Florida Baseball No-Hit in Series-Opening Loss to Alabama

Entering the ninth inning, Alabama pitcher Tyler Fay sat three outs away from pitching a no-hitter. 

“Bring it on home,” fans yelled during a spirited singalong to “Dixieland Delight.” 

First to face Fay was pinch-hitter Jacob Kendall, who struck out swinging. Looking for any spark, UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan sent AJ Malzone up next, but he also went down on strikes. No Alabama fan remained seated.

Brendan Lawson took one last crack at Fay but lined out to left, and Fay completed the ninth no-hitter in Alabama history for a 6-0 win. 

“He was outstanding,” O’Sullivan said. “I’ve been in this league for 19 years, I’ve seen great pitching … he mixed his pitches, never really gave us much to work with.”

Alabama entered the game having lost four straight for the first time in coach Rob Vaughn’s three-year tenure, and the Tide knew it had to start strong against Florida ace Liam Peterson.

Peterson gave up two runs in the second inning, and with two outs and runners on first and second, Justin Lebron stepped to the plate, leading the Tide in nearly every statistical category. On the second pitch of the at-bat, Lebron grounded out to first to end the inning. Peterson walked back to the dugout with his head down, adjusting his hat and walking with heavy steps. 

The struggles continued in the fourth. Alabama seemed to have all the answers to Peterson’s pitches. Despite giving up six runs and nine hits, O’Sullivan left his ace in for the fifth. 

That would be the final action for Peterson after he pitched a clean fifth inning.

“I thought we pitched okay and we pitched okay out of the bullpen,” O’Sullivan said. “The game comes down to their starting pitcher, and there’s not much you can do about it … we just have to regroup and get ready to play tomorrow.”

With all the questions entering SEC play about the bullpen, the early struggles are coming from a lack of scoring. Excluding Florida’s run-rule win against South Carolina last Sunday, the Gators have only scored a combined four runs in their other three SEC games.

While Peterson entered the game trying to repeat his stellar performance last weekend against South Carolina, Fay tried to forget his. Through seven innings against Kentucky, Fay gave up eight hits and seven runs in a loss but bounced back tonight. He recorded 13 strikeouts and two walks on 132 pitches. 

In the fourth, Ethan Surowiec charged a bunt down the third-base line with a runner on third and two outs. Brady Neal beat the throw to first, and another run scored, putting Alabama up 6-0 and capping off a four-run inning.

Florida committed two errors in the game, and the combination of a perfectly placed bunt and its infield being a step behind all night allowed the Tide to collect 10 total hits.

“I’m disappointed in the defense,” O’Sullivan said. “What else can you do but keep working on it?”

In the top of the sixth, a hitless Florida team managed to get a runner on base when Kyle Jones walked. Lawson, the team’s leading hitter, stepped up looking to spark a comeback. The ball fizzed off Lawson’s bat, hanging in the air before hitting the glove of first baseman Luke Vaughn five feet from Florida’s bench — a moment that summed up the game for Florida offensively.

Florida returns to action Saturday with Aidan King taking the mound. King (3-1) has yet to give up a run in 21 1/3 innings. 

Pitching for the Tide is left-hander Zane Adams (3-1). Adams enters the game with a 4.38 ERA after his struggles against Kentucky, giving up six hits and five runs. Adams will look to copy Fay’s performance and bounce back against Florida. The game can be viewed on SEC Network+.

“We got Aidan King on the mound, he’s pretty darn good,” O’Sullivan said. “I think we’ve got one of the best bullpens in the league … it’s still just one loss in the loss column.”

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