Tyler Fay Throws First Alabama No-Hitter In 84 Years

Where were you on Friday, March 20, 2026 at 8:40 p.m. CT?

That question may seem irrelevant to some, but the 3,610 fans at Sewell-Thomas Stadium will be able to answer it for the rest of their lives. That is because they all bore witness to a historic moment, as Tyler Fay became the first Alabama pitcher to throw a nine-inning no-hitter since 1942.

Fay was magnificent on the mound, striking out 13 batters and throwing 132 pitches, nearly 40 above his previous career-high, to lead Alabama to a 6-0 win over Florida. It's the Crimson Tide's first SEC win of the year, and it comes against a Gators' team that was 19-3 and ranked No. 18 in the D1Baseball poll.

Fay was coming off a shaky performance the week before, where he allowed a season-high six earned runs in a loss to Kentucky. With Alabama at risk of its first five-game losing streak of the Rob Vaughn era, he calmly took the mound and retired the side in the first inning to get his gem started.

The second inning certainly did not give any signs of what was to come, as Fay walked a batter and allowed a runner to second off an errant pickoff attempt. How was anyone supposed to know that would be the only time Florida reached scoring position?

Fay struck out five batters over the next two frames as the bats came to life, putting Alabama ahead 6-0. All of a sudden, the right-hander had put together a great start to the game and had run support, a luxury not always afforded to Alabama's pitchers this season.

Fay retired the side again in the fifth, before walking his second batter in the sixth. It hardly mattered as the next man up fouled out to end the frame. The seventh and eighth brought four more strikeouts, as nobody even came close to solid contact in those innings. As Jason Torres struck out to end the eighth, Fay took the mound for the final time, three outs away from history.

First up was the nine-hole batter, Jacob Kendall. After throwing ball one, Fay struck him out in four pitches. Fay did the same to pinch-hitter AJ Malzone, cutting him down for the second out.

Up to the plate came Brendan Lawson. The shortstop has been one of the best hitters in baseball this year, entering the game with a 1.599 OPS. He had not made any significant contact in his first three at-bats, but here he stood, facing an exhausted Fay for the fourth time of the night with an opportunity to spare his team the embarrasment of getting no-hit.

Fay got the first two strikes, and there he was, one pitch away from glory. It’s impossible to know what was going through his mind as he delivered the third pitch of the at-bat.

Lawson made contact, slapping a line drive to left field.

Justin Osterhouse was waiting.

The entire team mobbed him at the mound as Sewell-Thomas Stadium erupted. Twenty-three batters came up to face Fay. Not one recorded a hit.

Alabama baseball has underwhelmed to start the season. The team still sits at 1-3 in SEC play. The bullpen has struggled. Runners have been left on base at an alarming rate. Costly errors are committed on a near-daily basis. There are legitimate concerns about how this season will unfold.

But for three hours on Friday, none of that mattered.

For one night, Alabama had history.

This story will be updated with quotes.