Alabama
22-7, 0
Auburn
20-7, 0
Baseball Wins 3-1 on Sunday to Secure Series Sweep of No. 5 Auburn
3/29/2026 6:48:00 PM | Baseball
The Crimson Tide produced its first three-game sweep of the Tigers in Tuscaloosa since 2012
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball (22-7, 6-3, SEC) came out the proper end of a pitcher's duel on Sunday, as the Crimson Tide tallied two runs in the 8th to top No. 5 Auburn (20-7, 4-5, SEC) by a score of 3-1 in front of a sold-out crowd at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. After dropping its first three conference games, Alabama has now won six consecutive Southeastern Conference contests and seven games overall.
Myles Upchurch made his seventh start of 2026 on Sunday and did well to limit Auburn to just one earned run over 4.1 innings. The freshman saw his command escape him at times during his outing, surrendering four walks and hitting three batters, but Upchurch held the Tigers to just one hit to go with four strikeouts. The Maryland native induced a line drive double play in the 1st after Auburn had plated the game's first run and eventually stranded runners in scoring position in the 2nd and 3rd innings.
Ashton Crowther entered with two on and one out in the 5th, the start to a terrific relief appearance. The southpaw was vital to the Tide's win in the series finale, tossing 2.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen while being responsible for just one hit, adding two strikeouts. Matthew Heiberger (1-0) worked around a pair of hit-batters in the 8th to notch a scoreless appearance before Hagan Banks struck out two in a perfect 9th, earning his fourth save of the spring. The Alabama pitching staff allowed only two hits over the course of the afternoon.
After trailing 1-0 entering the 3rd, Justin Lebron lined a two-out RBI single to left tie the score. Lebron also scored the go-ahead run following a wild pitch in the 8th, as the Tide's shortstop closed his day 1-for-4 with a stolen base. Later in the 8th, Will Plattner drove in an important insurance run with an RBI single, encompassing his 1-for-3 effort at the plate. John Lemm and Luke Vaughn tallied Alabama's other two hits, with both men collecting doubles.
From Head Coach Rob Vaughn
Awesome weekend. Awesome way to finish the weekend. Not the prettiest game of all time, right? I know we put way too many guys on base. But when (Upchurch) needed to make big pitches, he did. He executed some big pitches. (Matthew) Heiberger, kind of the same thing. He didn't panic and executed some big pitches in some big spots. Ashton Crowther was absolutely tremendous again today. (Hagan) Banks at the end, just nails, just the dude you want. Very fitting end to the game, having him in the game to finish it. Offensively, I thought Alex Petrovic was good. I thought he was good. He actually threw a little bit more heaters than I thought he was going to throw us. (Justin Lebron)'s swing there in the middle innings, his big two-out hit was huge. You just don't have a lot going, you feel like you got an opportunity there, you don't get it done, and then he steps up, has a great at-bat, spoils some pitches, gets to the breaking ball up, big hit to do it there. Fun way to finish it there in the eighth. And then I thought, just like we talked about with (Jason) Torres the other day, (Will Plattner) had been all over the barrel this weekend and I think he didn't have a hit. It was very fitting for him to get that big two-out hit there to give us a little bit of insurance. That that being a two-run game in the ninth, especially kind of going seven-eight-nine, with knowing (Chase) Fralick, (Bristol) Carter and those guys are kind of looming, you feel a heck a lot better going into that with a two-run lead. So, huge swing by our captain right there, just a cool way to finish the weekend. So proud of the effort, proud of the guys, and just have to keep plugging. We got maybe the hottest team in the country we're going on the road to see on Tuesday. So, we have to enjoy this tonight and then turn our attention to Jax State.
How It Happened
- T1 | The Tigers were the first to scoreboard after a pair of hit-by-pitches put two men on, leading to an RBI single through the right side. (1-0, Auburn)
- B3 | Leading off the inning, Luke Vaughn lifted a high fly ball in the infield that dropped right in front of home plate that was later ruled a double. Vaughn eventually reached third with one out, though a strikeout saw Justin Lebron step up to the plate with two away. Lebron battled for six pitches, with Lebron lining the seventh pitch into left field to level the score. (1-1)
- B8 | Bryce Fowler drew a leadoff walk, though he was erased after Lebron bounced into a fielder's choice. Lebron then stole second before Brady Neal drew a walk, with a wild pitch on ball four placing men on the corners. With Jason Torres at the plate, another wild pitch allowed Lebron to cross the plate as the go-ahead run, moving Neal to second. Torres then walked with Lemm lining out to third. Will Plattner came through with two on and two outs, sending an RBI single into center to drive in a second run. (3-1, Alabama)
Postgame Notes
- Alabama secured its first series sweep of Auburn since 2017 and its first sweep of the Tigers in Tuscaloosa since 2012
- Alabama has now won six consecutive SEC contests, marking the Tide's first six-game SEC winning streak since 2002
- The Crimson Tide is 6-3 in league play, standing as the first time the Tide has won six of its first nine SEC games since 2014
- Alabama has now won 17 consecutive games at Sewell-Thomas Stadium, the second-longest active home winning streak in Division I, trailing only Mississippi State (19 wins, Dudy-Noble Field)
- Sunday's contest marked the second consecutive sell-out of Sewell-Thomas Stadium, the first back-to-back sell-outs of The Joe since March 21-22, 2025, when the Tide hosted Mississippi State
- Luke Vaughn kept his on-base streak alive and has now reached base in 25 consecutive games
- Bryce Fowler extended his on-base streak to 23 games but saw his 10-game hitting streak snapped
- Brady Neal also extended his on-base streak to 20 consecutive games
- Justin Lebron has now reached base in nine consecutive games
- John Lemm now owns a seven-game on-base streak and a five-game hitting streak
- Lemm is hitting .444 (8-for-18) with one double, one home run, three RBI, one walk and three runs scored over the course of his five-game hitting streak
- Justin Osterhouse's 16-game on-base streak was snapped
- Brennan Holt's six-game hitting streak was ended on Sunday
- Attendance: 5,800
Up Next
- Alabama will hit the road, traveling to Jacksonville State on Tuesday, March 31
- First pitch between the Crimson Tide and Gamecocks is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT, airing on ESPN+
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Heiberger, Matthew (2-0)
L: Brewer, Garrett (1-2)
S: Banks, Hagan (4)
Batting:
RBI: Guevara, Eric 1
SH: Carter, Bristol 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rembert, Chris 1
SB: McCraine, Brandon 1
HBP: Rembert, Chris 1 ; Fralick, Chase 1 ; Guevara, Eric 1 ; Madrigal, Eddie 1 ; Belyeu, Cade 1
Batting:
2B: Lemm, John 1 ; Vaughn, Luke 1
RBI: Lebron, Justin 1 ; Plattner, Will 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lebron, Justin 1 ; Neal, Brady 1 ; Vaughn, Luke 1
SB: Lebron, Justin 1
HBP: Torres, Jason 1 ; Plattner, Will 1
