OMAHA, Neb. – No. 7 national seed Alabama baseball (42-21) fell 14-2 to No. 7 Texas (46-14) on Monday afternoon at Charles Schwab Field, as the defeat eliminated the Crimson Tide from contention in the 2026 Men’s College World Series.
In his 17th start, Zane Adams (8-5) was unable to contain the Longhorns lineup, allowing seven hits, seven runs and three walks across 1.2 innings, adding two strikeouts. Matthew Heiberger pitched valiantly across a season-high 4.0 innings of relief, surrendering three runs on three hits. Hagan Banks allowed a two-run home run as part of his 1.0 inning out of the bullpen, while Myles Upchurch was responsible for two hits, three runs (two earned) in his 1.1 inning appearance.
John Lemm drove in one of the Tide’s two runs, blasting a solo home run in the 4th, as he finished 1-for-3 with two runs scored. Luke Vaughn plated Alabama’s first run with a two-out RBI single in the 2nd, closing his afternoon 1-for-3.
From Head Coach Rob Vaughn
“It's one of those things, it can be equal parts disappointing in the last couple of games and at the same time overly proud of what this group has done. We see this all over. If you come to Tuscaloosa, you see signs that say ‘Where Legends Are Made’, and these guys did that. There's a group of dudes sitting there that revitalized baseball in Tuscaloosa. They've got 7,500 people out to a game last week to see them do something that hadn't been done in 27 years. Proud of obviously the effort, proud of the year. Everybody is hurting, but at the end of the day I go back to why we do this. And we do it for the two dudes sitting next to me (Hagan Banks and Jason Torres). We do it for the locker room full of dudes that are hurting in there because the journey that this group went on this year was dang special. I'm fortunate to get to be a part of it. They took me along for a heck of a ride. So forever indebted to the 2026 Alabama baseball team. And I challenged those young pups out there. The foundation's been laid. It's their job to get us back. It ain't going to be 27 years again, I can promise you that. So, really grateful for this group.”
How It Happened
- B1 | Aiden Robbins led off the Longhorns’ half of the 1st with a double down the left field line, with Carson Tinney following him with a walk. After a flyout, Ethan Mendoza bounced a double down the left field line to bring in Robbins, placing two in scoring position. Adrian Rodriguez then chopped a double of his own down the right field line to score two. (3-0, Texas)
- T2 | John Lemm started the inning with an 11-pitch walk, with Eric Hines drawing a four-pitch free pass to put two on with nobody out. After Brennan Holt lined into a double play, Luke Vaughn dunked a single into shallow left to score Lemm. (3-1, Texas)
- B2 | Casey Borba singled to left-center to start the inning and was advanced to second a sacrifice bunt one batter later. After a strikeout, a wild pitch moved him to third, with Tinney drawing a walk to place runners at the corners with one out. Anthony Pack Jr. then singled to left to drive in Borba before Mendoza pushed a base-hit through the right side to score Tinney. Rodriguez capped the inning with a two-run triple to left. (7-1, Texas)
- T4 | John Lemm slugged a one-out solo homer to right-center. (7-2, Texas)
- B6 | Pack Jr. and Rodriguez both produced two-run home runs to extend the lead. (11-2, Texas)
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B8 | To start the inning, Robbins reached base after an error and took second after Tinney walked. Pack Jr. then singled into left to score Robbins, pushing Tinney to third while the throw to third allowed Pack Jr. to take an extra base. Pinch-hitter Blake Peterson then grounded out to first, allowing a run to score. Rodriguez punctuated the inning with an RBI double down the right field line. (14-2, Texas)
Postgame Notes
- Alabama ends the 2026 season with a 42-21 mark, as the Tide’s 83 wins over the last two seasons (2025-26) are its most in a two-year span since winning 84 games from 2005-06
- Justin Lebron ends his campaign with an on-base streak of 17 consecutive games
- Lebron stole his 42nd base in 43 attempts on Monday, placing him in a tie with G.W. Keller (1999) for the third-most most stolen bases in a single season in program history
- Lebron's 66 career stolen bases are also third-most in a career in Alabama program history
- Bryce Fowler’s 2026 season ends with a 14-game on-base streak
- Fowler also garners a seven-game hitting streak to close his year, with the Tide center fielder posting a .343 average (11-for-32) 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 12 games
- John Lemm’s on-base streak advanced to seven consecutive games
- ATTENDANCE: 22,687
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