Upchurch Fans 9 in Debut; Tide Avoid Series Upset 11-1

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama (2-1) defeats Washington State (1-2) #-# to sweep Saturday's double header and avoid the series upset.

Alabama's Myles Upchurch earned credit for the win in his first collegiate start. The Maryland native tossed four shutout innings, only conceding two hits and two walks while striking out nine.

Washington State starter Griffin Smith was tagged with the loss. Smith tossed 3.1 innings of six run (four earned) baseball, allowing four hits while issuing two free passes.

Unlike Friday and the first leg of Saturday's doubleheader, the Crimson Tide got off to a fast start.

Upchurch dropped the top of the Washington State batting order in a 1-2-3 fashion, including a swinging strikeout against Max Hartman, who entered the game batting .571.

In the bottom half, Justin Lebron reached on a one-out fielder's choice, promptly swiping second. John Lemm, serving as the designated hitter Saturday afternoon, worked Lebron home with a single up the middle to score the first run of the game for Alabama.

The Cougars worked runners on the corners via a pair of singles, but couldn't find the big hit to get them home as Upchurch ended the frame by striking out Noah Thein.

Alabama earned a base runner after Washington State starting pitcher Griffin Smith tagged catcher Brady Neal with a pitch, but the Tide couldn't bring him home.

The third inning broke the game open for the Crimson Tide. Brennan Holt led off the inning with a solo shot to right field to bring the Alabama lead to 2-0.

Fowler singled before Lebron reached via an error, putting two runners in scoring position with no outs for Lemm. The Australian worked a four-pitch walk, juicing the bases for freshman Andrew Purdy, who made the start at first base in the second leg of the double header.

Purdy came through, singling up the middle for his first collegiate hit, scoring Fowler and Lebron while pushing Lemm to third. Purdy took second on the throw.

Another fielding error, this time by the Cougars' shortstop Gavin Roy, allowed Torres to reach safely, Purdy to advance to third, and Lemm to score to make the Crimson Tide's advantage 5-0.

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The Tide tacked on one more thanks to a Brady Neal sac fly, scoring Purdy.

A Peyton Steele flyout and Justin Osterhouse strikeout ended the bottom of the third, but not before the Crimson Tide hung five on Washington State to jump out to an early 6-0 lead.

The fourth inning was much of the same for the Crimson Tide. Upchurch walked Wazzu's Matt Priest, but otherwise struck out three Cougars' batters to keep Washington State off the board.

Fowler worked a one-out walk to get the offense flowing in the frame. A pair of singles from Lebron and Lemm juiced the bases for Purdy once again. The freshman drew the second walk of the inning to bring Fowler up 90 feet, giving Alabama a 7-0 lead.

Torres struck out swinging, but Neal backed him up with a two-RBI single down the middle to push the Crimson Tide's lead to 9-0. Steele followed up with an RBI double down the right field line to put up a ten-spot against Washington State.

Freshman Eric Hines, from American Christian Academy in Tuscaloosa, entered to pinch hit for Osterhouse. Getting a loud cheer from his hometown crowd, Hines ripped a first-pitch liner to the outfield wall, but it just dropped into the hands of the Cougars' left fielder, Cole Watterson.

Upchurch's day ended in the top of the fifth, ending his college debut with four shutout innings with nine strikeouts while only conceding two hits and two free passes across 76 pitches.

Tate Robertson, a Northridge High School product, entered in relief. He tossed two strikeouts and only one walk in his lone inning of work Saturday.

In the bottom of the fifth, Lebron launched a no-doubt two-out solo shot to left field for his second home run of the season to give Alabama an 11-run advantage.

Ashton Crowther entered for Robertson, allowing the lone Washington State run of the evening, but otherwise kept the damage to a minimum.

Freshman Caleb Barnett, pinch-hitting for Torres, earned a one-out walk in his first collegiate at-bat. Will Plattner, behind the dish for Neal, worked a walk of his own, but the Crimson Tide couldn't find the big hit to bring them home.

The final frame was a combination of Crimson Tide freshman arms, lefty Luke Smyers, and right-hander Joe Chiarado (who also features as an outfielder). The two combined for only one hit, closing out the series for the Crimson Tide. Alabama wins 11-1.

Alabama will head to Birmingham to take on Samford in its first taste of midweek action in the 2026 campaign.

For more Alabama Baseball, Basketball, and Football content from Simon Besnoy, follow him on Twitter at @SimonBesnoy and stay tuned to Tide1009.com for daily news.