This Alabama baseball season had been disappointing heading into this weekend's series against Florida. The Crimson Tide was riding a four-game losing streak after getting swept in the SEC series opener against Kentucky, followed by a disheartening loss to South Alabama in a mid-week matchup.
There was little optimism, even playing at The Joe, that Alabama would be able to win a series against the No. 18-ranked Gators.
Not only did Alabama win the series, but it went ahead and swept Florida to resurrect some optimism that Rob Vaughn's team might have a chance at a push in SEC play that gets them into the NCAA Tournament.
An improbable weekend started with an improbable no-hitter by Friday starter Tyler Fay. He tossed a 132-pitch no-hitter, the first solo, 9-inning no-hitter for an Alabama pitcher in 84 years. He entered the contest sporting an ERA north of five.
Alabama won the series on Saturday thanks to a Justin Lebron homer and a gem of a start by Zane Adams, who threw six quality innings to help the Crimson Tide win 8-4.
A tight game on Sunday turned into a bludegoning thanks to some late-inning firepower by the Crimson Tide. Florida put up three runs on freshman Myles Upchurch in the first inning, causing Vaughn to pull him before the inning ended.
Trailing 4-0 in the 5th inning, Alabama's dormant offense came to life thanks to a two-run homer by Lebron to cut the lead in half. Alabama then popped off for seven runs in the sixth inning to take the lead for good. That was sparked by a massive Florida mistake.
Alabama made Florida pay for plunking Justin Lebron
Lebron got underneath the skin of Florida during Saturday's game due to a bit of a pimp job on his homerun.
An erratic Florida pitcher, who had already walked in the go-ahead run to give Alabama a 5-4 lead, decided to - seemingly - throw at Lebron intentionally with the count already at 3-1.
Tempers flared, both benches were warned, and then Brady Neal took matters into his own hands.
The Alabama right fielder cranked a grand-slam on the very next pitch to push Alabama's lead to 9-4:
Alabama's Justin Lebron was not happy with this hit by pitch. His teammate Brady Neal hit a grand slam on the next pitch
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) March 22, 2026
Florida third baseman Sam Miller was ejected while jawing with Lebron during the home run trot
(h/t @11point7) pic.twitter.com/WNjxbXQKzb
Florida rallied to cut the lead to 9-7, but Alabama tacked on an additional five runs in the bottom of the 7th inning, thanks again to Neal, who hit a bases-clearing double to push the Crimson Tide's lead to 14-7.
Alabama's sweep of Florida is the first sign of momentum for the Crimson Tide this year. It moves them to 18-7 on the season and could be the spark that carries them forward.
After a mid-week matchup against Austin Peay, Alabama will get a fast opportunity to see if the momentum is real with a home series against rival Auburn in Tuscaloosa next weekend.