FRISCO, Texas. – Guided by a terrific start from Tyler Fay, Alabama baseball (8-2) cruised to a 12-2 win over Iowa (6-3) at Riders Field on Friday.

Fay (2-1) notched his second win of the young season as the result of 6.0 strong innings on the mound, as the redshirt junior surrendered just one earned run on five hits and one walk, adding three strikeouts. Fay relied on his patented sinker throughout the evening, inducing 10 groundball outs. Sam Mitchell was effective in 2.0 innings of relief, allowing just a run across his six outs, while Ashton Crowther scattered one hit in his lone inning of work in the 9th.

Luke Vaughn initiated the scoring in the opening frame, giving the Tide an early lead following a three-run home run in the 1st, his second home run in as many games. Vaughn finished the night 1-for 5 with one run scored. Bryce Fowler launched his first home run of the season in the 3rd, with the outfielder closing his night 1-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored. Justin Lebron punctuated the evening with a grand slam in the 9th to cap a five-run final inning. Lebron was 2-for-5 with a double and five RBI to go with the grand slam.

Andrew Purdy posted a 3-for-5 line with a double and three runs scored, as the freshman’s three hits stood as a game-high. Brennan Holt was responsible for a 2-for-5 evening with one run batted in, while Peyton Steele lined an RBI single in the 6th to encompass his 1-for-5 night.

“A good win. I’m very familiar with that team and that coaching staff and I knew we were going to have our hands full. They’re playing good baseball right now and we just did a good job. We threw a haymaker there in the first with a three-run homer and (Tyler) Fay did what he did. Just unbelievable tempo, tons of strikes. We talked about it in the pre-game, when that sinker is at the bottom of the zone, he might give up a single here and there, but it’s just so hard to string stuff together. I thought (Brennan) Holt made a couple of really good plays at second base. Just a really good game, we came out and played good baseball, played complementary baseball, and that’s what this game is all about.”

How It Happened

• T1 | Bryce Fowler led off the inning with a walk and was followed by Brady Neal, who lined a one-out single to left field. After Neal, Luke Vaughn slugged a three-run home run to left to give the Tide the early lead. (3-0, Alabama)
• T3 | Fowler lifted his first home run of the season to open the inning, a solo homer to right. (4-0, Alabama)
• B5 | After a leadoff walk, pair of groundball outs placed the runner at third. Iowa then lined a single up the middle to plate its first run of the night. (4-1, Alabama)
• T6 | Andrew Purdy poked a one-out double down the left field line and scored one batter later when Peyton Steele sent a single to left. After Steele, Brennan Holt provided a single of his own to put two on with one out. After a fly out, Justin Lebron doubled down the right field to bring home Steele. Lebron’s double was originally ruled foul, though was later reversed by instant replay. (6-1, Alabama)
• T8 | Purdy opened the inning with a base-hit and moved to second after a wild pitch. A productive out advanced Purdy to third, eventually scoring on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Holt. (7-1, Alabama)
• B8 | The Hawkeyes led off the frame with a single, with a productive out placing the runner in scoring position. A single through the left side tallied a second run for Iowa. (7-2, Alabama)
• T9 | John Lemm began the inning with a walk, leading to Purdy collecting a single to put two men on base. With two outs, Holt singled to load the bases, as Fowler worked a bases-loaded walk to force in a run. With the bases still full, Lebron lined a grand slam to left field to extend the Tide’s advantage (12-2, Alabama)

Postgame Notes

• The win stands as Alabama’s first all-time victory over Iowa, as Friday marked the two program’s first-ever pairing
• John Lemm was 1-for-4 with a walk to extend his on-base streak to 43 games, a streak that began on March 22 last season
• Justin Lebron’s grand slam in the 9th was Alabama’s first grand slam since Will Hodo at Texas A&M on March 15 of last season
• Friday becomes Lebron’s second five-RBI game so far this season, including his five RBI performance against Rhode Island on Feb. 20
• Lebron also extended his on-base streak to 10 games on Friday
• Tyler Fay’s 6.0 innings on Friday marked a new season high and matched his career best innings total set twice last season
• Andrew Purdy’s three hits are a new career best
• Peyton Steele extended his hitting streak to eight consecutive games with his RBI single in the 4th
• Eight of Alabama’s nine starters contributed at least one hit
• The Crimson Tide has now stolen at least one base in each of its first 10 games and is a perfect 17-of-17 in its attempts
• Attendance: 3,350

Up Next

• Alabama will continue its time at the Frisco College Baseball Classic on Saturday, Feb. 28
• The Crimson Tide will square off with No. 19 Oregon State at 4 p.m. CT, airing on D1Baseball.com