Arkansas erased a two-run deficit with six runs in the eighth inning and stunned No. 8 Alabama 7-5 on Friday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa, snapping the Crimson Tide’s 18-game home winning streak.
TJ Pompey drove the blow that finished it, hitting a two-run homer in the inning and his seventh of the season after Camden Kozeal opened the rally with a leadoff home run to left. Nolan Souza doubled down the right field line, Zack Stewart tied the game at 3-3 with a single through the right side and Kuhio Aloy added a two-out double down the left field line. Maika Niu reached when Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron committed an error, and the inning kept rolling until the Razorbacks had seized control at 7-3.
That comeback came after Alabama had worked itself into a 3-1 lead in the seventh against the Arkansas bullpen. But Gabe Gaeckle held on for his fourth win of the year, and Parker Coil closed it out by retiring the final three Alabama batters for his second save. The loss left Alabama at 26-9 overall and 8-5 in SEC play, while Arkansas improved to 22-13 and 6-7 in the league.
For Arkansas, the result was more than a strong start to the series. It gave the Razorbacks a chance to clinch the weekend set with one more victory and kept alive their push for a first series win in Tuscaloosa since the 2019 campaign. Saturday’s game two was scheduled for 4 p.m. ET on SEC Network, with Cole Gibler set to start for Arkansas and Zane Adams lined up for Alabama.
