The Crimson Tide was held to just five hits in its opening contest in Omaha
6/13/2026
OMAHA, NE – No. 7 national seed Alabama baseball (42-20) was held at bay by Oklahoma (39-22) lefty Cord Rager, as the Crimson Tide was defeated 9-0 by the Sooners in its opening contest of the 2026 Men's College World Series on Saturday at Charles Schwab Field.
The Alabama lineup was limited to only five hits, all of which were singles. The Tide produced multiple hits in just one inning, as John Lemm and Eric Hines led off the 5th with consecutive base-hits, though a double play and a groundout halted the momentum of the frame. Lemm finished 1-for-2 with a hit-by-pitch, while Hines was 1-for-3. Bryce Fowler, Justin Lebron and Brennan Holt were responsible for Alabama's three remaining hits. Oklahoma's Rager stymied the Tide order, allowing just three hits and one hit-by-pitch while striking out eight over his 7.0 scoreless innings.
In his return to his home state, Tyler Fay (11-5) battled for 6.0 innings, allowing six hits, five runs and two walks to go with six strikeouts. Fay surrendered two runs in the 1st following a two-out, two-run double before a run-scoring double play in the 3rd. In his final inning of work, Fay saw a two-run home run off the bat of Deiten LaChance land in the Tide bullpen, as he exited with his side trailing 5-0. Out of the bullpen, Ashton Crowther surrendered four runs on three hits over 1.2 innings, as his final line included a strikeout and a walk. Evan Steckmesser recorded the final out of the 8th after allowing two hits, while Sam Mitchell worked a perfect 9th, adding a strikeout.
-UA-
RTR,
Diamond Tide
6/13/2026
OMAHA, NE – No. 7 national seed Alabama baseball (42-20) was held at bay by Oklahoma (39-22) lefty Cord Rager, as the Crimson Tide was defeated 9-0 by the Sooners in its opening contest of the 2026 Men's College World Series on Saturday at Charles Schwab Field.
The Alabama lineup was limited to only five hits, all of which were singles. The Tide produced multiple hits in just one inning, as John Lemm and Eric Hines led off the 5th with consecutive base-hits, though a double play and a groundout halted the momentum of the frame. Lemm finished 1-for-2 with a hit-by-pitch, while Hines was 1-for-3. Bryce Fowler, Justin Lebron and Brennan Holt were responsible for Alabama's three remaining hits. Oklahoma's Rager stymied the Tide order, allowing just three hits and one hit-by-pitch while striking out eight over his 7.0 scoreless innings.
In his return to his home state, Tyler Fay (11-5) battled for 6.0 innings, allowing six hits, five runs and two walks to go with six strikeouts. Fay surrendered two runs in the 1st following a two-out, two-run double before a run-scoring double play in the 3rd. In his final inning of work, Fay saw a two-run home run off the bat of Deiten LaChance land in the Tide bullpen, as he exited with his side trailing 5-0. Out of the bullpen, Ashton Crowther surrendered four runs on three hits over 1.2 innings, as his final line included a strikeout and a walk. Evan Steckmesser recorded the final out of the 8th after allowing two hits, while Sam Mitchell worked a perfect 9th, adding a strikeout.
From Head Coach Rob Vaughn
Hat tip to Oklahoma. They played great today. We said it before, this was two teams playing really good baseball right now, who was going to execute better. You gotta tip your cap. They got a big two-out hit on a cutter that just kind of stayed up, and a big two-out hit there in the first. And Cord (Rager) was good today, just really good. We just really struggled getting on time with his heater. We knew how good the fastball was, the extension is really good on it, so 95, 96 plays even firmer. We just couldn't quite get on time today. Felt like we weren't consistently on time. Missed what you think are really good pitches to hit but sometimes that happens with stuff. Tough one for us today, but, man, all these kids have done all year is respond. When they got punched in the mouth they've responded. And we get an opportunity to do it on Monday against another darn good team. We'll figure out tonight who that is. Get some rest tonight, recover, get a little bit of work in tomorrow and come out and throw our punch again on Monday.How It Happened
- T1 | Jason Walk led off the contest with a single into center, though was erased from the basepaths following a fielder's choice off the bat of Deiten LaChance. With two outs, Jaxon Willits lined a single into center before Trey Gambill drove both men in with a double to right-center. (2-0, Oklahoma)
- T3 | Walk opened the frame with a free pass and eventually stole second. Camden Johnson then singled into right, placing runners at the corners. LaChance then bounced into a 5-4-3 double play, scoring Walk. (3-0, Oklahoma)
- T6 | Johnson was plunked to lead off the inning and was driven in one batter later after LaChance connected on a two-run home run to left. (5-0, Oklahoma)
- T8 | The Sooners totaled five hits, including two doubles, and a walk to score four runs in the inning. (9-0, Oklahoma)
Postgame Notes
- Tyler Fay produced six strikeouts on Saturday to raise his season total to 127, as he now sits one strikeout shy of tying Wade LeBlanc (2006) for the most in a single season in program history
- Justin Lebron extended his on-base streak to 16 consecutive games
- Bryce Fowler has now reached base in 13 straight games
- Fowler also garners a six-game hitting streak, with the Tide center fielder posting a .357 average (10-for-28) with two doubles, two triples, one home run, five RBI, one walk and one hit-by-pitch in that span
- Brennan Holt improved his on-base streak to 11 games
- John Lemm's on-base streak advanced to six consecutive games
- Brady Neal's seven-game on-base streak and six-game hitting streak were both snapped
- Peyton Steele's seven-game on-base streak came to a close
- Attendance: 24,579
Up Next
- Alabama will face the loser of tonight's matchup between Georgia and Texas in an elimination game on Monday, June 15
- The Crimson Tide awaits its opponent, but is scheduled for a 1 p.m. CT first pitch, airing on ESPN
-UA-
RTR,
Diamond Tide
