what happened: Holder BT Riopel In relief of Alabama freshman Grady, he hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the 11th inning. Alton Davis II The Gators came from behind to beat Alabama 7-6 in the Florida Southeastern Conference tournament opener on Wednesday night at Hoover Met. Riopel’s explosion at the top of the game served as a dramatic turn of events. Alabama Tommy Said A bases-clearing three-run double drill from the Gators Brandon Neely with two outs in the top of the 11th to put the Crimson Tide up 6-3. The Gators responded with four straight runs in the bottom of the game, highlighted by Riopelle’s homer for the No. 1-seeded Gators. Florida hit the go-ahead two-run homer to shortstop. Josh Rivera The first is off in the bottom of the Alabama launch Luke Holman. However, the Crimson Tide stormed back to tie the game in the fifth inning on a solo homer by the third baseman to take a 3-2 lead in the sixth. Colby Shelton.
Game play(s): Besides the obvious, chasing a run and looking to get on base with a two-out hit, UF designated hitter. Luke Hyman In the bottom of the seventh, he hit a fly ball to center that looked ready to hit. That’s when the Crimson Tide center fielder Caden Rose He left his foot and made a spectacular diving catch to end the game and secure the team’s 3-2 lead. The Lords second baseman is likely to be missed Cade Kurland Alabama’s first good diving stop and throw to retire Drew Williamson To lead the top of the eighth.
In the spotlight Gators launch Hurston Waldrep He is making his first postseason start since playing for Southern Mississippi in the Hattiesburg Super Regional last season. Waldrep turned in a solid performance, limiting Alabama to five hits and three runs over 5 2/3 innings. Waldrep struck out seven and walked two in an 87-pitch outing. Waldrep was barely hit for 3 2/3 innings until the Crimson Wave put together a two-out rally in the fourth inning (see “Key Moments” below).
Strange situation: The Gators had played 55 regular season games entering the SEC Tournament, and not one of them went extra innings. In the year Wednesday’s game was the Gators’ first shutout since a 2-1 win over South Carolina on May 24, 2022, in a 65-game streak.
Key moment: Alabama scored its first run in the top of the fourth inning on a two-out rally that started in unusual fashion. with Drew Williamson At the plate, he hit a ground ball between first and second by the Gator first baseman Jac Caglianone It has arrived. However, Cagliano was delayed as Waldrep covered the bag as he looked to throw to first. After Waldrep’s hat fell off his head and covered his eyes, he turned to Williamson, preventing him from seeing the play. We will discuss that post-game with the equipment manager,” the Gators coach Kevin O’Sullivan armed to SEC Network He pitched the next inning. Waldrep hit the next batter. Andrew Pinckneybefore hitting a pitch and an RBI single to Shelton Dominic Thames 2-1 in front of UF to end the inning.
In numbers: 15 – House runs to Rivera, tying him up Brady McConnell (2019) Most in one season at UF shortstop; 113 — Home runs hit by the Giants this season, which ranks third on the program’s single-season record.
From the coach: Head coach Kevin O’Sullivan – Emotionally, winning by walking; “I’m not going to lie, it was fun. You rarely come back from a three-run deficit in the 11th and you have the ability to come back from a strong end in the 11th. Obviously, all the momentum was in. There were a lot of positives in this game. Hurston had 85 pitches. We want to keep it. I think he dropped 87 because he was on short rest. Ryan Slater It continues to do exactly what we ask. Philip Abner He went in and did his job. And we extended Neil. Because he has the ability to do that, he’s probably — the next two days, three days, maybe not, but we’ve extended him if we need to in the postseason. We’ve had a strong team all year, and this is another example, but it was certainly an enjoyable win.
From the player: UF holder BT Riopel On Homer: “It means the world to me, but it definitely means the world to our team. That was the last team win. You watched the last game. We already talked about how your best players have to play their best to win. And like Sully said, Alabama is a very old team. I think one The men are the starting riders, the rest are juniors or older, so that team is very tough. [beat]. But in the last period of the game, our best players came out which is very important and in the end it is a big win for our team and not just me.
Next: The Gators (43-13) will face the winner of the Auburn-Vanderbilt game late Wednesday, scheduled to start 30 minutes after Thursday night’s 5:30 PM ET game.