Hog-tied in hoover

HOOVER | Less than two weeks ago, University of Alabama hitters had all the answers against Nick Schmidt.

On Wednesday morning, the Crimson Tide forgot them.

Schmidt, the All-SEC left-hander for the Arkansas Razorbacks, turned in a masterful pitching performance, carrying a no-hitter into the eighth inning in a 6-0 shutout of the Crimson Tide in the opening game of the 2007 SEC Baseball Tournament at Regions Park.

Brandon May’s eighth-inning single spoiled Schmidt’s bid for history, although the Arkansas ace still set an SEC Tournament record for fewest hits allowed in a nine-inning performance (two).

The loss marked the first time that Alabama has been shut out in 86 SEC Tournament appearances dating back to 1950.

Arkansas didn’t need much offense to supplement Schmidt’s pitching, but manufactured three runs with aggressive baserunning and tacked on three more with Danny Hamblin’s three-run home run in the fourth inning off Crimson Tide starter Tommy Hunter.

Alabama (31-25) must now fight its way out of the loser’s bracket in the tournament. The Crimson Tide will face Florida in an elimination game at Regions Park at 10 a.m. today.

On May 10, Alabama knocked Schmidt out of a game at Sewell-Thomas Field after only 32/3 innings.

The tables were turned on Wednesday.

“A couple of weeks ago, we didn’t catch [Schmidt] at his best, thankfully for us," Alabama coach Jim Wells said. “He was outstanding today and they took advantage of the one big inning [the four-run bottom of the fourth] and that was it.

“They had a good plan of attack. Their hitters were patient. They were able to run against us, as most teams have been this season. When you combine that with the pitching they got, they are tough to beat."

The Razorbacks scored a run with a two-out rally against Hunter (7-5) in the bottom of the second inning. Hamblin walked, stole second, then scored on a single by Wayne Hrozek.

Arkansas added its second run in similar fashion in the third inning when Casey Coon hit a one-out single, stole second, then scored on a base hit by Brian Walker. Logan Forsythe then walked and, after a Jeff Nutt popout, Hamblin connected on a 2-2 pitch from Hunter and deposited his 22nd home run of the season over the left-field wall, pushing the Hogs’ lead to 5-0.

The Razorbacks (39-18) added another run in the sixth. Alabama’s sole consolation in the late innings was the fact that the Tide managed to avert the first no-hitter in SEC Tournament history.

“Before the [eighth] inning, I was in the dugout and I said that there is no way this guy is going to no-hit us," said May, the Tide second baseman. “I wanted to be the one to break it up."

May did that with a ground ball that just eluded a diving Arkansas shortstop Tim Smalling, with the ball rolling into left field for the first UA hit.

Brandon Belcher led off the ninth inning with the only other Alabama hit, also a single.

While Wells gave full credit to Schmidt for his performance, the Tide coach did say his team came out “flat" in its first tournament game.

“I thought we were flat," Wells said. “I take full responsibility for that. There’s no excuse for that to happen.

“I thought our best plan of attack [against Schmidt] was to swing at a first-pitch fastball and be aggressive. If you take that pitch, you’re probably going to be down 0-1 and he’s going to come back with a good breaking ball, then throw in on the hands to either right-handers or left-handers. He was very successful doing that today."

It’s not certain how the loss affects the Crimson Tide’s hopes for an NCAA Tournament bid, although it certainly doesn’t enhance those aspirations.

“How many wins do we need for a bid?," Wells said, repeating a reporter’s post-game question. “I don’t know. But I know winning is better than losing, and I know we need to win tomorrow."

The Crimson Tide is scheduled to start left-hander Will Stroup this morning, Wells said.

“Hopefully, he can do what he has done the last several weeks for us," Wells said.

Reach Cecil Hurt at cecil.hurt@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0225.