Alabama Takes Pivotal Series Opener In Bid to Host

Columbia, S.C. — The No. 19 Alabama Crimson Tide (33-17, 14-11) takes down South Carolina 8-3 to nab a big win in the Tide's quest to host a regional for the first time since 2023.

Alabama starter Tyler Fay earned the win after turning in a spectacular seven innings of two-hit baseball while piling on ten strikeouts.

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The Crimson Tide got the scoring started at the top of the second, all with two outs.

Luke Vaughn got it started with a solo shot to left, giving Alabama a quick 1-0 advantage. A pair of walks courtesy of Peyton Steele and Brennan Holt put two runners on for Justin Lebron, who capitalized, ripping a three-run blast to the left field seats as Alabama secured a 4-0 lead.

The middle innings proved to be quiet, with the lone run crossing in the bottom of the fourth for South Carolina via an RBI single to cut the Alabama lead to 4-1.

The Crimson Tide turned the scoring back on in the seventh, courtesy of a Bryce Fowler RBI groundout to give Alabama a 5-1 lead.

However, the biggest story of the inning was the injury to Justin Lebron.

Justin Lebron exited the contest after a collision with Gamecock first baseman Will Craddock.

An errant throw forced Craddock to attempt to tag Lebron, resulting in Lebron's head slamming into Craddock's glove. Lebron immediately went to the ground, and the Crimson Tide coaching and training staff went to check on the junior.

Lebron initially remained in the game, reaching third on a Brady Neal single, but was replaced by Jojo Williamson.

Rob Vaughn stated postgame that he did not know Lebron's status yet.

*Follow along with Tide 100.9 throughout the night for updates regarding Lebron's status*

The Crimson punched back with the dagger the following inning, tacking on three runs in large part to Vaughn's second homerun of the game, this time a two-run shot.

The Gamecocks pulled two back in the bottom of the frame on a pair of wild pitches, but it was not enough for South Carolina as Alabama took the opener 8-3.

The Crimson Tide will look to clinch the series win tomorrow at noon CT.

For more Alabama Baseball, Basketball, and Football content from Simon Besnoy, follow him on Twitter at @SimonBesnoy and stay tuned to Tide1009.com for daily news.