from RJ Austin to left field, which drove home outfielder Rustan Rigdon to give the Commodores a four-run lead. 

Later in the inning, Johnastan doubled to left center field to bring home Austin to make it 5-0, and gave Johnston his third hit of the game and his third RBI. The Commodores proceeded to drive one more run home before the inning came to a close with Vanderbilt holding a six-run lead going into the final two innings.

 Alabama's offense couldn't find any rhythm on the offensive side of the ball, with the Tide having only two hits going into the top of the eighth inning, where Alabama finally added a run on the scoreboard when shortstop Justin Lebron knocked an RBI single up the middle to center field to drive home Jason Torres for the Tide's first run of the game. Following this, Alabama's right fielder Bryce Fowler advanced home on a wild pitch to make the score 6-2 going into the bottom half of the inning.

Vanderbilt took away Alabama's hopes of a comeback when the Commodores' center fielder, RJ Austin, ripped a three-run home run to left field to make it 9-2. Vanderbilt went on to drive home three more runs in the inning to make it 12-2, which brought the game to an end an inning early.

Stat Leaders

• Runs- Bryce Fowler and Jason Torres (1)
• RBIs- Justin Lebron (1)
• Strikeouts- Tyler Fay (5)

Alabama drops to 35-11 on the season and 12-10 in conference play after Friday’s game one loss. The Tide will be back in action tomorrow at 2 p.m. for game two, where the Crimson Tide will be looking to keep the series alive with a win. 

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