Alabama Strands a Dozen; Fall 3-2 as Hogs Sweep the Tide

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Despite a strong start from Myles Upchurch and out-hitting No. 22 Arkansas (24-13, 8-7), No. 8 Alabama (26-11, 8-7) falls 3-2 to the Razorbacks, marking the second time the Crimson Tide have been swept in SEC play.

Alabama had plenty of opportunities to run Arkansas out of the ballgame, but couldn't find the big hit as the Tide left twelve runners on base, including stranding the bases loaded twice, on Sunday.

"We weren't good enough. We got beat by a team that was better than us for three days," said Rob Vaughn following the loss, "Can we strip that down and say, what can we improve on? What can we go to work on?"

Upchurch made the best start of his young college career, allowing four hits, one walk, and two earned runs across six innings while striking out half a dozen.

Ashton Crowther was the lone relief pitcher for the Crimson Tide, earning the loss despite allowing only one run across three innings.

Arkansas reliever Gabe Gaeckle was tagged with the win thanks to his two innings of shutout baseball.

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Alabama hopped on the board early. A Justin Lebron leadoff walk in the second and an Eric Hines single put runners on the corners for Andrew Purdy. The freshman ripped a single to right, bringing home Lebron and the first run of the afternoon.

A Jason Torres strikeout and Justin Osterhouse double play prevented Alabama from tacking on more runs. Still, Alabama added another in the third thanks to a Lebron RBI-double to give Alabama a 2-0 lead.

The game then entered a stalemate, though the Crimson Tide came close to a big inning in the fifth, but left the bases loaded to keep it at a 2-0 ballgame.

The Hogs began to chip into the lead in the sixth, courtesy of a Ryder Helfrick one-out triple and Maika Niu's sac fly, cutting the Alabama advantage to 2-1.

Alabama had a chance to pull the run back in the bottom of the frame with runners on the corners and two outs for Brennan Holt, but the second baseman knocked a fly out to center to end the inning.

Arkannas pulled even in the top of the seventh thanks to a Nolan Souza RBI single through the middle of the infield with no outs. Crowther picked up a strikeout, then a double play to mitigate the damage.

The Crimson Tide continued to knock on the door, with a prime opportunity in the seventh.

Brady Neal led off the frame with a single, followed by a Lebron double to put runners in scoring position for Eric Hines, who eventually struck out.

With Purdy up to face Gaeckle, Rob Vaughn called for Luke Vaughn to pinch-hit with a pair in scoring position and one gone. The first baseman struck out in three pitches.

Rob Vaughn explained the decision postgame:

Jason Torres worked a two-out walk to load the bases, but Osterhouse flew out to left to end the inning, marking the second time Alabama left the bases loaded.

Arkansas finally nabbed the lead in the top of the eighth. With two outs, Camden Kozeal ripped a double down the line to score Helfrick and give the Hogs a 3-2 lead.

Alabama couldn't respond over the next two frames, going 0-6 in the eighth and ninth as Arkansas completed the sweep over the Crimson Tide.

Alabama returns to action Tuesday as they travel to Birmingham to take on UAB.

For more Alabama Baseball, Basketball, and Football content from Simon Besnoy, follow him on Twitter at @SimonBesnoy and stay tuned to Tide1009.com for daily news.