TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – After a thrilling 6-5 victory in Game 1 for the No. 12 Alabama Crimson Tide (22-2, 4-1 SEC), the top-ranked Tennessee Volunteers (21-2, 3-1 SEC) responded with a statement 10-7 win in Game 2 in front of a sellout crowd at Sewell-Thomas Stadium to even the series at one game apiece. The Tide offense brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth, but Tennessee held on.
Similarly to Game 1, the Volunteers jumped out to an early lead, but this time, they never relinquished it. Sophomore starting pitcher Riley Quick made his sixth start of the season for the Crimson Tide, riding momentum from a career day in a Game 2 win against Texas A&M last week. However, this outing was a much different story.
The Volunteer bats attacked Quick early and often, opening the game with four straight baserunners on three hits and a walk to score a pair before a fielder’s choice brought in a third run in the inning. Then, in the second, four straight two-out baserunners added two more runs, making it 5-0. That marked the end of Quick’s outing. His final line: 2.0 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 K.
After the game, Alabama head coach Rob Vaughn said Quick was dealing with blood blister for the majority of his start tonight. He added added it was tough for him to land a breaking ball, so he really become a one pitch guy. “Against that lineup, you’ve got to have more than one (pitch),” said coach Vaughn.
Alabama was able to push a couple of runs across in the third. Will Plattner and Richard Bonomolo Jr. both led off the inning with singles before an errant throw to second on a stolen base attempt brought in the first run. Bryce Fowler followed with a fielder’s choice to score the second run, making it 5-2.
Relief pitchers JT Blackwood and Austin Morris did an excellent job shutting down the Tennessee offense after Quick’s exit. Each pitched two innings, combining for four scoreless frames. Morris was particularly dominant, tossing two perfect innings with four strikeouts, keeping Alabama in the game.
The Tide bats scratched across another run in the fifth, cutting the deficit to 5-3, thanks to a run-scoring single by Justin Lebron—his nation-leading 49th RBI of the year. However, the Alabama offense stalled in the sixth before Tennessee responded in the seventh with a two-out walk and a two-out double off Tyler Fay, stretching the lead back to 6-3. The Tide immediately answered in the bottom half, as Justin Lebron singled and Jason Torres followed with an RBI single.
Tennessee’s offense finally broke loose again in the eighth, scoring four runs, highlighted by a two-run homer from leadoff hitter Dean Curley, making it 10-5. Curley finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored.
Alabama’s offense clawed back with three runs in the eighth and ninth, even bringing the tying run to the plate, but it wasn’t enough. Down by five entering the ninth, the Tide could’ve easily folded, but they fought back, plating two runs before ultimately falling short, carrying some momentum into Game 3.
“The fight, the toughness, the way the guys competed. I’m proud of the effort we just have to clean up some things there in the seventh and eighth to set ourselves up to hopefully not be in such a hole at the end,” said coach Vaughn.
Offensively, Alabama performed well despite the outcome. Every player in the Tide lineup recorded a hit. Justin Lebron, Kade Snell, and Richard Bonomolo Jr. each notched two hits. The team’s lone home run came from Coleman Mizell, who launched a solo shot in the ninth inning.
Will Hodo and Will Plattner extended their hitting streaks to 11 and six games, respectively, while Mizell and Snell pushed their on-base streaks to 23 and 21 games.
With this loss, Alabama dropped its first conference game of the season after starting 4-0 for the first time since 2003. This is also just the second loss of the year for the Tide, moving their record to 22-2. The series is now tied at one game apiece, with a rubber match set for Game 3 on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.
