Two strong pitching performances and an offensive explosion helped Alabama baseball sweep No. 18 Florida for the first time since 2002.
The games on Friday and Saturday featured two dominant pitching starts for the Crimson Tide, including Tyler Fay’s no-hitter on Friday night. Sunday’s game saw much more hitting from both teams, with Alabama getting the best of Florida to complete the sweep.
With the weekend sweep, Alabama improves to 18-7 overall and 3-3 in the SEC.
Here is a recap of the weekend.
Game One:
Tyler Fay etched his name into the history books on Friday night, tossing the ninth no-hitter in Alabama baseball history to lead the Crimson Tide to a dominant 6-0 victory over No. 18 Florida.
Fay’s masterpiece marks the program's first no-hitter of any kind since 2014 and the first individual nine-inning no-hitter since Eddie Owcar accomplished the feat in 1942. The historic performance provided a perfect start to the weekend series against the Gators, snapping Alabama's conference skid in legendary fashion.
Tyler Fay delivered a masterclass in his sixth start of the year, setting new career benchmarks for both innings pitched with nine and strikeouts with 13.
The Alabama offense provided ample support for the historic pitching performance. Bryce Fowler turned in a 2-for-4 night that featured a double, an RBI, and a walk. He was matched in hits by Justin Osterhouse, who finished 2-for-3 with an RBI double, and Brady Neal, who reached base four times via two hits and a pair of walks.
Luke Vaughn provided the heavy lifting in the RBI department, leading the team with two runs driven in. Brennan Holt added a run scored and an RBI to the tally, while Will Plattner rounded out the offensive highlights with a double and two runs scored.
Game Two:
Another good pitching performance helped Alabama baseball secure its first series victory over Florida in 18 years on Saturday, defeating the 18th-ranked Gators 8-4. The win marks the program's first series win over Florida since 2008, when Alabama took two of three games in Tuscaloosa.
Zane Adams delivered a stellar performance in his sixth start of the season, holding the Gators to just two runs on five hits over six dominant innings. Despite allowing lone runs in the second and third frames, the left-hander found his rhythm to reel off three straight scoreless innings to finish his afternoon.
Brady Neal, Alabama's leading hitter, maintained his blistering form with a 3-for-5 performance and three RBI. Justin Lebron also made his mark, launching a two-run homer in the seventh and finishing with a walk and two runs scored.
Game Three:
Despite an early 4-0 lead by Florida through the first four innings, Alabama's offense exploded late to overwhelm the Gator bullpen and grab a 14-7 victory.
Florida dominated the first four innings by jumping out to a quick 4-0 lead while Alabama couldn’t get anything going at the plate. In the fifth inning, the Crimson Tide bats came to life after Florida was forced to hand the ball over to their bullpen. Alabama scored nine unanswered in the fifth and sixth innings to grab a 9-4 lead.
The Gators responded with three runs of their own in the seventh to cut the lead to two. In Alabama’s half of the seventh, they answered with a five-spot to blow the game wide open.
Brady Neal continued to stay hot the entire weekend, capping it off with a seven RBI performance on Sunday. Neal hit a grand slam in the sixth and followed it up with a three-run double in the seventh.
Justin Lebron and Will Plattner both contributed two-run home runs to Alabama's offensive effort.
Ashton Crowther was credited with the win in relief. Crowther battled for 3.1 innings, allowing two runs on one hit while striking out four on the day.
Alabama will travel to Huntsville for a neutral-site midweek matchup against Austin Peay on Tuesday, March 24, at 6 p.m. CT.
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