With the game scoreless in the fourth inning, sophomore shortstop Brendan Lawson continued his scorching start to the SEC Tournament by demolishing his 16th home run of the season to give Florida its first run of the night. Sophomore third baseman Ethan Surowiec immediately followed with a solo home run of his own.
The duo of Lawson and Surowiec went 6-for-9 with two home runs, three doubles and four RBIs as Florida (39-18, 18-12 SEC) run-ruled Alabama (37-19, 18-12 SEC), 13-3, in Hoover, Alabama, to advance to the SEC Tournament semifinals.
Alabama redshirt junior starting pitcher Tyler Fay entered the night with momentum after throwing a no-hitter against Florida on March 20th in Tuscaloosa. Fay carried that dominance into the early innings by striking out two in a scoreless first inning and retiring Florida’s lineup in order through the opening three frames.
Surowiec finally snapped Fay’s hitless streak against Florida in the second inning with a line-drive single into left field, but the Gators couldn’t capitalize after redshirt sophomore two-way player Caden McDonald grounded into a 4-6-3 double play.
Florida’s offense erupted in the fourth inning with Lawson breaking the scoreless tie with a towering 441-foot solo home run to left field at 113.8 mph off the bat. Two batters later, Surowiec launched an even longer home run — a 447-foot shot to left field — that gave the Gators a 2-0 lead.
It didn’t take long for Florida to blow the game open in the fifth. Senior catcher Karson Bowen reached on a ball that deflected off Fay before senior second baseman Cade Kurland moved him into scoring position with a groundout. Junior right fielder Hayden Yost, coming off a three-hit game the day before, smoked an RBI double over the head of senior right fielder Blake Neal to push the Gators ahead 3-0.
Redshirt sophomore center fielder Kyle Jones followed with a flare single into right field to score Yost and force Fay out of the game.
Junior left-hander Matthew Heiberger replaced Fay but struggled immediately. Lawson was hit by a pitch, and senior left fielder Blake Cyr blasted a towering two-RBI triple over Neal’s head in right field that stretched Florida’s lead to 6-0. Surowiec then reached on a muffed ground ball by junior shortstop Justin Lebron that drove in Cyr and capped off a five-run frame.
Florida threatened again in the sixth inning with the bases loaded, but Jones grounded into a double play to end the rally.
The Gators’ bats stayed hot, and they added another crooked number in the seventh. Lawson fouled a pitch directly off his kneecap and needed a brief visit from the trainer but stayed in the game and ripped a double into the right-center field gap on the next pitch. Cyr later walked to put two runners aboard before Surowiec drilled a two-run double down the first base line to extend Florida’s lead to 9-1.
McDonald followed with a scorching RBI double of his own down the third base line to score Surowiec and make it 10-1. A passed ball advanced McDonald to third before Bowen lifted a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 11-1.
Florida added two more runs in the eighth inning when McDonald ripped another double into left field. After a slow start offensively, McDonald finished with two doubles and three RBIs.
Florida’s pitching staff backed up the offensive explosion with another dominant showing. Junior starting pitcher Liam Peterson matched Fay early and ended the first inning by striking out Alabama senior catcher John Lemm on a 100-mph fastball. Peterson’s slider was sharp throughout the night as he struck out freshman designated hitter Eric Hines and sophomore left fielder Peyton Steele on out-of-the-zone sliders in the second inning.
The junior right-hander worked around traffic in the third inning after Lebron dribbled an infield single and advanced to third base, but he escaped the jam by striking out senior third baseman Jason Torres.
The fifth inning started ominously when Steele lined a ball off Peterson to open the frame. A double by Lebron gave Alabama two runners in scoring position before Neal drove in the Crimson Tide’s first run with a sacrifice fly to center field.
Head coach Kevin O’Sullivan visited the mound following the run, and Peterson responded by striking out Lemm with another 100-mph fastball to end his outing. Peterson showed visible emotion walking off the mound after striking out eight batters across five innings.
McDonald entered in relief in the sixth inning and immediately dominated, striking out the side — all looking. He returned for the seventh inning and struck out Steele for his fourth consecutive strikeout looking before Neal launched a two-run home run to right field that briefly extended the game. McDonald finished with four strikeouts in relief.
Redshirt senior Ricky Reeth entered in the eighth inning and finished the game by striking out two batters in a bounce-back outing. After failing to record an out in either of his previous two appearances, Reeth shut out the Crimson Tide and secured Florida a place in the semifinals.
The No. 5 seed Gators will face No. 1 seed Georgia in the SEC Tournament semifinals Saturday at 1 p.m.
Contact Colton Veres at cveres@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @colton_veres.
Colton Veres is a senior sports journalism student in his first semester at The Alligator. He is currently the Summer 2026 baseball reporter. In his free time he enjoys watching the Red Sox and spending times with friends and loved ones.
