After giving up a big lead and losing Thursday nights opener 7-6 to Florida, the 18th ranked Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team bounced back to defeat the 23rd ranked Florida Gators 9-6 on Friday and but lost the rubber game of the series 9-3 on Saturday. With Friday’s win the Tide secured a 40 win regular season for the first time since 2002. Alabama finished the regular season 40-15 overall and 16-14 in the SEC, a big improvement over the 2024 season records of 33-24 and 13-17. The Tide will be the 9th seed in the SEC Tournament and take on 16th seeded Missouri on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. at The Hoover Met.
Game one-Lost 7-6
Alabama jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead but couldn’t hold on and lost a heartbreaker 7-6 to the Gators. Tyler Fay took the mound for the Tide, facing off with Florida’s Liam Peterson. Bryce Fowler led off the top of the first with a single for Bama, and after two strikeouts followed, score in front of Richie Bonomolo’s eighth home run of the season. Fay allowed a lead off single in the bottom half, but a double play and a strikeout kept the Gators off the board.
The Tide added to their lead in the top of the third. Will Plattner led off the frame with a walk and with one out Justin LeBron crushed his 18th home run of the year for a 4-0 Bama lead. Bonomolo walked with two outs and advanced on a single by Will Hodo, and scored on a single by Justin Torres.
Staked to a 5-0 lead. Fay tossed scoreless innings in the 2nd and 3rd, before allowing the Gators to score in the fourth. Florida catcher Luke Heyman led off and was hit by a pitch, breaking his wrist. Ty Evans singled pinch runner Landon Stripling to third base, where he trotted home after a wild pitch by Fay. The next three batters went down in order, and the Tide held a 5-1 lead.
Peterson battled through the 4th and 5th for the Gators, holding the Tide from adding to their lead. Things changed in the bottom half. Fay made quick work of the first two outs, with a ground out and strikeout on seven pitches. On the 8th pitch of the inning things changed. Bobby Boser hit a weak ground ball that Bama second baseman Garrett Staton couldn’t handle for an error. Two straight singles followed to score Boser and chase Fay from the game. Braylon Myers entered for the Tide and allowed a double to Evans on an 0-2 pitch to make the score 5-3. Myers walked the next man and then Brody Donay beat out an infield single to score the 3rd run of the inning. Matthew Heiberger replaced Myers and struck out Hayden Yost to end the uprising with the score 5-4 in the favor of Alabama.
The Tide finally added another run in the top of the 6th inning off of relief pitcher Luke McNeillie. Hodo led off with a pop fly that fell between the shortstop and left fielder for a double, Bama’s first hit since the 3rd inning and also their last of the game. Torres walked but two straight strikeouts followed. Plattner hit a routine ground ball to third baseman Brenden Larson, but Larson throw was wild to first base, allowing Hodo to score. Another strikeout ended the inning.
Heiberger returned to the bottom of the 6th inning and allowed a run on a one out double and RBI single before retiring the next two men. Alabama now led 6-5. The Tide went down in order in the 7th, setting up the Gators winning rally. Heiberger walked Evans to lead off the inning and was replaced by JT Blackwood. Blackwood struck out the first man he faced, but Donay smoked a long two run home run to put the Gators in front for the first time in the game, 7-6. The next hitter walked, but a double play turned by LeBron and Staton ended the frame.
Alabama got a walk to Torres with one out and another error by Lawson to put runners on 2nd and 3rd in the top of the eighth. Plattner popped out to strand both men. Blackwood had a scoreless bottom half, giving the Tide one last chance in the top of the ninth. Bama went down quickly and lost the game 7-6.
Bama hit 6-34 in the game with four walks, one hit batter, two home runs, a double, 10 strikeouts, and left six men on base. The Tide committed two errors and turned one double play. Bonomolo was 1-3 with a home run, a walk two RBI, and two runs scored. LeBron drove in two with his home run, but was 1-5 with four strikeouts Hodo was 2-4 with a double and one run, Torres was 1-2 with an RBI and two walks. Blackwood fell to 2-2 with the loss. Fay tossed 4.2 innings, allowing four hits, no walks, four strikeouts, with only one earned run out of four given up.
