Comeback Effort Falls Short in Baseball’s 6-4 Loss to No. 9 Florida

Friday, March 18

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

6 p.m.

Alabama

12-7, 0-1

Florida

14-4, 1-0

Florida

Alabama

Comeback Effort Falls Short in Baseball’s 6-4 Loss to No. 9 Florida

3/18/2022 10:05:00 PM | Baseball

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The Crimson Tide rallied for three runs in the ninth but could not get any closer

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball's comeback effort fell short in a 6-4 loss to ninth-ranked Florida on Friday evening at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide is now 12-7 overall and 0-1 in Southeastern Conference play.

Alabama began the ninth trailing by five but would not go quietly. A leadoff single and a hit-by-pitch put two on. After Florida got the first out of the inning, the Tide loaded them up on a single from pinch-hitter Will Hodo. With the bases full, Owen Diodati delivered an RBI-single to second with the Gator defender making an error on the play. The miscue allowed everyone to move up 90 feet, including one more run that cut the lead down to three. A hit-by-pitch loaded them up again for Bryce Eblin with a fielder's choice crossing one more. The Tide rally was halted in the next at-bat as a double play ended the game at 6-4.

Florida put the Tide in an early hole with a four-run second. The Gators added one more in the third and seventh to make it a 6-0 ballgame. A solo home run from Andrew Pinckney got the Tide on the board in the eighth before the late rally from UA. Alabama's offense was limited for 8.0 innings by Hunter Barco (4-1). The sophomore allowed one run on four hits and struck out 10 in the winning effort. Blake Purnell picked up the save, recording the final two outs of the game, while Tide starter Garrett McMillan (2-1) suffered the loss.

From Head Coach Brad Bohannon

"Obviously, this was a tough loss tonight. I am proud of the fight that we showed late. I thought that their starter (Hunter Barco) was outstanding. He is going to be a high draft pick and one of the best guys that we are going to see this year. We tell the kids all the time that you can lose the game in the first inning or the fifth just as easily as you can in the ninth, and when you are playing a team like Florida you can't give up those crooked numbers, especially as early as we did."

How It Happened

T2 | The Gators started the frame with back-to-back singles before a sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position. A two-run single in the next at-bat got UF on the board. Then, with two down, Jud Fabian tacked on a pair with a home run. (4-0, Florida)
T3 | A leadoff home run by BT Riopelle added to the Gator lead. (5-0, Florida)
T7 | Florida widened the gap with one more run. A leadoff walk would eventually come around to score on a fielding error later in the frame. (6-0, Florida)
B8 | Andrew Pinckney homered to straightaway center to get the Crimson Tide on the board. (6-1, Florida)
B9 | The Crimson Tide loaded the bases with one down. An infield single from Owen Diodati brought in one with a Florida error on the play allowing another run to cross. A hit-by-pitch for Pinckney loaded them up again before a fielder's choice from Bryce Eblin brought in the inning's third run. (6-4, Florida)

Postgame Notes

Garrett McMillan struck out seven in tonight's start to tie the Alabama single-game high and his own season-high mark. The Tide has had five seven-strikeout performances this season, most recently from Grayson Hitt on March 13 against Binghamton.
Zane Denton's 1-for-4 effort extended his hitting streak to six games. Over that stretch, the junior is batting .500 (11-22) with a double, four home runs, nine RBI, eight runs scored and six walks.
With his 1-for-5 evening, Jim Jarvis has recorded a hit in 10 straight games. Over the streak, the junior is batting .357 (15-42) with a double, two triples, one home run, an RBI, nine runs scored, three walks, one hit-by-pitch and three stolen bases.
Jarvis has also reached base safely in 11 straight SEC games dating back to May 2 of last season against Missouri.
Dominic Tamez' hit streak ended at seven games. Over that stretch, the junior batted .423 (11-26) with a double, four RBI, two runs scored and three walks.
ATTEDANCE: 2,774

Alabama and Florida will meet for game two of the series on Saturday evening at The Joe. The Crimson Tide calls on junior left-hander Antoine Jean while the Gators counter with sophomore righty Brandon Sproat. Game two is set for a 6 p.m. CT start with the contest airing live on the SEC Network+.

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