No. 22 Alabama Baseball Blows Out Top-Ranked Arkansas in SEC Opener, 16-1

Hits, hits and more hits described Alabama's annihilation of divisional rival Arkansas, as the Crimson Tide bats produced a season-high in runs scored against a stingy Razorbacks bunch

For Alabama, it might have been the greatest SEC opener in baseball history. 

Not only did it beat the No. 1 Arkansas Razorbacks, a team dubbed the nation's best and prime candidate of the conference crown, the Crimson Tide crushed them 16-1 Friday night. 

"Obviously, [it was a] really good night for us at the park. Arkansas helped us early and to our kids' credit, they did a great job of taking advantage of the mistakes that they made," Crimson Tide coach Brad Bohannon said, "I've talked sometimes this year that we haven't been incredibly efficient offensively, and tonight we were."

The sixteen runs tell one side of the story, but the other half belonged to starter Tyler Ras who surrendered just one earned run, two walks, and struck out six in six innings of work. The junior ace seemingly emptied Arkansas' offensive artillery and handed it to his lineup instead.

"I'm not surprised that he's [Ras] doing well," Bohannon said, "He's a guy that we were really counting on going into the season."

Razorbacks centerfielder Christian Franklin struck a solo home run in the bottom half of the second inning, fresh off Alabama posting a 10-run at-bat, but he and his teammates were shut out the rest of the way by Ras and junior Connor Shamblin. Alabama's offense may have captured the headlines, but Shamblin gave up no hits and struck out six in his three-inning effort out of the bullpen. 

Back to the Crimson Tide lineup …

Sophomore Owen Diodati supplied a team-high four RBIs in his 2-4 night at the plate, including a two-run home run in the second inning that scored third baseman Zane Denton. 

Right fielder Andrew Pinckney also hit a home run, striking an eighth-inning kill shot that scored Diodati. Freshman Caden Rose joined in the fun, adding the Crimson Tide's third home run of the game in the top of the ninth.

The best question to ask might be who didn't get an RBI in the second. 

"We had seven freshmen in the lineup tonight and I didn't know how they would respond coming to Baum Stadium, which is a really tough place to play." Bohannon said. "I want them to have fun and be loose and aggressive and when you have something to cheer for it makes it a lot easier to have more fun."

It was a statement win for an Alabama group looking to continue early-season momentum. Games two and three of the the series should offer a closer look at if the Crimson Tide is closing the gap on its conference foes quicker than expected. 

Bohannon, only in his second year, was optimistic.

"We were loose and aggressive. It felt good at practice last night, it felt good in the dugout before the game, and if we can continue to play with that mentality we got a chance to have a good season."

Ras was credited with the win, extending his record to 3-1 on the season. 

Game two from Fayetteville, Ark. is at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday.