HOOVER, AL — The Florida Gators secured an 8-3 victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores on Wednesday afternoon at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. Played in 86-degree, partly cloudy weather with a 7 mph south-southwest wind, the 3-hour and 3-minute contest drew an attendance of 8,352 fans.
Florida’s offense jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first inning. Brendan Lawson ripped an RBI double to right center to score Kyle Jones, and Ethan Surowiec followed with an RBI groundout that brought Lawson home. In the second inning, Hayden Yost extended the lead to 3-0 with a solo home run down the right-field line.
Vanderbilt rallied to tie the game 3-3 in the top of the fifth inning. Braden Holcomb delivered a two-run double to left center, scoring Mike Mancini and Brodie Johnston. Logan Johnstone then tied the game with an RBI triple to right center that scored Holcomb.
However, Florida answered immediately in the bottom of the fifth. Blake Cyr blasted a two-run home run to left field, scoring Lawson and providing the game-winning hit that gave Florida a permanent lead. Cade Kurland extended the gap in the seventh with a two-run single up the middle to score Karson Bowen and Surowiec, and Lawson capped the scoring in the eighth with a solo home run to right field.
Cyr led the Gators at the plate with four hits, a home run, and two RBIs. Lawson matched the power output with three hits, a home run, and two RBIs, while Yost also recorded three hits and a homer. Johnston led the Commodores offensively with two hits.
On the mound, Florida starter Aidan King allowed three earned runs on five hits over 4.2 innings. Relief pitcher Jackson Barberi (4-2) earned the win, shutting out the Commodores over 2.1 hitless innings while striking out three. Frank LugoCanchola and Luke McNeillie closed out the final two scoreless frames. Vanderbilt starting pitcher Baird allowed three earned runs in two innings. Seiber (5-2) took the loss, surrendering two earned runs on four hits in 2.2 innings. There were no saves recorded in the contest.
“It’s really good to see Jackson Barberi back out there. He was outstanding,” Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. Lawson emphasized the team’s depth, adding, “If you want to win baseball games, I think it has to be a group effort, one through nine”.
Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin reflected on his team’s struggles. “Florida’s pretty good,” Corbin said. “From a pitching standpoint, we just didn’t set the tone from the beginning”. Vanderbilt’s Mancini remained optimistic about the team’s future: “Just a very young group. I’m excited for the growth that the younger guys are going to continue to have”.
With the win, Florida improves to 38-18 and advances in the tournament to face Alabama on Thursday, May 21 (time to be determined). Vanderbilt falls to 33-25 and is eliminated from the SEC Tournament.
This was created with AI assistance using content provided by the SEC, and edited for content and accuracy by the webmaster.
