It had to end sometime. The Crimson Tide baseball team’s streak of seven straight SEC wins ended Sunday, as Alabama fell to Arkansas 4-3 at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
“Arkansas did a good job today and put some hits together,” head coach Mitch Gaspard said. “I thought it was a well-played game on both sides.”
Despite getting on the board early, the Tide’s bats were quiet, as Alabama only managed three hits against the Razorbacks.
“We probably hit five balls on the nose right at them,” Gaspard said. “Their third baseman made about four or five plays. That’s baseball; it’s part of it.”
Arkansas third baseman Matt Reynolds caused fits for the Tide, as he served as a vacuum for any ball hit in his direction. He made numerous plays that quelled a Tide rally before it started.
“[Reynolds] made a couple nice plays over there today,” center fielder Taylor Dugas said. “We hit a few balls hard, but not everything is going to fall.”
It was an uncharacteristic day for Tide pitcher Tucker Hawley. The usually dominant Hawley was roughed up for four runs over six innings.
“I have to tip my hat to [Arkansas] today. They had my number,” Hawley said. “I made a couple of good pitches, and they were able to hit them right back up the middle. You just got to take everything how it goes.”
Even without much offense, the Tide was able to keep it close, holding a talented Razorback lineup to only four runs. Alabama reliever Trey Pilkington pitched three scoreless innings out of the bullpen after it appeared the Arkansas bats were heating up.
“[Pilkington] has been good,” Gaspard said. “This is his second time out in SEC competition, and he gave us three quality innings. Trey looks like a guy who can definitely get SEC hitters out right now, and he’s getting better and better.”
The Tide had a chance to tie the game with runners on first and third with two outs. However, Dugas was not able to bring in the run and grounded out to end the game.
“[Arkansas closer Nolan Sandburn] was throwing it in there pretty good,” Dugas said. “He had a flat fastball. I just missed it. He did a good job.”
Although the Tide dropped Sunday’s game, Alabama won the weekend series against the Razorbacks, picking up wins on both Friday and Saturday. The weekend showed that the Tide has what it takes to play with some of the SEC’s best, as Arkansas came into the series ranked 13th in the nation. With the series win, the Tide moves to (21-9, 7-2 SEC) on the season.
“I’m obviously disappointed every time we lose,” Gaspard said, “but I’m a lot more encouraged with our team this weekend than even last week.”
Alabama’s next test will come Tuesday when the Tide faces in-state foe Samford at 6:05 p.m. at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
“The identity is forming of who they are and they are starting to understand that,” Gaspard said. “They really fight every night they come out.”
