Justin Lebron "Okay" After Scary Collision Vs. South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. - During the seventh inning of Alabama's 8-3 victory over South Carolina on Friday afternoon, star shortstop Justin Lebron, the fifth-overall prospect in the upcoming MLB draft, collided with South Carolina first baseman Will Craddock, remaining down on the ground for an extended period of time after the collision.

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Lebron returned to the contest after the hit, advancing to third base on a Brady Neal single, but was pulled by head coach Rob Vaughn shortly after reaching third, and did not return. Sophomore Jojo Williamson took his place, notching a single in the eighth inning.

After his departure, Lebron left the field with Alabama's medical staff, but returned to the Crimson Tide dugout in the ninth inning. He did not return to the game, but was not needed as Alabama scored three runs in the eighth inning to give the Tide enough cushion against the Gamecocks.

Sources tell Tide 100.9 after the game that Lebron looked fine in the postgame handshake line and with the team afterward for a celebration, but did not discuss his status for tomorrow's game against the Gamecocks, where Alabama will try to secure its fifth series victory this season, and its 15th victory in conference play.

Head coach Rob Vaughn said after the game, "Credit to Bron, he's busting his tail down the line, like he always does, and the third baseman kind of takes his time, takes his time, and then just kind of airmails it up the line. It's kind of arriving at the same time; it was just a nasty little collision.

"We were over there, he felt fine, kind of rung his bell a little bit, but felt okay," Vaughn continued with Roger Hoover of the Crimson Tide Sports Network after the game. "Obviously, with the way these rules work, you need to be really smart when it's a concussion, checking for concussions or anything head or neck, just checking him out. So, we were able to get him out, and I haven't even gotten with (Alabama baseball athletic trainer) Sean [Stryker] to try and figure out what his status is, but I'll find that out shortly."

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.