The Gators hit 9-33 in the game with three walks, three hit batters, eight strikeouts, a home run, two doubles, a stolen base, and eight men left on base. Donay was 2-4 with a home run and three runs driven in. McNeillie was the winning pitcher.
A game the Tide felt like they had in hand, but the inability to come through with hits in crucial situations doomed the team. Fay seemed in control until the disastrous two out error in the fifth.
Game Two- Won 9-6
Alabama sent big right hander Riley Quick the mound and he faced off with dynamic left hander Pierce Coppola for Florida on Friday for game two. Quick is 15 months from Tommy John surgery and Coppola has been injured riddled during his Gator career. Both hurlers are very highly regarded by major league teams as the draft looms in a couple of months.
Coppola struck out the side in the top of the 1st inning on 14 pitches. Quick started in trouble. With one out Brendan Lawson coaxed a walk and stole second base. Quick struck out Ty Evans for the second out but Brody Donay stroked a single to plate Lawson for the early lead. Coppola continued his ways in the top of the 2nd, again striking out the side and only allowing one base runner via an error by Lawson at third base. Three straight hits by the Gators off of Quick in the bottom of the 2nd followed, but only one run scored when the Tide turned a double play and Quick notched a strikeout.
The Tide finally got going in the top of the 3rd frame. Garrett Staton and Brennen Norton led off the innings with singles, and both advanced 90 feet on a passed ball. After another strikeout for the 1st out, Justin LeBron hit a ball deep to center field that just missed leaving the yard. The out was a productive as the sacrifice fly scored Staton for Bama’s first run. Kade Snell lifted a single into right field to bring Norton across and tie the game at 2-2.
Quick gained his footing and had a perfect 3rd inning, and allowed only a walk in the 4th, that was erased by a double play turned by LeBron. Coppola, being on a strict pitch count, had to leave the game with two outs in the top of the 4th, but not before striking out 10 Bama batters in just 3.2 innings pitched.
Billy Barlow replaced Coppola and stayed in the game in the top of the 5th. Barlow kept the K train rolling striking out Norton to begin the inning. However he walked the next three batters on 12 pitches, loading the bases with only one out. Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan summonsed Christin Rodriguez from the bullpen. Rodriguez did his job, inducing Richie Bonomolo, Jr to hit a ground ball to Bobby Boser at shortstop. However when Boser booted the ball Bryce Fowler raced home to give the Tide a 3-2 lead. The flustered Rodriguez then hit Will Hodo with a pitch to reload the bases. Jason Torres struck out for the second out of the inning but catcher Brady Neal laced a base clearing double to increase the Bama lead to 7-2. Another strikeout ended the inning with the Tide scoring five times on only one hit while strikeouts accounted for all the outs in the inning.
Quick had a health scare in the top of the 5th that turned out to be a hand cramp. After a visit by the medical staff Quick proceeded to strike out the side allowing only a harmless single. After 84 pitches and with a 7-2 lead, Quick’s day was over, allowing six hits, two runs, with two walks, and seven strikeouts over his five innings of work.
Rodriguez was back for the Gators in the 6th, but after a one out walk to Fowler was replaced by Blaine Rowland. Rowland tossed 2.2 scoreless, hitless, innings with three strikeouts. Braylon Myers took over for Quick in the 6th, and had two perfect innings with three strikeouts. Bama closer replaced Myers to being the 8th and struck out Evans to start the inning. Donay hit an opposite field single that bounced off the third base base. Florida second baseman Blake Cyr then lined what looked like a single to right field. Norton, playing deep with the shift on, made a diving grab of the line drive in short right field and was able to leap up and double Donay off of first base to end the inning.
After being held hitless since Neal’s 5th inning double, the Tide was able to add some much needed insurance. LeBron led off with a single, stole second base, and continued to third on a throwing error by the catcher, Donay. With the infield in, a Snell ground ball was the first out. Bonomolo did his job and hit a fly by to right field that LeBron scored on for an 8-2 lead. Hodo added another when he smashed his 14th home run of the season to the opposite field and the Tide seemed ready to cruise their way to a 9-2 win.
