Alabama baseball entered the final weekend of the regular season in Gainesville looking to lock up a host spot in the NCAA Tournament. Most experts believed a series win over Florida would lock that up for the Crimson Tide on the heels of a series win in Tuscaloosa last weekend against a Top 10-ranked Georgia.
Instead, the Tide blew a lead in the first game of the series that ultimately proved costly. They bounced back with a game two win, but were largely non-competitive in Saturday's rubber match.
In the opening game on Thursday, Alabama jumped out to a 5-0 lead on the strength of home runs by Richie Bonomolo Jr. and Justin Lebron.
Tyler Fay threw four shutout innings, but ran into trouble in the fifth. The Gators rallied for four runs in the fifth to cut Alabama's lead to a single run. The Tide added an insurance run on an error in the sixth, but the Gators cut it back to a run before a two-run homer by Brody Donay put Florida ahead 7-6.
After a strong offensive start, the Tide's bats struggled on Thursday. From the fourth inning on, Alabama managed just a single hit as Florida closed the gap and ultimately took the lead.
The script flipped in game two. Florida scored two runs in the first two innings, but Riley Quick battled and held them to just two through five. Alabama scored nine unanswered runs from there, highlighted by a five-run fifth inning sparked by a three-run double by Brady Neal.
Florida rallied for four runs in the ninth off of Carson Ozmer, but Alabama held on to a 9-6 win to tie the series.
Game three was all Florida. Alabama managed just three runs on six hits, and the Gators racked up nine runs on 12 hits. Zane Adams couldn't get out of the fourth inning, and both Austin Morris and Connor Lehman gave up two earned runs each.
Alabama still has a good case to host a regional
Saturday's loss was disappointing, but not earth-shattering. A win likely would have clinched a hosting spot for the Tide, but Rob Vaughn and his team still have a good case to host.
Alabama finished the regular season at 40-15 and 16-14 in the best conference in the country. A win on Saturday might have rendered next week in Hoover meaningless. Now, the Tide might need a win to clinch.
The SEC Tournament gets started on Tuesday in Hoover. The bracket is still to be determined.