Alabama Baseball Strikes Out 17 Times in Noncompetitive Loss to Texas
Alabama head coach Rob Vaughn said that No. 4 Texas would be "hungry" against the No. 11Crimson Tide coming off its first series loss of the season to Texas A&M.
The Longhorns certainly were, as they pounced all over Vaughn's team, striking out 17 Alabama batters en route to a 10-2 win.
"The story of the game was they just kind of kicked our tail in every phase tonight," Vaughn said.
Alabama starter Tyler Fay had been elite over his past four starts, dating back to his complete-game no-hitter against Florida, allowing just six earned runs over the 26.0 innings pitched in those games. That changed instantly on Friday evening, as leadoff batter Aiden Robbins opened the game with a double and catcher Carson Tinney took him deep for a two-run blast moments later.
Texas added a third run in the first off an Ethan Mendoza RBI double, setting the tone for a dominant day. Alabama did not record a hit until the fourth inning as Longhorn ace Dylan Volantis tore through batters, striking out 12 over six innings.
Fay ended up going 5.1 innings, just the second time he did not make it through the sixth. The other, against Auburn, was only due to Vaughn wanting to keep his pitch count down in the wake of the no-hitter. He allowed season-highs of seven earned runs and 12 hits in the loss.
The Longhorns added a run each in the third and the fifth, before Alabama put the slightest amount of pressure on Texas in the top of the sixth. Bryce Fowler and Justin Lebron scored on the basepaths off an error and a wild pitch, respectively, to cut the Texas lead to three runs.
"You've got to find ways to score," Vaughn said. "Those two guys just created two runs for us, and did a great job creating those runs and we crawl back in at 5-2, and it's like, 'Let's go back to work...' So thought we had that chance in those middle innings."
The Longhorns effectively put the game to bed in the next frame, responding with three runs as Fay was relieved by Connor Lehman. Texas would add two more runs on the day, with the only silver lining coming in the fact that Alabama avoided a run-rule.
The Crimson Tide has now lost four straight SEC games after winning three consecutive series. Zane Adams takes the mound with the series on the line on Saturday, in a game that has been moved up to 12 p.m. CT due to anticipated rain in Austin.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/alabama as Alabama Baseball Strikes Out 17 Times in Noncompetitive Loss to Texas.
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This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 7:51 PM.