Brady Neal's Monster Day Powers Alabama To Sweep of Florida

A historic weekend in Tuscaloosa was capped off in perfect fashion on Sunday, as Brady Neal's seven-RBI performance pushed Alabama over Florida 14-7 in a dramatic, chippy contest that gave the Crimson Tide its first sweep of the Gators in over two decades.

After slow starts on Friday and Saturday, Florida's bats jumped all over freshman Myles Upchurch, running him out of the game after just one out. Cade Kurland walked, advanced to third on a single, and then scored after an errant pickoff attempt from the left-hander.

Upchurch then walked three consecutive batters, loading the bases and bringing in a second run on the final walk, before being pulled for Sam Mitchell. It was the first time Upchurch had truly imploded on the mound in his career, but it was bound to happen with a freshman pitcher still adjusting to SEC play.

The fortunate part for Alabama was that due to Tyler Fay's Friday night no-hitter and Zane Adams' six-inning outing on Saturday, the bullpen was as fresh as it will ever be on a Sunday. Matthew Heiberger and Hagan Banks were the only other arms used on Saturday, allowing Alabama to use five of its better arms throughout this game.

Mitchell hit one Florida batter, bringing in a third run, but got the other two outs to leave the bases loaded for the Gators. Florida would add a fourth run in the fourth inning off a sacrifice fly from Karson Bowen, and Alabama was unable to get anything going until the fifth.

It was there that Justin Lebron hit his 11th home run of the season and second of the season, a two-run blast off the scoreboard in left field. Lebron had drawn the ire of the Gators on Saturday when he dropped his bat after hitting his home run to the same exact spot in that game, and the emotion was present on both sides as he rounded the bases on Sunday.

Captain Will Plattner hit his first home run of the season in the sixth, another two-run blast to tie up the game for Alabama, to open up a stretch of tumultuous hitting for the Crimson Tide. Starting with a John Lemm single that preceded the homer, Alabama got nine batters in a row on base. The bases were loaded up for Bryce Fowler, who drove in another run, and then Lebron was plunked to load them back up with two outs.

With the chippiness at a new high, Brady Neal stepped up to the plate and blew the game open with a no-doubter to left. Everybody in the ballpark knew the ball was gone the instant he made contact, and Neal made sure to take plenty of time rounding the bases. It was a massive, emotionally-charged moment that gave Alabama a 9-4 lead.

Florida responded in the seventh with three runs to cut to the deficit to two, but the Crimson Tide picked up right where it left off in the bottom of the inning. Florida's relievers were unable to find the zone, walking in another run before giving up another RBI single to bring Justin Osterhouse home.

From there, Neal officially blew the game open with a bases-clearing three-RBI double to right field. Neal record seven RBI on the day and 11 on the weekend, putting in him prime position to receive one of the weekly SEC awards. Alabama was in control and would not allow another hit the rest of the game to secure a 14-7 victory.

After getting swept by Kentucky to start SEC play and dropping an ugly game to South Alabama in Mobile, this weekend's results seemed improbable. Florida had just three losses on the season, boasted two of the statistically best pitchers in the nation, and Alabama was playing sloppy, uninspired baseball entering Friday.

Now, the slate is wiped clean for an Alabama team that is back to .500 in SEC play entering next weekend's series against an elite Auburn squad.

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