Alabama
35-17, 16-11
South Carolina
22-30, 7-20
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 2 |
| South Carolina | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 2 |
No. 19 Baseball Earns Sweep of South Carolina After 7-6 Win on Sunday
5/10/2026 5:33:00 PM | Baseball
The Crimson Tide secured its first series sweep of the Gamecocks in Columbia in program history
COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 19 Alabama baseball (35-17, 16-11 SEC) staved off a late South Carolina (22-30, 7-20 SEC) charge, as Matthew Heiberger picked up the final two outs in Sunday's 7-6 win at Founders Park to finalize the Crimson Tide's series sweep of the Gamecocks. As a result, Alabama recorded its first three-game sweep of South Carolina in Columbia in program history.
Myles Upchurch (7-3) impressed once again in the 13th start of his freshman campaign, recording 6.0 innings on the mound while allowing six hits, one run, three walks and five strikeouts. The rookie right-hander opened his day by retiring 10 of the first 11 men he faced before running into slight trouble in the middle innings. Upchurch stranded the bases-loaded in both the 4th and 5th innings before surrendering his only earned run in the 6th. Ashton Crowther was the first man out of the bullpen and saw two hits and a defensive miscue lead to four unearned runs over his 2.0-inning appearance.
With the Tide leading 7-5 entering the 9th, Hagan Banks was called upon to try for his seventh save, though an error to open his outing eventually led to a fifth unearned run crossing the plate, with Banks recording only one out over his three batters faced. Matthew Heiberger entered with the tying run at first, though the southpaw retired the only two batters he faced, including a groundout to notch his third save this season.
John Lemm opened the scoring with a two-run double in the 1st, as the Aussie also walked twice and was plunked in his five plate appearances. Eric Hines again tallied multiple hits, going 2-for-4 with a double, one RBI and two runs scored, while Jason Torres and Brennan Holt both collected one hit and one RBI apiece.
From Head Coach Rob Vaughn
Winning's hard, especially on the road and especially in that third game. We did a great job getting out early. We had some opportunities to lengthen that game out that would have made us all breathe a little bit easier, but what an unbelievable job by Hagan Banks and Matthew Heiberger there at the end. Both guys threw yesterday and both guys come out and probably weren't 100 percent and executed. (South Carolina) only had one hard-hit ball and we misplay that ball and then a seeing-eye single, but they executed pitches and did a good job. I'm proud of our team, being down some guys, you can make the excuse and try to find a way to win and show up and that's what they did, so really proud of them.
How It Happened
- T1 | Bryce Fowler led off the game with a soft single to center before Eric Hines hammered a double down the left field line, placing two in scoring position. John Lemm then managed a double of his own, driving in Fowler and Hines with a two-base hit to left-center. After Jason Torres lifted a flyout to right-center that allowed Lemm to advance to third, Brennan Holt brought him home with a sacrifice fly to right. (3-0, Alabama)
- T5 | Peyton Steele led off the inning with a walk and advanced to second two batters later after Hines singled through the right side. Lemm was then hit by a pitch to load the bases. With the bases full, Jason Torres produced a sacrifice fly to center to drive in Steele. With two outs, Brennan Holt sent a groundball to first, though an error on the play allowed Hines to score. (5-0, Alabama)
- T6 | With one out, Jojo Williamson and Steele both drew walks before Bryce Fowler shot a groundball to first, though an error saw Williamson wheel around the bases to score, with the misplay placing two in scoring position. Hines then sent a sacrifice fly to center to bring in Steele. (7-0, Alabama)
- B6 | Will Craddock doubled to left field to lead off the inning and one batter later, was driven in by an Ethan Lizama single into center. (7-1, Alabama)
- B8 | Tyler Bak dribbled an infield single towards second with one out, as Craddock was hit by a pitch to put two men on. Lizama then grounded into a potential double play, though the throw towards second was wide, allowing Bak to score on the play. With two in scoring position, Luke Yuhasz poked a sacrifice fly to left before KJ Scobey's two-run home run. (7-5, Alabama)
- B9 | Jake Randolph reached base to start the inning after an error in the infield, later taking second after a one-out balk. Pinch-hitting, Dawson Harman then rolled an RBI single up the middle. (7-6, Alabama)
Postgame Notes
- The sweep of the Gamecocks in Columbia stands as the Tide's first-ever sweep of South Carolina on the road
- The three-game sweep is also Alabama's first sweep of South Carolina since claiming all three games in Tuscaloosa in 2001
- The Tide has now produced four sweeps of SEC opponents this season, marking the first time since 2002 that Alabama has swept four SEC series in a single season
- Alabama is now 16-11 in SEC play through nine weeks, the Tide's best start to conference play since owning a 17-10 record after nine weeks in 2009
- The Tide is now assured of a winning conference record with three league games remaining, managing consecutive winning SEC records for the first time since doing so for six consecutive seasons from 2005-10
- Jason Torres improved his on-base streak to nine games
- Peyton Steele has now reached base in five straight games
- Alabama's three sacrifice flies on Sunday matched its season high (March 10 vs. Troy)
- Attendance: 6,120
Up Next
- Alabama will begin its final weekend of the regular season when it hosts Ole Miss on Thursday, May 14
- The Crimson Tide and Rebels are scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT first pitch, airing on SEC Network+
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Upchurch, Myles (7-3)
L: Alex Valentin (1-4)
S: Heiberger, Matthew (3)
Batting:
2B: Hines, Eric 1 ; Lemm, John 1
RBI: Hines, Eric 1 ; Lemm, John 2 ; Torres, Jason 1 ; Holt, Brennan 1
SF: Hines, Eric 1 ; Torres, Jason 1 ; Holt, Brennan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Fowler, Bryce 1 ; Hines, Eric 2 ; Lemm, John 1 ; Williamson, Jojo 1 ; Steele, Peyton 2
SB: Holt, Brennan 1
HBP: Lemm, John 1 ; Torres, Jason 1 ; Vaughn, Luke 1
Batting:
2B: Will Craddock 1
HR: KJ Scobey 1
RBI: KJ Scobey 2 ; Dawson Harman 1 ; Ethan Lizama 1 ; Luke Yuhasz 1
SF: Luke Yuhasz 1
Base Running:
RUNS: KJ Scobey 1 ; Jake Randolph 1 ; Tyler Bak 1 ; Will Craddock 2 ; Ethan Lizama 1
SB: Patrick Evans 1
HBP: Will Craddock 1 ; Ethan Lizama 1
