TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – In the deciding Game 3 between No. 12 Alabama and No. 1 Tennessee, the defending national champions secured the series with a dominant 9-2 victory. After dropping Game 1, 6-5, the Volunteers responded by taking the next two in front of sellout crowds at Sewell-Thomas Stadium, handing Alabama its first conference series loss of the season.
Senior starting pitcher Bobby Alcock made his sixth start of the year for Alabama after a career-best performance in Game 3 against Texas A&M last week. However, like Riley Quick in Game 2, he struggled against the Vols’ bats. Alcock lasted just 2.1 innings, allowing three runs on five hits while walking two and striking out two.
Despite failing to score in the first inning for the first time in the series, Tennessee went on to score in five of the next six frames, including two runs in the third and four in the seventh. The game took a major turn after Alabama head coach Rob Vaughn was ejected in the third inning following a dispute with the home plate umpire. The Vols immediately responded with back-to-back solo homers, sucking the energy out of The Joe.
“They were just tough to put away. We gave up three homeruns and were ahead in the count of two of them and it was just foul ball after foul ball. So, youve got to tip your cap there,” said Alabama associate head coach Jason Jackson.
Freshman pitcher Tegan Kuhns made his third start of the season for Tennessee, and it was the best outing of his young career. He carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning while his team built a 5-0 lead, finishing with five strikeouts and two walks. After Kade Snell broke up the no-hitter in the fifth, Tennessee quickly turned to bullpen arm Brayden Krenzel, who escaped a first-and-third jam with a strikeout and a flyout.
Alabama got on the board in the eighth inning when Richie Bonomolo Jr. led off with a double and scored on a Justin Lebron groundout, marking Lebron’s 50th RBI of the season. In the ninth, Will Plattner added a two-out RBI single for the Tide’s second and final run.
The Volunteer offense was too overwhelming for the Tide, tallying nine runs on 15 hits, including three home runs. Five Tennessee players recorded multiple hits, with Dean Curley, Reese Chapman, and Ariel Antigua each collecting three. Hunter Ensley and Dalton Bargo both added two-hit performances.
Kade Snell was the lone Alabama hitter with multiple hits, going 2-for-4. Coleman Mizell, Jason Torres, Will Plattner, and Bonomolo Jr. each finished 1-for-4. Plattner extended his hitting streak to seven games, but Will Hodo’s six-game streak came to an end in the loss.
Of the six bullpen arms Alabama used, only Hagan Banks (sixth inning), Coulson Buchanan (eighth inning), and Adam Finateri (ninth inning) kept Tennessee off the scoreboard. Despite allowing plenty of offense, the Tide pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts.
With this loss, Alabama falls to 22-3 on the season and 4-2 in SEC play. Next, the Crimson Tide will hit the road Tuesday for a matchup against North Alabama before returning home to host the Oklahoma Sooners next weekend for another SEC series.
