Alabama baseball swept No. 5-ranked Auburn in the Iron Bowl, its first sweep over its archrival since 2017.
Game 1: Alabama 11, Auburn 1 F/8
The Crimson Tide dismantled the Tigers 11-1 in a run-rule victory to kick off the series.
The Tigers got the scoring started in the top half of the first with an RBI double to left off the bat of infielder infielder Eric Guevara, giving them an early 1-0 advantage.
The Crimson Tide responded in the second inning thanks to an E4 that kept the inning alive and allowed designated hitter Will Plattner to reach first base safely. A couple of batters later, first baseman Luke Vaughn crushed a two-run shot, his fifth home run of the season, giving them a 2-1 lead.
“I had a really good plan going up there,” Vaughn said. “I was trying to get a heater and try and go backside, but saw a slider pop and didn’’t try and do too much and just kind of golfed it out.”
The Crimson Tide extended its lead to 3-1 in the fifth inning via a solo home run from center fielder Bryce Fowler, his third of the season.
Matthew Heiberger replaced Crimson Tide starting pitcher Tyler Fay on the mound to start the sixth inning and worked a scoreless frame with a pair of punchouts. Fay tossed five innings, allowing one run, one hit, walking three and striking out five on 86 pitches.
The Crimson Tide tacked on an insurance run in the sixth thanks to an RBI double from Vaughn, making it a 4-1 ballgame, Vaughn’’s third RBI of the game.
Heiberger remained in the game for the seventh inning and faced the minimum thanks to a 1-6-3 double play.
A two-run single from third basemaan Jason Torres extended the Crimson Tide’’s lead to 6-1 in the bottom half of the inning. A couple of batters later, catcher John Lemm crushed a two-run bomb over the Tigers’’ bullpen, to make it 8-1.
Heiberger came back out to start the eighth and walked the one batter he faced before handing the ball over to Sam Mitchell, who notched a pair of strikeouts to strand runners at the corners.
The Crimson Tide continued to pour it on in the eighth inning, the reigning SEC Player of the Week, right fielder Brady Neal, dunked in an RBI bloop single to left field. The next batter, Torres, delivered an RBI single of his own, his third RBI of the night, making it 10-1 and knocking on the door of a run-rule win.
Lemm ended up putting the nail in the coffin with an RBI single to enforce the run rule, his third RBI of the ballgame.
Game 2: Alabama 3, Auburn 2
The Crimson Tide took down the Tigers in walk-off fashion to clinch the series.
The Tigers struck first in the first inning, thanks to a passed ball giving them an early 1-0 lead.
The Crimson Tide took a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning, thanks to a perfectly placed safety squeeze from the captain, Plattner, tying the ballgame at 1-1. A few batters later, Vaughn legged out an RBI infield single, making it a 2-1 ballgame.
Crimson Tide starting pitcher lefty Zane Adams was dominant tonight, firing 6.1 innings of one-run baseball, surrendering four hits, walking two batters and striking out eight on 107 pitches.
Bobby Alcock took over for Adams with one out in the top of the seventh inning and allowed the tying run to come across on a pinch hit pinch hit sacrifice fly from catcher catcher Logan Gregorio. Hagan Banks took over in the eighth and pitched two scoreless innings to keep the game tied heading to the bottom of the ninth.
Second baseman Brennan Holt led things off with a hustled double and, after sliding into second base, exchanged words with Tigers’ shortstop Brandon McCraine, leading to the umpires having to separate the two and the benches nearly clearing.
“What I would chalk it up to is two really competitive dudes in a competitive moment,” head coach Rob Vaughn said. “I thought the umpires did a good job of not having a hair trigger on either guy or trying to be aggressive and just breaking it up, understanding these are kids fighting like heck for every inch.”
The very next pitch Fowler delivered a walk-off double, driving in Holt and giving the Crimson Tide its first series win over Auburn since 2023 and its first consecutive SEC series wins since 2023.
“Just hunt something middle and he threw a slider, and it was middle, middle, I got my good swing off, and a fast runner second, and walked it off,” Fowler said. “And obviously, it’’s a great feeling, but things like that are the reason I came back, along with others.”
Game 3: Alabama 3, Auburn 1
The Crimson Tide took down the Tigers 3-1 in a nail-biting victory to complete its first sweep over the Tigers since 2017.
For the third straight game, the Tigers took an early 1-0 lead, this time thanks to an RBI single from Guevara.
The Crimson Tide tied the game up at 1-1 in the third inning via a two-out RBI single from shortstop Justin Lebron.
Lefty Ashton Crowther replaced Myles Upchurch on the mound with one out and two runners on and induced a groundout and lineout, stranding two runners in scoring position and keeping it a tied ballgame.
The freshman Upchurch had a solid outing, holding the Tigers to just one run in 4.1 innings pitched, but did struggle with his command, issuing seven free passes and striking out four on 68 pitches.
Crowther worked a clean sixth and seventh inning to keep the ballgame even at 1-1 before handing the baseball over to Heiberger for the top of the eighth inning. Heiberger plunked back-to-back hitters before inducing a 4-3 inning-ending double play to keep the game tied at 1-1.
Lebron reached first base with one out in the bottom of the eighth thanks to a fielder’s choice. Lebron then swiped second base, making him 23-of-23 in stolen base attempts this year. A couple of wild pitches brought Lebron across to score, giving the Crimson Tide a 2-1 advantage.
Plattner tacked on an insurance run via an RBI single to left center, extending the Crimson Tide’’s lead to 3-1.
The Crimson Tide closer Banks got the call for the ninth inning and worked a 1-2-3 frame to record his fourth save of the season and put the finishing touches on the sweep.
Next up for Alabama: they will head to Jacksonville, Alabama, to face one of the hottest teams in the country, Jacksonville State, on Tuesday, with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
