TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Tyler Fay pitched the Alabama baseball program’s first nine-inning solo no-hitter in 84 years Friday night, striking out 13 batters in a 6-0 victory over Florida in a Southeastern Conference matchup at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
Fay retired the last 10 batters, getting Brendan Lawson to fly out to left to end it. Fay, who had never pitched more than seven innings in college, threw a career-high 132 pitches, 85 for strikes, in the hard-earned complete game.
The redshirt junior from Doniphan, Nebraska, issued a walk in the second inning and another in the sixth against the Gators, who are ranked as high as No. 17 in the national polls. Fay came into the season as Alabama’s No. 1 starter and entered the game with a 3-2 record and a 5.43 ERA this season.
“Just a special night for Tyler and his family, just incredible,” Alabama coach Rob Vaughn said in a team release. “It came on the heels at a time where, I’ll just call what it is, we really needed it. Just a masterful effort, just completely smothered the strike zone, mixed pitches.
“… I mean, it’s why you come back. He had a chance to go sign and move into pro ball, but you come back for nights like tonight because you don’t get these memories. Like, throw everything else out the window, the money he’s going to make this year, all that, throw all that out. These memories are what makes college baseball so special.”