Alabama baseball's Tyler Fay on the pitch that was missing vs Oklahoma
· Yahoo Sports
OMAHA, Neb. − Alabama baseball pitcher Tyler Fay certainly wasn't at his best on Saturday in a 9-0 loss to Oklahoma in the College World Series. The reason? A pitch he relies on heavily was lost on him.
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"It was a disappointing outing for me. I didn't really have the slider working at all," Fay said. "They had a lot of really tough at-bats early in the game and got some momentum built up. They did a good job of hitting everything."
Fay allowed five earned runs over six innings against the Sooners and struggled to retire the first batter in the opening innings. OU opened a 2-0 lead in the first and only added to it from there. But for Fay, the absence of his slider was a mystery, considering it was sharp in his pregame bullpen session.
"In the pen pregame, everything was really working. I was dotting everything, keeping everything low, the slider felt good there," he said. "When I got to the mound, everything felt good except the slider."
The biggest blow for Fay came in the sixth, when he plunked the leadoff batter and then allowed a two-run home run to Deiten LaChance that roared into the left-field seats, extending OU's lead to 5-0. Fay finished the inning but was done for the day thereafter, and it could well be the last appearance of the season for the fourth-year junior.
With the loss, Alabama (42-20) fell into the CWS loser's bracket and now faces an elimination game against either Texas or Georgia on Monday at 1 p.m. CT.
UA coach Rob Vaughn did not indicate who will start the game for the Crimson Tide, but it is expected to be Myles Upchurch or Zane Adams.
Reach Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread at [email protected]. Follow on X @chasegoodbread.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama baseball's Tyler Fay was missing a crucial pitch vs Oklahoma