Presbyterian Denies Program History in 11-8 Upset over Tide

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A dreary, wet day in Tuscaloosa provided an ironic backdrop for the Crimson Tide's 11-8 upset loss to Presbyterian.

While Alabama had already clinched a series victory entering Sunday, a shot at making program history was at stake. Entering the afternoon, the Crimson Tide were eyeing the longest winning streak in program history, dating back to 1999 when Jim Wells' Alabama squad picked up 16 straight wins between May 7 and June 11 en route to the program's sixth College World Series appearance; a record Rob Vaughn and Alabama tied last night in their 15-1 win.

Rob Vaugh's opening statement following Alabama's 11-8 loss to Presbyterian:

"Tough way to finish the weekend. You go run-rule them twice and then they get you today. I had a boss tell me a long time ago, you have to deserve to win. And I thought, you're a little concerned with the weather today and that stuff if we're gonna come out and sleepwalk and I didn't think we did at all. Punch the side in the top of the first, come in and slam them and throw a haymaker in the bottom half. And you're like, ok, we're in a good headspace. But then I thought from the second to the ninth they were the tougher team. In every facet. I thought they played cleaner defense than we did, I thought they threw more strikes and competed out of the bullpen significantly better than we did. They hit with guys on base better than we did today. That's why you lose. You look at college baseball, it doesn't matter if you're the No. 1 ranked team in the country or you're the worst team in college baseball, anyone can beat anybody... they played better than we did today and that's why they're leaving here with a victory. So, we gotta turn our attention to Tuesday and bounce back and have a good one on the road."

Poor execution plagued the Crimson Tide all afternoon, two errors from Justin Lebron and Will Hodo resulted in two runs plating for Presbyterian. Carson Ozmer picked up an error in the eighth on a pickoff attempt but no run crossed for the Blue Hose. With runners in scoring position, Alabama went 1-15, and with the bases loaded the Crimson Tide went hitless with two opportunities. Alabama left 10 runners on base Sunday.

Alabama began the game hot. Starter Bobby Alcock picked up three strikeouts at the top of the first while the lineup tacked on four runs, primarily thanks to a solo shot by Justin Lebron and a two-run jack by Jason Torres. Catcher Brady Neal scored the other run via a sac fly RBI.

This time, the Blue Hose refused to go down easily, rattling off five unanswered runs in the second and third inning to take their first lead of the weekend at 5-4.

Looking to respond in the third, the Alabama offense retook the lead off another Jason Torres two-run home run to take a 6-5 advantage.

Both squads scored one run each in the fifth to make the Alabama lead 7-6 heading into the sixth inning.

Presbyterian would blow the game wide open in the sixth, rattling off five runs via an array of scrappy hitting to take a four-run advantage over the Crimson Tide. Closer Carson Ozmer entered the game to obtain the final out on a disastrous top of the sixth for Alabama.

Down 11-7 in the sixth, the Crimson Tide put two runners on base, but could not cut into the Presbyterian lead.

Ozmer retired the side in the top of the seventh, but so would Presbyterian reliever Sean Hollister to hold the deficit at 11-7.

The Crimson cut the lead to three after scoring on an error in the eighth, but couldn't tack on more in the frame.

Austin Morris and Aidan Moza combined to hang a zero in the ninth to hold the Crimson Tide deficit at 11-8.

Presbyterian reliever Sean Hollister retired the side in the ninth to upset the No. 23 Crimson Tide 11-8.

Alabama looks to bounce back Tuesday in Birmingham against 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.