Alabama
41-19
St. John's
36-25
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Alabama | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | X | 8 | 11 | 0 |
Tyler Fay Guides No. 7 Alabama Baseball to 8-0 Win over St. John’s on Saturday
6/7/2026 12:45:00 AM | Baseball
The Crimson Tide is now one win away from returning to Omaha for the first time since 1999
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 7 national seed Alabama baseball (41-19), led by a stellar start from Tyler Fay, sits one win away from a return trip to the Men's College World Series, as the Crimson Tide claimed an 8-0 win over St. John's (36-25) to begin the NCAA Tuscaloosa Super Regional on Saturday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The victory took place in front of a sold-out audience, as The Joe played host to a record-breaking 7,573 attendees in the Super Regional opener.
Fay (11-4) was nothing short of outstanding in his second postseason start of the 2026 NCAA Tournament, tossing 7.1 scoreless innings while having been responsible for only two hits and three walks to go with nine strikeouts. Fay began his night by striking out the side in the opening frame and followed his initial inning by stranding a leadoff double at third in the 2nd. The right-hander's only source of trouble took place in the 7th, as the first three men of the inning reached base. Even so, Fay induced a pair of flyouts and a strikeout to leave the bases full. After striking out the only man he faced in the 8th, Fay was relieved by Ashton Crowther, walking back to the dugout to an outpouring of support from the Sewell-Thomas Stadium faithful.
Crowther followed suit, as the southpaw retired five of the six batters he faced across 1.2 shutout innings to secure the win.
The Alabama lineup was paced by a variety of contributors, including Justin Lebron, who managed a 3-for-5 line with one double, two RBI, and a hit-by-pitch. Brennan Holt was 2-for-4, highlighted by a two-run double to open the scoring in the 2nd. Bryce Fowler's lone hit was also a two-run double as part of a four-run Crimson Tide 4th inning. Brady Neal and Peyton Steele both recorded bases-loaded walks, while Eric Hines contributed a double as part of his 2-for-4 evening.
From Head Coach Rob Vaughn
"Obviously, the story today is Tyler Fay. We looked up in about the fifth, and Mike Morrison looked at me and said, 'Golly, I'm glad we made that trip to Nebraska to talk to him this summer to get him back.' What a neat moment when he walked off the field. You have the crowd chanting your name, that's something you dream about. And you had 7,500 people doing that tonight, so incredible job by him. Great job by the lineup, (Brennan Holt) had a great day today, (Justin Lebron), big-time day today, some really big swings. Just all in all, a really good team win, but I told these guys afterwards, in 2014 at Maryland, I was in this spot, we won game one of the Super, and then we lost the next two at Virginia, so the job's not even close to being done. I can tell you that team sitting in the other dugout is not scared still. They're going to show up tomorrow, and they're going to be ready to fight and scratch and claw, and that's who they are. That's how they've been coached. That's the culture they have. So, as good as tonight was, at 2 o'clock, we got to make sure we're ready to go. What a cool environment tonight, too. I told our guys before the game in left field, we're meeting before the game started, and I said take a second and look around and see what you built, you know, 7,500 people rocking, fighting, and scratching, and clawing, and shirts off, and all sorts of crazy stuff, just what college baseball is all about, and those guys created a home field advantage for us tonight. We're not done and they can't be done either. We have to come out and make this thing rock again tomorrow, and I think they'll be ready for it. So, good night tonight. Now we turn our attention to a good game tomorrow, and we have to go finish this thing."
How It Happened
- B2 | John Lemm opened the inning with a single up the middle and was followed by Eric Hines, who chopped a base-hit over the third baseman's head. The ensuing throw from left field to third base allowed Hines to take second. Two batters later, Brennan Holt lined a two-run double into the corner in right. (2-0, Alabama)
- B4 | Lemm drew a walk to begin the frame, later taking second after a one-out Holt single into right. Luke Vaughn and Peyton Steele then followed with walks of their own, with the latter's forcing in Lemm. Bryce Fowler then lined a two-run double down the right field line, scoring both Vaughn and Holt. After Justin Lebron was plunked to again load the bases, Brady Neal's walk forced in another run. (6-0, Alabama)
- B8 | Vaughn led off the inning with an infield single towards the shortstop, advancing to second two batters later after Fowler was hit by a pitch. After Fowler, Lebron lined a two-run double into the right-center gap. (8-0, Alabama)
Postgame Notes
- Alabama improved to 4-6 (.400) all-time in Super Regional contests as the result of Saturday's victory
- The shutout win was Alabama's third such victory this season and its first since holding Vanderbilt without a run in a 5-0 win on May 1
- Tyler Fay has now recorded 7.0-plus innings pitched in six of his 17 outings this season
- Fay now owns 121 strikeouts this season, the second-most in a single season in program history, trailing only Wade LeBlanc's 128 strikeouts in 2006
- Fay becomes only the eighth hurler in program history to record 11 wins in a season and is the first Tide arm to do so since LeBlanc tallied 11 wins in 2006
- In two postseason starts, Fay owns a 2.08 ERA (3 ER/13.0 IP) and is responsible for only eight hits, four walks and 17 strikeouts
- Justin Lebron kept his hitting streak alive, which now sits at six games
- Lebron is 12-for-29 (.414) with four doubles, two home runs, nine RBI, one hit-by-pitch, and three stolen bases since the streak began
- Lebron also stretched his on-base streak to 14 consecutive games
- Fowler has now reached base in 11 straight games
- Brennan Holt improved his on-base streak to nine games
- Brady Neal has now reached base in six straight games and owns a five-game hitting streak
- Neal is 8-for-20 (.400) with one double, three home runs, 10 RBI, two walks and two-hit-by-pitches over his last five games
- Peyton Steele has also reached base in each of his last six games
- Attendance: 7,573 (new all-time attendance record at Sewell-Thomas Stadium)
Up Next
- Alabama will look to clinch a berth in the 2026 Men's College World Series in Omaha, Neb., when the NCAA Tuscaloosa Super Regional continues Sunday, June 7
- First pitch between the Crimson Tide and Red Storm is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT, airing on ESPN2
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Fay, Tyler (11-4)
L: Liam O'Leary (8-5)
Batting:
2B: Adam Agresti 1
Base Running:
HBP: Ayden Frey 1
Batting:
2B: Fowler, Bryce 1 ; Lebron, Justin 1 ; Hines, Eric 1 ; Holt, Brennan 1
RBI: Fowler, Bryce 2 ; Lebron, Justin 2 ; Neal, Brady 1 ; Holt, Brennan 2 ; Steele, Peyton 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Fowler, Bryce 1 ; Lemm, John 2 ; Hines, Eric 1 ; Holt, Brennan 1 ; Vaughn, Luke 2 ; Steele, Peyton 1
HBP: Fowler, Bryce 1 ; Lebron, Justin 1 ; Vaughn, Luke 1