With the nations leader in saves, Ozmer, still on the hill this one looked locked up. The Gators had other ideas and made things interesting. The first three batters reached on a walk, a single, and a hit batter. Ozmer got Blake Brookins swinging for out one, but Boser scored two runs with a double, cutting the margin to 9-4. Lawson hit a sacrifice fly to center field to plate another and move Boser to third base. Evans singled to scored Boser and make the score 9-6 and things were getting hairy. On a 3-2 pitch the slugger, Donay, hit a little foul pop that Hodo was able to corral to secure the much closer than expected game.
The Tide hit 6-34 in the game with five walks, one hit batter, reached on three Gator errors, struck out 17 times, left six men on base, while hitting one double, one home run, two sacrifice fly’s and stealing two bases. Neal’s 1-4 day with a double produced three RBI. LeBron hit 1-3 with a walk, an RBI, a stolen base, and two runs scored. Hodo drove in one with his home run and scored twice. Quick was the winner and improved to 8-2 on the season.
The Gators had 10 hits in 34 at bats, with three walks, two hit batters, 12 strikeouts, and left seven men on base. Boser was 2-5 with three RBI, while Evans and Donay had a pair of hits apiece. Barlow fell to 1-4 with the loss.
A seemingly comfortable win almost slipped away, but the Tide was able to hang on after somehow scoring nine runs on only six hits. Quick and Myers were outstanding and Bama took advantage of Gator miscues.
Game Three-Lost 9-3
After winning the teams 40th game of the season, and assuring a winning SEC record, the Tide looked to lock down a top 16 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament on Saturday’s game three. Alabama had left hander Zane Adams face off with Gator freshman star Aidan King.
In the top of the first King continued the weekend parade of strikeouts, fanning Bryce Fowler and Justin LeBron to start the game and then got a weak ground ball back to the mound from Kade Snell. Adams didn’t fair as well. Bobby Boser lined a 1-2 pitch into the Florida bullpen leading off the bottom of the 1st inning. Adams retired the next two batters bur Brody Donay destroyed an 0-2 fastball for his 15th home run of the season and a 2-0 lead. Two more runners reached base before Adams retired the side.
Alabama drew closer in the top of the 2nd. Richie Bonomolo, Jr lead off with an infield single. Will Hodo hit a perfect double play ball to Florida second baseman Blake Cyr, but Cyr threw the ball into left fielder allowing the speedy Bonomolo to race all the way home. King walked Brady Neal but struck out the side to end the inning with a 2-1 lead.
Adams allowed a walk in the second but held the Gators off the board. Fowler singled for the Tide in the 3rd and advanced to second. Snell hit a liner into centerfield that would have scored Fowler but Hayden Yost dove and made the circus catch. Another strikeout ended the frame. Ty Evans hit the third solo home run off of Adams in the bottom of the third for a 3-1 Gator lead.
Hodo singled leading off for Bama in the 4th, but a fielders choice and a double play ended the hope of drawing closer. Adams allowed back to back singles leading off the bottom of the 4th. Ashton Wilson singled and stole second, even though he was originally called out. A review overturned the call and Wilson scored on Landon Striplings single. After a ground ball out to first base advanced the runners, Adams was pulled in favor of right hander Austin Morris. Morris escaped the inning with no further runs allowed and the score 4-1.
In the top of the 5th the Tide wasted a golden opportunity, scoring only once despite having four base runners. With one out Brennen Norton reached first on an error by Boser at shortstop. Fowler ripped a double in the left center gap to plate Norton. LeBron laced a double down the left field line that probably should have scored Fowler. Fowler held up to make sure the third baseman didn’t make a diving stop and the Tide had runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out. Kade Snell was intentionally walked to load the bases. Bonomolo hit a sharp ground ball to Brandon Lawson at third base and Fowler was cut down on the force at the plate. Bama then had their best chance of the game. Hodo rifled a ball to the opposite field that Wilson caught with his back against the wall to end the inning with the score 4-2 in Floridas favor.
