Brody Donay belted a go-ahead, two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, as
Florida baseball rallied from down five runs to beat Alabama 7-6 on Thursday night at Condron Family Ballpark. The win came at a price though as the No. 21
Florida Gators (36-18, 14-14 SEC) lost two starting position players during the game to hand injuries. Catcher Luke Heyman left the game after getting hit by a pitch in the hand in the top of the first and second baseman Justin Nadeau suffered a hand injury that forced him out of the game when he started a double play in the fourth inning. No. 16 Alabama (39-14, 15-13 SEC) took an early 5-0 lead, scoring two runs in the top of the first on a two-run homer by center fielder Richie Bonomolo Jr. and three more in the third inning on a two-run homer by shortstop Justin Lebron and RBI single by Jason Torres. Florida started its comeback in the bottom of the fourth when first baseman Landron Stripling scored from third in the bottom of the fourth, cutting Alabama’s lead to 5-1. The Gators then tacked on three more runs with two outs in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single by Stripling, RBI double by Ty Evans and RBI infield single by Donay. The Tide went up 6-4 in the sixth inning when first baseman Will Hodo scored on an error, but Florida answered with a run in the bottom of the sixth on a Bobby Boser RBI single. Sophomore righty Luke McNeillie (5-2) allowed no earned runs in two innings of relief to earn the win for UF. Jake Clemente pitched the final two scoreless innings to earn his seventh save of the season.
Florida baseball vs Alabama live updates
Brody Donay belts a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to give Florida baseball its first lead of the night, 7-6, going into the top of the ninth. Donay belted an 0-1 fastball from Alabama reliever J.T. Blackwood over the right field fence for his team-high 15th homer of the season. Righty Jake Clemente is now on to try to save the game for UF.
Florida answers with a run in the sixth inning as Blake Brookings belts a one-out double and scores on an RBI single by Bobby Boser. But Boser, who stole second later in the inning, is left stranded when Landon Stripling grounds out to the pitcher to end the inning. Alabama 6, Florida 5 end 6th.
Alabama gets a run back in the top of the sixth due to some shoddy Florida fielding. First baseman Will Hodo leads off the inning with a double on a ball lost in the twilight by shortstop Bobby Boser and left fielder Blake Brookings. Hodo scores with two outs in the sixth on a throwing error by Florida third baseman Brendan Lawson. Alabama 6, Florida 4 mid 6th.
Florida rallied for three runs with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut Alabama's lead to 5-4 entering the top of the fourth. After Bobby Boser reached out on an Alabama error, Brendan Lawson followed with a single, moving Boser to third base. Boser scored on an RBI single by Landon Stripling, then Lawson scored on an RBI double by Ty Evans, cutting Alabama's lead to 5-3, Brody Donay then cut Alabama's lead to 5-4 with an RBI infield single with the bases loaded. With the bags still full, Hayden Yost struck out to end the inning. Alabama 5, Florida 4 end 5th.
Florida baseball gets on the board in the fourth inning as Landon Stripling is hit by a pitch to lead off the innings, moved to second on a single by Ty Evans, to third on a sac fly to center by Blake Cyr and scored on a wild pitch. Cyr was left stranded in scoring position after Brody Donay struck out and Hayden Yost popped out to shortstop to end the inning. Alabama 5, Florida 1, top 5.
Another injury blow for Gators, second baseman Justin Nadeau is leaving the game with a hand injury after starting a 4-6-3 double play in the fourth inning, Blake Cyr is moving in from left field to play second base for Gators, with Blake Brookings playing left field for UF.
Alabama extends its lead to 5-0 in the top of the third, sending eight batters to the plate and scoring three runs on a two-run homer by shortstop Justin Lebron and RBI single by Jason Torres. Alabama 5, Florida 0 end 3.
Catcher Luke Heyman leaves the game after being hit by a pitch on his hand with two outs in the top of the first inning. Landon Stripling enters to run at first base for Heyman. Stripling will likely come in to play first base, while Brody Donay will move from first base to catch. It's a tough injury blow to UF, as Heyman is batting .301 with 13 home runs and 44 RBIs and has been excellent defensively behind the plate.
Alabama takes an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first when center fielder Richie Bonomolo Jr. belted a two-run homer onto the berm in left field on a 2-1 pitch from Florida starter Liam Peterson, who stuck out two but gave up two hits in the first inning. Alabama 2, Florida 0 mid 1st.
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