GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 18 Alabama baseball led 5-0 entering the fourth, though No. 23 Florida plated seven of the game’s last eight runs, as the Crimson Tide was defeated 7-6 on Thursday at Condron Family Ballpark. The loss drops Alabama to 39-14 overall and 15-13 in Southeastern Conference play.

A pair of home runs helped the Tide to jump out to an early advantage, including Richie Bonomolo Jr.’s first-inning blast. Bonomolo Jr. finished 1-for-3, including his two-run home run and a walk. Justin Lebron also homered as part of his 1-for-5 evening, as the sophomore slugged a two-run homer in the third. Will Hodo was the lone Tide player to produce multiple hits, finishing 2-for-4 with a double. Jason Torres contributed an RBI single, while Bryce Fowler also managed a base-hit.

Tyler Fay made his sixth start of the spring on Thursday and was efficient in the tough road environment. The redshirt sophomore tossed three scoreless innings to open the game before allowing a run in the fourth. In the fifth, Fay saw a two-out error extend the inning, leading to three unearned runs. Fay struck out four while surrendering just four hits across his 4.2 innings pitched. Matthew Heiberger was responsible for two earned runs over his 1.1 innings, with JT Blackwood (2-2) taking the loss after allowing the go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh.

From Associate Head Coach Jason Jackson

“A tight ballgame that we obviously came up on the short end of. Both teams made some mistakes, but they did little better job capitalizing. We had some really good AB’s early and a couple of big home runs. Tyler (Fay) gave us a solid start but couldn’t quite get us off the field in the fifth and ended up giving up three two-out runs. A couple of free passes hurt us and then obviously the homer by (Brody) Donay in the seventh. Their bullpen did a great job in those last four innings. We need to be cleaner and execute better tomorrow. This group has been great at responding.”

How It Happened

• T1 I After Bryce Fowler led off the game with a single to right, Richie Bonomolo Jr. lifted a two-out, two-run home run to left. (2-0, Alabama)
• T3 I Will Plattner drew a four-pitch walk to begin the frame, and two batters later, Justin Lebron slugged a two-run homer to left-center. The Tide then sparked a two-out rally, as Bonomolo Jr. walked, Will Hodo singled, and Torres drove in Bonomolo Jr. with a hard single through the left side. (5-0, Alabama)
•  B4 I The Gators put two men on to start the inning, while a flyout to center advanced a runner to third. A wild pitch eventually allowed the runner to score. (5-1, Alabama)
•  B5 I A two-out Alabama error opened the flood gates for the Florida lineup. Four consecutive hits followed the misplay in the infield, leading to three runs. (5-4, Alabama)
• T6 I Hodo dropped a bloop double into shallow left before Torres followed with a walk. With two outs, Plattner dribbled a grounder to third as the errant throw to first allowed Hodo to score. (6-4, Alabama)
• B6 I Florida produced a one-out double, with the next batter driving him in with an RBI single. (6-5, Alabama)
• B7 I A leadoff walk later scored after a two-run home run. (7-6, Florida)

Postgame Notes

• With two more RBI on Thursday, Justin Lebron now owns 67 RBI in 2025, placing him one RBI shy of tying G.W. Keller for the most RBI in a season by a sophomore in program history
• Lebron also sits two RBI shy of matching the most RBI by a shortstop in program history, as he chases Josh Rutledge’s program record of 69
• Thursday stands as Lebron’s 17^th multi-RBI game of the season
• Richie Bonomolo Jr. extended his on-base streak to 16 games
• Jason Torres improved his on-base streak to 14 games
• Bryce Fowler has now reached base in six consecutive games
• Kade Snell’s 14-game on-base streak was snapped on Thursday
• ATTENDANCE: 5,881

­­Up Next

• Alabama will continue its series against Florida on Friday, May 16
• First pitch between the Crimson Tide and Gators is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT, airing on SEC Network+