Alabama baseball got its home series with Tennessee off to a perfect start this weekend by taking down the No. 1 ranked Vols 6-5 to improve to 22-1 overall and 4-0 in the SEC. It's the Crimson Tide's first 4-0 start in SEC play since 2003 and further proof that this team might just be as good as their record indicates.
Plenty doubted Rob Vaughn's team coming into SEC play despite some nice non-conference wins. The doubts are getting smaller, however, after Alabama swept preseason No. 1 Texas A&M in College Station last weekend and then took the first game of a three-game series against Tennessee on Thursday night.
Alabama used a five-run second inning to propel themselves to the win. Tennessee scored the game's first three runs thanks in part to a two-run homerun in the first inning by Andrew Fischer.
Alabama cut the lead to 3-2 on a pair of RBI walks from Will Plattner and Richie Bonomolo Jr. Then, superstar shortstop Justin Lebron ripped a bases loaded double in the gap that cleared the bases and put Alabama up 5-3. Bonomolo Jr. added an RBI groundout in the third inning for insurance, and Alabama held on from there.
You might want to start getting Justin LeBron’s shoe size @USAGoldenSpikes pic.twitter.com/Xu1aqbMjMz
— 11Point7 College Baseball (@11point7) March 21, 2025
Zane Adams gave Alabama 6.1 of quality innings, allowing four earned runs while striking out six. Matthew Heiberger and Carson Ozmer shut the door out of the bullpen to allow the Tide to hang on to the win.
A couple of key defensive plays helped Alabama slam the door shut.
First, in the sixth inning, Bryce Fowler robbed a would-be homerun in right field:
BRYCE YOU DAWG!@brycefowler_6 I #RollTide pic.twitter.com/j8h2ppBD61
— Alabama Baseball (@AlabamaBSB) March 21, 2025
Later, Plattner gunned down Tennessee's Jay Abernathy in the ninth inning as he tried to steal second. Abernathy was 6-of-6 on attempted steals before that.
A big-time hose!@willplattner I #RollTide pic.twitter.com/6JpfSVp5Ms
— Alabama Baseball (@AlabamaBSB) March 21, 2025
One more win would give Alabama a monstrous series win
A series win over Tennessee would be proof of concept for Vaughn and his team and would be a loud announcement to the rest of the league that this Crimson Tide team is for real.
Despite a sterling 22-1 record there's still plenty who doubt that this Alabama team is a legitimate contender in the SEC race. But a series win over the No. 1 ranked team in the country would change that narrative, quickly.
The Tide and Vols face off again on Friday night at 6:00 pm CT as Alabama will go for the series win with Riley Quick on the bump. The series finale is on Sunday at 1:00 pm CT with Bobby Alcock looking to duplicate the gem he tossed in College Station last Sunday.