Alabama Baseball Falls to No. 21 Kentucky in SEC Opener: Roll Call

Alabama baseball fell to No. 21 Kentucky 7-4 on the road in the SEC opener on Friday evening. The loss snaps the Crimson Tide's six-game winning streak

Justin Lebron hit his ninth home run of the season in his first turn at the plate, a solo homer that gave the Tide the initial lead. Lebron finished the night 2-for-5 with one RBI. UA's other tallies on the scoreboard were courtesy of John Lemm, who was 1-for-4 with a three-run home run.

Tyler Fay (3-2) made his fifth start of the spring on Friday and battled for 7.0 innings. He was responsible for eight hits, seven runs (six earned) and one walk while collecting eight strikeouts.

"There isn't such a thing as a moral victory," Alabama head coach Rob Vaughn said. "At the end of the day, we got beat tonight and we weren't good enough. But it's the first time this year I've seen us get down big and things not be going our way and crawl our way back into it. It's the first time we've done that this year. Those games when we've been behind, we hadn't even made it interesting up to this point.

"We were down 7-1 and they had to put their closer in the game. (Jaxon) Jelkin was elite. That was elite, elite stuff tonight. We had tough at-bats, we grinded him out, we gave ourselves a chance, we just weren't good enough early in the game. Credit Tyler (Fay), he got better as he went. The fact that we didn't have to go get him early in the game is going to pay dividends for the rest of the weekend.

"I liked the fight, the way we kept coming, that's the mentality I've been waiting to see. The challenge is now can we come out do the same tomorrow and play a more complete game."

Countdown to Alabama Football's 2026 Season Opener

175 days (Sept. 5 vs. East Carolina at Bryant-Denny Stadium)

Roll Call: Saturday, March 14, 2026

Former Alabama defensive lineman signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Chargers. This will be the fifth team for the 9-year veterans career, as the 55th overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft has played for the New York Giants, Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals.

The #Chargers have signed massive DL Dalvin Tomlinson, per his agents @_SportsTrust. He gets a 1-year, $7.5M deal with $6M fully guaranteed. pic.twitter.com/j4xqtnVEPw
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 13, 2026

Like Tomlinson, another Crimson Tide defensive line product Da'Shawn Hand went on the move on Friday, as he signed a one-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons. This is also his fifth team in eight years, as the 114th overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft played for the Detroit Lions, Tennessee Titans, Miami Dolphins and the Chargers.

The #Falcons have agreed to terms with DL Da’Shawn Hand on a one-year, $3 million deal, per The Insiders.

The eight-year veteran heads to Atlanta on a deal negotiated by his agent Sean Kiernan of @AthletesFirst. pic.twitter.com/hfujSBmJAb
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 13, 2026

Former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa agreed to a deal with the Atlanta Falcons on Monday, and he officially signed the papers on Friday. The 28-year-old has played three games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, two of which were at Alabama and the other with the Dolphins. He is one of five Crimson Tide products on the Falcons, joining the aforementioned Da'Shawn Hand, linebacker Christian Harris, who also signed with Atanta this offseason, safety DeMarcco Hellams and inside linebacker Ronnie Harrison.

Officially signed ✍️ pic.twitter.com/vHWaV2ayAk
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) March 13, 2026

Friday's Alabama Crimson Tide Results:

Track and field at NCAA Indoor Championships: 60m Hurdles - 13th: Katelyn Adel | 8.82 – 948 points; 16th: Miracle Ailes | 10.68 – 590 points; High Jump - 2nd: Ailes | 1.81m (5-11.25) – 991 points, DNF: Adel; Shot Put - 6th: Ailes | 12.13m (39-9.75), PR – 670 points; Long Jump - 10th: Ailes | 5.92m (19-5.25) – 825 points; 800m - DNF: Ailes; 400m 2nd: Samuel Ogazi | men's | 45.00, q; 5,000m - 2nd: Doris Lemngole | women's | 15:03.42, 9th: Caren Kiplagat | women's | 15:22.24, 12th: Dismus Lokira | men's | 13:53.22; Long Jump - 9th: Caelyn Harris | women's | 6.32m (20-9)

Men's tennis: Alabama 4, Kentucky 3

Women's tennis: Alabama 4, Missouri 0

Baseball: Kentucky 7, Alabama 4

Softball: Alabama 4, Arkansas 1

Men's basketball at SEC Tournament quarterfinal: Ole Miss 80, Alabama 79

Gymnastics: Georgia 197.525, Alabama 197.425

Saturday's Alabama Crimson Tide Schedule:

Track and field at NCAA Indoor Championships, Fayetteville, Arkansas, All day, ESPN+

Rowing (Season Opener) at Cardinal Invite, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 9:20 a.m. CT, Live Stats

Baseball at Kentucky, Lexington, 1 p.m., SEC Network+

Softball vs. Arkansas, Tuscaloosa, 6 p.m., SEC Network+

This Date in Alabama Crimson Tide History:

March 14, 1942: Former Alabama football player and Vanderbilt assistant coach Paul W. Bear Bryant was commissioned in the United States Navy as a second lieutenant. Bryant served as athletic director in the physical program of the Bureau of Aeronautics. – Bryant Museum

Alabama Crimson Tide Quote of the Day:

"All I know is, I don't want to stop coaching, and I don't want to stop winning, so we're gonna break the record unless I die."

— Paul W. “Bear” Bryant, when asked if he would break Alonzo Stagg’s record of 314 college wins.

We'll Leave You With This...

Jocelyn Briski was sensational in @AlabamaSB's 4-1 win over Arkansas, striking out 14 and allowing just three hits.

Postgame, she told @justfactsmaam how the outing sets the Tide up for the rest of the series. pic.twitter.com/mhOK5IRDu8
— D1Softball (@D1Softball) March 14, 2026

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