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Justin Lebron Exits as Alabama Drops Game it ‘Didn’t Deserve To Win’ to Kentucky

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Justin Lebron Exits as Alabama Drops Game it  ‘Didn’t Deserve To Win’ to Kentucky


Alabama was in good shape entering the bottom of the fourth against Kentucky, leading 4-1 and appearing primed for its first SEC win of the season, despite star shortstop Justin Lebron exiting the game with an ankle injury. The Crimson Tide would then go on to implode, giving up seven runs over two error-laden defensive frames while proving unable to bring runners home in an 8-7 loss that gives the Wildcats the series win.

“We didn’t deserve to win,” head coach Rob Vaughn said. “That’s about as sloppy a defensive game as I’ve been a part of… at the end of the day, it’s basic stuff we do all the time that we just didn’t execute at a high level.”

Alabama started fast, as Lebron reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second and third, and came home on a Brady Neal sacrifice fly to get the Crimson Tide on the board with two outs in the top of the first. Jason Torres drew a walk, John Lemm doubled and Luke Vaughn was hit by a pitch to load the bases, giving Alabama an early chance to blow the game open. Captain Will Plattner, making his first weekend start in three weeks, was plunked as well to load the bases.

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Starter Ben Cleaver was pulled after just 0.2 innings, as Kentucky would go on to deploy six arms in the win, none of which would go more than 3.0 innings. The Wildcats would get out of the opening frame with no further damage, and the score remained the same through the end of the second thanks to two perfect innings from Zane Adams.

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In the top of that second inning, Lebron rolled his ankle on second base after a flyout. He played the bottom of the inning at short before exiting in what appeared to be a precautionary measure.

“We’ll know a lot more tomorrow,” Vaughn said. “They taped them up. Routine fly ball and he just stepped on second base… just couldn’t go back out there (for the third). So we’ll see where we’re at tomorrow, but we probably won’t know anything on him until close to the game time tomorrow.”

Justin Osterhouse, who was out of the lineup today, replaced Lebron, going 0-for-2 with a walk. Alabama added a run in the third off a John Lemm home run and the fourth off an error, but the offense dried up after that. After just one run through four innings, the Wildcat bats picked up, scoring four off Adams in the fifth to take a 5-4 lead.

Kentucky added three more in the seventh as Hudson Brown took Matthew Heiberger deep to right field. Two of the runs were credited to Evan Steckmesser. Alabama had its chances throughout the game, notably with the bases loaded with two outs in the sixth, but was unable to cut into the deficit at all until the top of the ninth.

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Luke Vaughn drove in a run with a single through the right side, prompting a pitching change in the final frame, before nine-hole batter Brennan Holt brought in two with a single up the middle. All of a sudden, Alabama was a swing away as Bryce Fowler came up to bat with the tying run on second and the go-ahead run at first. Fowler struck out swinging to strand both of them.

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“You look up, and you’ve got 12 guys left on base,” Vaughn said. “We had three or four situations where we could’ve gotten a big two-out hit and didn’t get it. When you go on the road, you’ve got to go take it from somebody, and we just weren’t able to do that.”

Alabama has struggled with many of the same things all season, as sloppy play, stranded runners and an inconsistent bullpen continue to plague the team. With a gauntlet of an SEC schedule on tap this year, an opening series sweep against a good, but far from elite, Kentucky team could prove detrimental for the direction of the season.

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Mississippi beats No. 15 Alabama 80-79 in SEC quarterfinal shocker

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Mississippi beats No. 15 Alabama 80-79 in SEC quarterfinal shocker


NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — AJ Storr scored 17 points, Ilias Kamardine added 16 and 15th-seeded Mississippi upset No. 15 and second-seeded Alabama 80-79 on Friday night in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

Mississippi (15-19) won for the third time in three days in the tournament after losing 12 of the final 13 regular-season games. The Rebels advanced to the semifinals Saturday against No. 17 Arkansas, an 82-79 winner over Oklahoma in the final quarterfinal.

Labaron Philon led Alabama (23-9) with 28 points. Aden Holloway added 18 points and Aiden Sherrell had 14. Philon was five for seven from 3-point range and shot 9 of 16 overall.

Philon cut Mississippi’s lead to a point with two free throws with 13.4 seconds remaining. Mississippi’s Eduardo Klafke missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 9.4 seconds remaining. Alabama went the other way on the rebound, but turned the ball over under its own basket.

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Mississippi led 47-41 at the half.

Alabama won the only regular-season matchup between the teams, 93-74 in Oxford.

Up next

Alabama: Waits to learn its next opponent on Selection Sunday.

Mississippi: Faces Arkansas on Saturday.

___

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LIVE SCORE UPDATES & ANALYSIS: Arkansas softball at Alabama Game 1 | Whole Hog Sports

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LIVE SCORE UPDATES & ANALYSIS: Arkansas softball at Alabama Game 1 | Whole Hog Sports





LIVE SCORE UPDATES & ANALYSIS: Arkansas softball at Alabama Game 1 | Whole Hog Sports







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Warmer Weekend Ahead; Strong/Severe Storms Arrive Late Sunday Night

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Warmer Weekend Ahead; Strong/Severe Storms Arrive Late Sunday Night


COLD START: Here are some temperatures across Alabama just before sunrise

Fort Payne 30

Gadsden 31

Trenton 32

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Bessemer 33

Hueytown 33

Cullman 34

Alexander City 34

Jasper 34

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Scottsboro 34

Sylacauga 34

Evergreen 35

Birmingham 36

Greenville 36

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Anniston 36

Troy 36

Huntsville 36

Eufaula 36

Tuscaloosa 38

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Mobile 39

Andalusia 39

Montgomery 40

Decatur 40

Haleyville 40

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Dothan 41

Enterprise 42

Gulf Shores 45

Look for a sunny sky today with a high in the 68-76 degree range this afternoon. Tomorrow will be a delightful day to start the weekend; lots of sun with a high in the 70s and low 80s.

SUNDAY/MONDAY: Moisture levels begin to rise Sunday, and a few small, isolated showers are possible by afternoon. The warming trend continues; temperatures reach the low to mid 80s over the southern half of the state.

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A sharp cold front will bring a line of strong to severe thunderstorms into Alabama late Sunday night into the pre-dawn hours Monday. SPC has defined a level 2/5 risk for areas north of a line from Reform to Oneonta to Scottsboro, with a level 1/5 risk for the rest of the state.

This will be a system with very good dynamics, but marginal thermodynamics with limited instability. The main threat from the line of storms will come from strong winds, but a brief, isolated tornado can’t be ruled out, mainly over the northern third of the state.

Rain ends early Monday morning, and more cold air rolls into the Deep South. Temperatures won’t get out of the 40s Monday over North Alabama, and a freeze is likely for just all of the state by Tuesday morning with most places dipping into the 20s. Another freeze is likely early Wednesday morning for the northern 2/3 of the state.

A warming trend begins Wednesday afternoon, and afternoon highs return to the 70s by Thursday and Friday. After the rain early Monday morning, the rest of the week will be dry with sunny days and clear nights. See the video briefing for maps, graphics, and more details.

ON THIS DATE IN 1954: A large F3 tornado struck Fort Mitchell, Alabama and Fort Benning, Georgia, damaging or destroying homes, buildings, and military equipment, killing two people and injuring 20 others. Another long-tracked F3 tornado began near Howard, Georgia, striking the communities Roberta, Knoxville, Lizella, Vineville and Macon, damaging or destroying over 750 homes, killing five, and injuring 75.

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