Consistent pitching and a dominant performance at the plate helped lift Alabama baseball to a three-game sweep of North Florida over the weekend.
The Crimson Tide outscored the Ospreys 28-7 over the three contests, including a 10-run mercy rule win in Sunday’s series finale.
With the weekend sweep, Alabama improves its overall record to 14-3.
Here is a recap of the weekend series.
Game One:
Behind a career performance on the mound from redshirt junior Tyler Fay and a breakout night from the heart of the order, Alabama baseball opened its weekend series against North Florida with a commanding 7-2 victory on Friday night.
The story of the night was Tyler Fay, who turned in the best start of his Crimson Tide career. Fay dominated the Ospreys’ hitters, racking up a career-high 11 strikeouts over seven innings of work to earn his third straight win.
While Fay was silencing bats, the Alabama offense provided plenty of support. Left fielder Justin Osterhouse had a big night at the plate, finishing 4-for-5 with a two-run home run and three runs scored. It was a career-high in hits for the transfer, who capped off the scoring in the bottom of the seventh with a towering blast to right.
Peyton Steele came through in the clutch with a big night of his own. After North Florida had narrowed the gap in the fifth, Steele responded in the bottom half of the inning with a two-out, two-run triple off the center-field wall to extend the lead back to 5-2. Steele finished the night 2-for-3 with three RBI.
Game Two:
A six-run outburst in the opening frame proved to be more than enough as Alabama baseball cruised to a 9-3 victory over North Florida on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Crimson Tide secured the weekend series victory ahead of Sunday’s finale.
Bryce Fowler was the catalyst for the Crimson Tide all afternoon. The center fielder finished 3-for-5 with four RBI, adding run-scoring singles in the fourth and seventh innings to keep North Florida at arm's length.
Joining Fowler in the multi-hit club were John Lemm who went 2-for-5 with a triple and a double and Brennan Holt, who went 2-for-3 with a triple. Alabama’s aggressive approach on the basepath also paid dividends, as the team swiped three bases, including two from Justin Lebron.
Sophomore right-hander Zane Adams earned his third win of the season and provided stability on the mound, grinding through five solid innings. Adams allowed five hits and two earned runs, striking out four and effectively limiting the damage when the Ospreys threatened.
Game Three:
The Alabama bats remained hot for the series finale, defeating North Florida 12-2 in a shortened game due to the mercy rule. The Crimson Tide scored a run in the first and the second innings, but a five-run outburst in the fourth extended their lead to 7-1, putting the game out of reach.
Catcher Brady Neal had a huge game at the dish for Alabama, going 2-for-2 with 5 RBI, including a grand slam in the fourth inning that put an exclamation mark on the Crimson Tide’s offensive explosion. Jason Torres added a three-run double in the fifth to round out his 1-for-3 night. In the sixth inning, Bryce Fowler crushed a two-run home run for his second hit of the day.
Freshman Myles Upchurch recorded his third win of the season, striking out 11 batters. Upchurch scattered four hits while allowing two earned runs in his six innings of work. Ashton Crowther entered the game in the seventh and closed out the game with a scoreless frame.
Alabama will host Troy in a midweek matchup on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
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