No. 15 Alabama left the first inning against No. 14 Arkansas trailing by five runs after the Razorback offense lit up the Crimson Tide thanks to five hits and four walks. By the end of the third, the Crimson Tide trailed 7-0 on the road.
Head coach Patrick Murphy revealed the message he sent to his team before the next inning began.
“I need a little more fight from everybody. I don’t give a rip what the score is right now,” Murphy said during an on-air interview on ESPNU before the fourth inning. “Disregard the scoreboard, everybody in the dugout. I don’t care what the score is. Let’s fight a little bit right now.”
Murphy had no interest in making excuses for what happened in the first inning. Defensive precision wasn’t there, and it cost the Crimson Tide on multiple occasions.
“We had a play at first. We make that play, then they score one run. We turn a double play, they only score two runs,” Murphy continued. “You know, if if’s and but’s were candy and nuts then we’d all have a merrier Christmas, so I know that too. But we have to do a little bit better against the pitcher right now.
“We have to put the ball in play, make them make plays. We can do the same Texas Leaguers that they did in the first inning. Okay, we got to put the ball in play, lay off the changeup, and make her bring it up a little.”
Murphy is referring to Arkansas’ Morgan Leinstock, who came into the matchup boasting a 1.74 ERA. The Razorbacks ace finished four innings of shutout pitching allowing three hits and five strikeouts. By the bottom of the fourth, the Crimson Tide were three pitchers deep into their rotation and threw over 100 pitches during that span.
The Crimson Tide will need a massive comeback if they want to salvage this SEC series against the Razorbacks. Coming to the matchup having split the first two games of the series, Alabama will have dropped its last two series if they can’t find a way to get back into this one.
After Alabama leaves Fayetteville, the Crimson Tide will have two series left in the regular season before competing in the SEC Tournament beginning on May 11. They’ll host Tennessee beginning on April 26 before heading over to Auburn to take on their in-state rival.
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