Tennessee’s 17-game winning streak in baseball is no longer, as the fifth-ranked Volunteers were their own worst enemy Saturday night during a 6-3 loss to No. 14 Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
The Vols committed two errors and a wild pitch through the first two innings to help the Crimson Tide build a 3-0 lead, and Alabama doubled its advantage to 6-0 in the third on Mac Guscette’s RBI single down the right-field line and Justin Lebron’s two-run single to left.
Tennessee starting pitcher Drew Beam would bounce back and worked eight innings, retiring the final 13 batters he faced, but the early damage could not be overcome as the junior suffered his first setback of the season.
Tennessee dropped to 18-2 overall, while Alabama improved to 16-3 entering the rubber match of the first Southeastern Conference series of the season for both teams.