Tennessee baseball suffers first SEC loss in 6-3 defeat against Alabama
Tennessee baseball is on a two-game losing streak for the first time this season after its first SEC loss following a record-setting start.
The No. 1 Vols (31-3, 12-1 SEC) fell 6-3 to Alabama (23-12, 8-5) at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in the opener of a weekend series.
Tennessee set a record by winning 12 straight SEC games to open conference play. The Vols swept South Carolina, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Missouri before falling to the Crimson Tide.
UT lost 3-2 to Tennessee Tech on Tuesday at Smokies Stadium in a wood-bat game. The Vols had won 23 straight games prior to the loss to the Golden Eagles.
The Vols and Crimson Tide play the second game of the series Saturday (6 p.m. ET, SEC Network+).
Vols barely missed a pair of key scoring opportunities early
Tennessee had opportunities to break the game open in the second and third innings, but left five runners on base.
Drew Gilbert flew out to the warning track in center field with the bases loaded in the second and UT leading 2-1. Cortland Lawson crushed a ball to right field in the third with two on, but Alabama's William Hamiter left his feet to catch the liner and save a pair of runs.
Tennessee didn't score again until Jorel Ortega hit a solo homer in the sixth.
Chase Burns struggled for second straight outing
Chase Burns didn't get out of the third inning in his start against Missouri on April 8. The freshman was chased in the fourth Saturday after allowing a homer to lead off the inning, then a single and a walk.
Burns allowed a season-high seven hits, three of which were homers. He allowed three homers in 41⅔ innings entering Saturday. He also allowed a season-high five runs in three-plus innings.
Burns has allowed seven runs on 10 hits and five walks in 5⅔ innings in his past two starts. He had thrown at least five innings in each of his first seven starts.
Fourth-inning proves costly
Will Mabrey, Tennessee's go-to reliever, came in with two on and none out in the fourth in relief of Burns. Mabrey got Alabama's Dominic Tamez to hit a grounder to short for a likely double play, but Lawson misplayed it and the ball rolled into left field. A run scored to put Alabama ahead 4-2.
Crimson Tide first baseman Drew Williamson hit a sacrifice fly to score another run.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee baseball's record SEC start ends with 6-3 loss to Alabama
