Alabama Baseball Falls at No. 2 Florida in SEC Opener

A pitchers’ duel favored the Gators in the 3-0 shutout loss for the Crimson Tide.

Alabama Athletics

Alabama baseball suffered a 3-0 loss to second-ranked Florida on Thursday evening at Condron Family Ballpark. The 22nd-ranked Crimson Tide is now 16-3 on the season, including an 0-1 mark in Southeastern Conference play.

A pitchers' duel saw both teams combine for only four hits on the night. The two high-powered offenses were held scoreless until the sixth when a two-run home run got Florida on the board. The Gators added one more in the seventh to secure the 3-0 win.

Brandon Sproat (3-0) tossed a complete game shutout, striking out 11 while walking two and allowing one hit for the win. Alabama's arms kept pace with Sproat, first with Hagan Banks. The Tide starter tossed 3.1 scoreless frames with two punchouts. He was followed by Hunter Furtado (0-1) who was tagged with the loss. The junior worked a career-high 4.2 innings and allowed two runs on two hits and two walks with four punchouts.

How It Happened

• B6 | A two-out walk was followed by a Cade Kurland home run to put the Gators in front. (2-0, Florida)
• B7 | The UF leadoff man reached before moving to third on a wild pitch and a stolen base. The two extra bases proved beneficial as a 1-3 groundout allowed the runner from third to cross. (3-0, Florida)

Postgame Notes

• Hagan Banks tossed a career-long 3.1 innings in his start. His previous high for innings pitched was 2.0, which he had thrown two times previously and most recently at Samford on March 7.
• Hunter Furtado's 4.2 innings are a new career-high at Alabama. His previous long for an outing while with the Tide was 3.2 against Murray State on March 5 of last season.
• The 4.2 innings are a new season-long outing by a Tide reliever. The previous high was 3.0, which had been done twice and most recently by Riley Quick in game one against Columbia on March 11.
• Will Hodo has reached base safely in his last 17 games played.
• Ed Johnson finished 1-for-3 and has recorded a hit in his last six games. Over the streak, Johnson is batting .444 (8-18) with a triple, home run, seven RBI, two runs, two walks and a hit-by-pitch.
• Johnson has also reached base safely in 16 straight games dating back to Feb. 18.
• Caden Rose's reached base streak came to an end. He had reached base safely in 36 consecutive games from April 25, 2022 until this evening.
• Rose's hitting streak also came to an end at six games. Over that stretch, the junior batted .350 (7-20) with three doubles, a home run, five RBI, eight runs, five walks, two hit-by-pitch and a pair of stolen bases.

The Crimson Tide will look to even the series on Friday. Alabama will send sophomore right-hander Ben Hess to the mound with Florida calling on junior righty Hurston Waldrep. First pitch in game two is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.