While the basketball team was falling apart in the second half to lose to Michigan in the Sweet 16, the Alabama baseball team was taking care of business and continuing its recent hot streak by dominating rival Auburn in the first of a three-game series in Tuscaloosa this weekend.
Alabama hammered Auburn in a run-rule shortened 11-1 victory. The Tigers scored the first run of the game with an RBI double in the first inning, but the Tide scored the next 11 in a blowout victory.
A Luke Vaughn two-run home run in the 2nd inning gave Alabama the lead for good. Bryce Fowler and John Lemm added homers later in the game, and the Crimson Tide ultimately put up 15 hits against the Tigers at the Joe.
Lemm walked us off with an RBI single in the 8th inning that brought the run-rule into effect, adding insult to injury.
Fay, fresh off his no-hitter against Florida last week, was brilliant in his first start since. He threw five innings, allowing just one hit and one earned run, walking three, and striking out five.
Alabama baseball is streaking after a difficult start to the season
Fay's no-hitter set the tone for Alabama a week ago, and the Crimson Tide has now won five straight games. It swept Florida last weekend before adding a mid-week win over Austin Peay and then dominating Auburn to open the three-game set.
Any win over Auburn feels good, regardless of the quality of their team. But this is a really good Tigers squad, and dominating them the way Alabama did on Friday night is further evidence that this team has turned the corner.
Auburn entered the game ranked No. 5 in the country.
"A great night," Rob Vaughn said. ..."Just a relentless offensive effort, those guys, that was my message, (Auburn) won't go away. I've watched them enough and they ain't going to go away. They ain't going away this weekend either. We're going to get a punch from them tomorrow. They're not accidentally ranked in the top five in the country, and that's a really good team, and we got the best of them tonight, but it's a long week ahead. I told our boys, go enjoy it and lock them, and then we go to eat dinner, we move on, but we've got a big one coming at seven o'clock tomorrow night."