The Anatomy Of A Collapse: Alabama Blows Eighth-Inning Lead In Season-Ending Loss

HATTIESBURG, Miss.— Alabama baseball was on the verge of staving off elimination on Saturday, holding a 5-3 lead entering the bottom of the eighth against regional hosts Southern Miss. Unfortunately for the Crimson Tide, the Golden Eagles came alive, producing three runs to pull ahead before keeping Alabama off the board in the ninth to survive and end Rob Vaughn & Company's season.

The frame started with Braylon Myers on the mound for Alabama. Myers took over for Tyler Fay at the start of the seventh, and got through that first inning without allowing a hit. It took just two pitches for that to change in the eighth, as Nick Monistere hammered his second home run of the afternoon (and 21st of the season) over the left field fence to cut the deficit to one.

"He hung a slider, and I got the barrel out in front of it and got it up in the air, thankfully," Monistere said. "I just try to hit a line drive every time."

Myers' day was done, and the ball was unsurprisingly given to NCAA save leader Carson Ozmer. It was an uncharacteristic first two at-bats for the generally lights-out senior, as he plunked the first batter and walked the second. A fielder's choice kept runners in position before they both advanced on a groundout from pinch hitter and former Ole Miss transfer Braden Luke.

With two outs and runners on first and second, Vaughn made the decision to intentionally walk eight-hole batter Carson Paetow, bringing up Tucker Stockman with the bases loaded. The reasoning was sound— Paetow has fifteen homers compared to Stockman's five, there is now an out at every base, and Ozmer's splits are profoundly better against right-handers (Stockman) than lefties (Paetow). Unfortunately for the Crimson Tide, Stockman made the most of the biggest at-bat of his life, ripping a 1-2 slider to right center field for a two-RBI single to give his Golden Eagles the 6-5 advantage.

"Stockman got two strikes, but he didn't panic," Vaughn said. "Just stayed up just enough, and he put a great swing on it, so you got to credit him for beating us there. But zero hesitation, I'd do it (walk Paetow) again."

Ozmer got the third out a moment later, ensuring that Alabama would need just one run to keep its season alive. After Will Plattner (still fresh off hitting his first career home run in the third) grounded out, Brady Neal walked, and Bryce Fowler singled to move him into scoring position. Justin Lebron struck out, putting Kade Snell in a near-identical position to the day before, where he came within a foot of hitting a walk-off home run to beat Miami.

Alas, the SEC batting champ did not get a true chance at redemption, as he was walked on four pitches to load the bases for Richie Bonomolo Jr. The cleanup batter has been arguably the biggest success story of the season for the Crimson Tide, working his way up from the eight-hole at the start of the year to emerge as one of Alabama's most reliable bats.

After a ball and a strike to start the at-bat, the Bronx native hit a grounder right to third, where Fowler was called out to end the season.

"I told everybody in the dugout that I'd have to get carted off the field before I lose," Fowler, who started his career at Southern Miss, said. "Unfortunately, we came out on the wrong side, but I don't have any regrets. I wouldn't change anything. Southern is a good ball club, and they made some good swings in big moments."

'Heartbreaking' is just about the only word that can describe Alabama's time at the Hattiesburg Regional. A Crimson Tide team that won 40 regular-season games for the first time since 2002 is headed home after just 18 innings, marking an extremely bitter end to a very memorable year.