Florida Defeats Alabama in Extra Innings

The top-seeded Florida Gators defeated the No. 9-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide 7-6 in extra innings on Wednesday night in the second round of the 2023 SEC Baseball Tournament.

"I thought it was a really good ballgame by two really good teams. That's kind of what postseason play is all about, that's what the SEC tournament is all about, that's what we all expect to see when we come here. It's a tough loss, we took a lead into that last inning and Alton's been great for us all year, gotta give them some credit, they had some really great at bats," said Alabama baseball interim head coach Jason Jackson. " I thought it was a really good college baseball game. I thought our guys fought hard, I thought their guys fought hard, and at the end of the day, they got the big hit at the end."

Right-handed pitcher Luke Holman started on the mound for the Crimson Tide. He pitched 5.2 innings, recording four hits, two runs, two earned runs, three walks, and five strikeouts.

Florida came out swinging from the get-go, jumping in front in the first inning after shortstop Josh Rivera hit a two-run home run.

The Tide scored a hat trick of one-run innings to take the lead. The first came in the fourth inning after third baseman Colby Shelton hit an RBI single. The second came in the fifth inning from shortstop Jim Jarvis, who hit a sacrifice fly. The final score was in the sixth inning, a solo home run from Shelton to give Alabama the lead.

Right-handed pitcher Aidan Moza came in for relief in the sixth inning. He pitched 4.1 innings, recording two hits, two walks, one run, and four strikeouts.

Florida tied up the game in the eighth inning after third baseman Dale Thomas drew a leadoff walk and was brought home by center fielder Michael Robertson, who reached on a throwing error on the following at-bat.

Tommy Seidl gave the Tide the lead in the 11th inning, hitting a bases-clearing double after Tamez and Johnson hit back-to-back singles, and Jarvis drew a walk.

Left-handed pitcher Alton Davis II came in for relief in the 11th inning. He finished the game, recording three hits, three runs, and three earned runs.

The Gators scored four runs in the 11th inning. The first came off an RBI single by Rivera. The remaining runs came from catcher B.T. Riopelle, who hit a three-run home run to seal the Gators win.

"Basically, what I told them was 'hey man, this hurts, it's supposed to hurt.You invest that much into the game and it an emotional game, it was a very well-played game, but this is supposed it hurt, it's a kick in the gut. So, it's ok to be pissed, you should be pissed, but we're gonna go home, go back to the hotel, we're gonna eat. We're gonna be pissed off for a little while and that's ok. But when we wake up tomorrow and the score resets to 0-0 and we gotta bring it to the ballpark, we gotta be ready to bring it when we get here tomorrow," said Jackson.

The Alabama Crimson Tide will take on the loser of Auburn vs. Vanderbilt on Thursday, May 25, 2023, at 1:30 p.m. CT. Coverage will be on Tide 100.9 FM and the Tide 100.9 app which is free to download in the App Store.

Tide 100.9 is partnering with Academy Sports and Outdoors to bring you on-site coverage of the 2023 Southeastern Conference baseball tournament. Continue to follow along for our coverage throughout Alabama's run in Hoover.