The Gators pulled off a dramatic come-from-behind win over Alabama in their first game of the SEC Tournament on BT Riopelle’s walk-off homer.
WHAT HAPPENED: Catcher BT Riopelle<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/bt-riopelle/15503> slammed a game-winning three-run homer in the bottom of the 11th inning off Alabama freshman lefty reliever Alton Davis II to lift the Gators to a come-from-behind 7-6 win over Alabama in Florida’s Southeastern Conference Tournament opener at the Hoover Met on Wednesday night. Riopelle’s blast served as a drastic turn of events from the top of the inning. Alabama’s Tommy Seidl drilled a bases-clearing three-run double off Gators reliever Brandon Neely<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/brandon-neely/15499> with two outs in the top of the 11th to put the Crimson Tide up 6-3. The Gators responded with four consecutive hits in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by Riopelle’s homer for the No. 1-seed Gators. Florida struck early on a two-run homer by shortstop Josh Rivera<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/josh-rivera/15504> in the bottom of the first off Alabama starter Luke Holman. However, the Crimson Tide chipped away at the lead, tying the game in the fifth inning before taking a 3-2 lead in the sixth on a solo homer by third baseman Colby Shelton.
PLAY(S) OF THE GAME: Besides the obvious, trailing by a run and seeking to get on base with a two-out hit, UF designated hitter Luke Heyman<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/luke-heyman/15522> hit a fly ball to center that appeared ready to drop for a hit in the bottom of the seventh. That’s when Crimson Tide center fielder Caden Rose left his feet and made a spectacular diving catch to end the inning and preserve his team’s 3-2 lead. Not to be outdone, Gators second baseman Cade Kurland<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/cade-kurland/15514> made a great diving stop and throw to first to retire Alabama’s Drew Williamson to lead off the top of the eighth.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Gators starter Hurston Waldrep<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/hurston-waldrep/15517> made his first postseason start since pitching for Southern Mississippi in last season’s Hattiesburg Super Regional. Waldrep delivered a solid performance, limiting Alabama to five hits and three runs over 5 2/3 innings. Waldrep struck out seven and walked two in a 87-pitch outing. Waldrep faced the minimum through 3 2/3 innings until the Crimson Tide broke through with a two-out rally in the fourth inning (see “key moment” below).
STRANGE STAT: The Gators played 55 regular-season games heading into the SEC Tournament, and not one of them went extra innings. Wednesday’s game was the first extra-inning game for the Gators since a 2-1 win over South Carolina on May 24, 2022, a span of 65 games.
KEY MOMENT: Alabama scored its first run in the top of the fourth inning with a two-out rally that started in an unusual way. With Drew Williamson at the plate, he hit a ground ball between first and second that Gators first baseman Jac Caglianone<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jac-caglianone/15489> reached. However, when Caglianone looked to make a throw to first, Waldrep was late covering the bag. Waldrep’s hat fell off his head and covered his eyes after his pitch to Williamson, preventing him from seeing the play until it was too late. “We will address that postgame with the equipment manager,” Gators coach Kevin O’Sullivan<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/kevin-o-sullivan/1551> quipped to the SEC Network crew the next inning. Waldrep hit the next batter, Andrew Pinkney, with a pitch and gave up an RBI single to Shelton before striking out Dominic Tamez to end the inning with UF in front 2-1.
BY THE NUMBERS: 15 — Home runs for Rivera, tying Brady McConnell (2019) for the most by a UF shortstop in a single season; 113 — Home runs hit this season by the Gators, which ranks third in the program’s single-season record book.
FROM THE COACH: Head coach Kevin O’Sullivan<https://floridagators.com/coaches.aspx?rc=988> — On Riopelle’s homer: “Honesty, in that situation, you’re down three with three outs to go, you usually take a strike. This felt like, with our middle-of-the-order guys coming up, the worst thing that could happen is we build some momentum going into tomorrow offensively. You’re down three and they have been throwing strikes all year for the most part. It turned out that we strung some hits together. We do feel like every time we flip the lineup over that we do have a chance to put some runs on the board.”
FROM THE PLAYER: UF catcher BT Riopelle<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/bt-riopelle/15503> on his homer: “I was just trying to get on base for my team. I’m so proud of these guys, working hard all year for this. I’m just very blessed to wear this F. This was such a hard-fought game. This is just another one in the book. This is fantastic. This is what I came back for this year.”
NOTABLES
* Florida improved to 76-68 all-time in the SEC Tournament.
* The Gators are 8-3 across the last three seasons in Hoover.
* Florida is one of two schools to reach the SEC Tournament Semifinals in each of the last two seasons (the other being Tennessee).
* The Gators have won seven SEC Tournament Titles, with the most recent coming in 2015.
* Wednesday marked the Gators’ first extra-inning game of the season.
* Florida has opened SEC Tournament play with an extra-inning win in each of the last two seasons.
* Riopelle hit a walk-off, three-run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning for his 11th long ball of the season.
* The homer marked Florida’s third walk-off victory of the season (not counting run-rule victories).
* Florida notched its first walk-off homer since Sterlin Thompson accomplished the feat vs. Florida State on May 17, 2022.
* Rivera hit his 15th home run of the season in the first inning, tying him with Brady McConnell (2018) for the most homers hit in a single season by a UF shortstop.
* Rivera, McConnell and Cade Kurland are both tied for the most home runs hit my a Gators middle infielders in a single season with 15.
* Waldrep struck out seven batters in 5 2/3 innings, moving his season total to 117.
* Waldrep is two strikeouts from moving into a tie for the 10th-most all-time in a single season at Florida alongside Marc Valdes (119 in 1993).
* Florida has struck out 574 batters in 479 innings – translating to 10.8 per nine innings, which would mark a new program record.
* The Gators have 564 hits through 56 games (10.1 hits/game).
* The Gators have scored in 45.2% of batted innings (205 of 454).
* Florida is now 70-59 all-time vs. Alabama including 10-9 in neutral-site games.
* The Gators are 29-7 in the series under O’Sullivan featuring a 5-1 mark in Hoover.
* Florida has won 16 of the last 18 meetings against Alabama.
UP NEXT: The Gators (43-13) face the winner of Wednesday’s late game between Auburn and Vanderbilt in the late game on Thursday night, which is scheduled to start 30 minutes after the conclusion of the 5:30 p.m. ET game.
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