Things went down the tubes in the bottom of the 5th. Morris was still on the mound for the Tide. Donay led off with a walk and Cyr doubled to put runners on 2nd and 3rd base. A ground out to first scored a run. Morris then plunked Wilson with a pitch to load the bases. Alabama called freshman left hander Connor Lehman to pitch as two left hander hitters were due up. Stripling hit a ground ball to Jason Torres at third base, setting up the home to first double play. However Torres hit Donay in the back with the throw to allow him to score and putting runners on 2nd and 3rd. Lehman hit Blake Brookins with the next pitch to load the bases. Aeden Finateri was next out of the bullpen and made a good pitch to Boser that was hit for a little bloop single to score two runs. Finateri struck out the next two men to stop the carnage with the score now 9-2.
After going down in order in the 6th, the Tide tried to get something going in the top of the 7th inning. Norton led off with a double that just missed leaving the park. A deep fly ball to center field by Fowler moved Norton to third, and another deep ball to the wall in center field by LeBron scored Norton. Continuing the theme Snell was next up and hit a hard line drive right at Yost in centerfield. Bama hit their four hardest hit balls of the day and only had one hit, one sacrifice fly, and one run to show for it. Finarteri tossed a scoreless 6th, Hagan Banks a scoreless 7th, and Beau Bryans a scoreless 8th, leaving the bases loaded.
Meanwhile over the last two innings the Tide had a walk to Hodo and Norton reaching on yet another error by Lawson at third base, but never threatened to score again. The Gators secured the series with the 9-3 win, and completed their huge comeback from staring 1-11 in the SEC to finishing at 15-15. Florida did the unimaginable despite losing multiple players to injuries along the way.
Alabama hit 6-34 in the game with three walks, nine strikeouts, and left eight men on base. Fowler was 2-5 with a double and a RBI. LeBron was 1-4 with a double, sac fly, and RBI. Norton had a 1-4 game with a double and a two runs scored. Adams fell to 7-3 with the loss. Overall Bama hit 18-102 in the series for a .176 average, had 12 walks, struck out 36 times, left 20 men on base, had two hit batters, three home runs, four doubles, three stolen bases, and made four errors.
Florida finished 12-36 in the game with five walks, six strikeouts, three home runs, one double, two hit batters, left 10 men on base and committed five errors. King improved to 6-2 with the win. The Gators hit 31-103 on the weekend for a .300 average with 11 walks, seven hit batters, 26 strikeouts, 21 men left on base, four home runs, six doubles, five stolen bases, and made nine errors.
The Tide couldn’t take advantage of the chances they had in game three and lost control in the 5th inning when the Gators scored five times on only two hits.
Who Did What?
*Will Hodo 4-11, home run (14), double, three runs, walk, hit by pitch
*Justin LeBron 3-12, home run (18), four RBI, two sac fly’s, three runs, walk, stolen base
*Bryce Fowler 3-13, double, two walks, two runs, RBI, stolen base
*Brennen Norton 2-8, double, three runs
*Riley Quick W, (8), 5 IP, six hits, two walks, seven strikeouts, two runs allowed
*Braylon Myers 2 games, 2+ IP, two hits, one walk, four strikeouts, zero runs
The Tide did what the needed to do by avoiding being swept in any series all season, winning all their mid week games, and going 24-1 out of conference. Will it be enough to be chosen has a Regional Host? Metrics sure show that it should be. After game three this weekend Bama’s RPI “fell” to ninth in the country. I would venture to say that an SEC team with 40 wins overall, at least 16 SEC wins, and a top 10 RPI has never been left out of hosting one of the 16 regionals. The issue will be how many SEC teams will the committee award host spots to? Alabama is tied for 6th in the conference, but is the 9th seed in the tournament after tie breakers. The Tide may be in a battle with Tennessee and Ole Miss for seventh host from the SEC.
Bama plays 16th seeded Missouri on Tuesday in the opening game of the SEC Tournament at 9:30 a.m. CT. A win in game one would pit the Tide against Tennessee at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday on what could be a play in game. The winner of that game would face top seeded Texas on Thursday at 3 p.m. CT. I feel like Alabama has done more than enough to host, but have a distrust of committees, so lets go out and grab a couple more wins to build the resume even more.
Roll Tide
Bama Baseball Fever, Catch It
