Alabama baseball's 2026 season didn't get off to the start fans hoped with Washington State pulling a stunning upset in Tuscaloosa on Friday night. Head coach Rob Vaughn said the rest of the weekend would show what the Crimson Tide was made of.
They clearly had the response that Vaughn was hoping for in Saturday's double header against the Cougars, rolling to two dominant victories and outscoring Wazzu 19-2 to take the series.
After a rocky start on the mound, Alabama got back-to-back dominant performances from Zane Adams and Myles Upchurch.
In the first game, Adams made his 2026 debut with five shutout innings and nine strikeouts. The Tide offense took some time to get going, but redshirt sophomore Luke Vaughn got the scoring going in the fourth inning with a towering two-run home run. Alabama broke the game open in the fifth with a two-run single by Jason Torres, and a sac-fly by John Lemm pushed the lead to 5-0. Alabama cruised from there to an 8-1 win.
Game two brought the collegiate debut of freshman Myles Upchurch, and he didn't disappoint. Upchurch tossed four shutout innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out nine. The offense didn't take as long to get going in the second game, with an RBI single by John Lemm putting the Tide up 1-0 immediately. Alabama broke it open with a five-run third inning highlighted by a two-run homer by Brennan Holt as the Crimson Tide rolled to an 11-1 win.
Alabama dominates Washington State in Saturday double header
"We're just really proud of the bounce-back," Rob Vaughn said. "They didn't surprise me. It's what I thought they would do, but good to see them respond. I knew when we showed up to the yard, we were in a good headspace. I didn't feel like there was any panic. They were ready to go and had a good day of baseball today."Â
As disappointing as the opener was, it's never smart to panic after a single game of baseball. The sport is far too volatile to get down after one result. Alabama showed the necessary resolve to do what it needed to do in order to properly bounce back on Saturday with consecutive dominant wins.
Alabama has two midweek games on tap this week against Samford in Birmingham on Tuesday and then against Alabama State in Tuscaloosa on Wednesday.
Alabama will face Rhode Island in Tuscaloosa next weekend.