HOOVER, AL — The Florida Gators used a relentless offensive attack and stellar starting pitching to defeat the Alabama Crimson Tide 13-3 in eight innings on Thursday afternoon at the Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament.
Played at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in 82-degree, partly cloudy weather with a 4 mph south-southwest wind, the contest began at 3:32 p.m. and lasted three hours and five minutes in front of an announced attendance of 11,146.
After three scoreless innings, Florida’s offense erupted in the top of the fourth. Brendan Lawson blasted a solo home run to right-center field to open the scoring. Ethan Surowiec followed shortly after with a solo shot to left field to make it 2-0. The Gators broke the game open with a five-run fifth inning, highlighted by an RBI double from Hayden Yost, an RBI single by Kyle Jones, and a two-run triple from Blake Cyr. A fielding error allowed Surowiec to reach base and brought Cyr home to cap the fifth-inning damage. Florida added four runs in the seventh on a two-run double by Surowiec, an RBI double by Caden McDonald, and a sacrifice fly from Karson Bowen. McDonald concluded Florida’s scoring with a two-run double in the eighth.
Alabama got on the board in the bottom of the fifth when Brady Neal lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to score Peyton Steele. Neal struck again in the seventh inning with a two-run home run to right field, scoring Bryce Fowler, to account for the remainder of the Crimson Tide’s runs.
Surowiec paced the Gators at the plate, going 4-for-5 with a home run, a double, and three RBIs. McDonald also drove in three runs on a pair of doubles. Lawson’s fourth-inning home run gave Florida a lead they never relinquished, serving as the decisive hit, as a game-winning hit was not officially listed in the final box score. Neal led Alabama offensively, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a home run.
Florida starting pitcher Liam Peterson (3-5) earned the win, stifling the Crimson Tide over five innings. He allowed one earned run on seven hits while striking out eight batters and walking none. Alabama starter Tyler Fay (9-4) took the loss, surrendering five earned runs on six hits over 4 2/3 innings with five strikeouts. No save was recorded by either team, as no pitcher earned one.
“Just a great game by us today,” Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “Obviously, we’re swinging the bats as well as we have all year long.”
Alabama head coach Rob Vaughn tipped his cap to Peterson. “Just kind of ran into a buzz saw a little bit,” Vaughn noted. “Liam was the Big Leaguer that I knew he was.”
With the victory, Florida improves to 39-18 and advances to the tournament semifinals to face Georgia on Saturday, May 23, at noon CT. Alabama falls to 37-19 and is eliminated from the SEC Tournament, returning to Tuscaloosa to await their NCAA Regional fate next week.
This was created with AI assistance using content provided by the SEC, and edited for content and accuracy by the webmaster.
