SEC Baseball Tournament Live Updates from 4-Seed Alabama vs. 5-Seed Florida

HOOVER, Ala. -- 4-seed Alabama opens its 2026 Southeastern Conference baseball tournament in the quarterfinals against 5-seed Florida. The Crimson Tide received a double-bye after finishing fourth in the SEC this season, the program's highest finish since 2009.

The Crimson Tide will throw Tyler Fay in Thursday's contest, fresh off his second team All-SEC selection. Fay threw a no-hitter against the Gators in their regular season matchup on March 20. Florida counters with Liam Peterson, who gave up six runs on nine hits in five innings of action in the same game.

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Final Score: Florida 13, Alabama 3

Bottom Eighth Inning

Peyton Steele strikes out and the game is over. Florida wins 13-3.

Luke Vaughn singles into right field to keep Alabama alive.

Brennan Holt grounded out to third base and Alabama is down to their last out.

Eric Hines struck out for the fourth time today to open the inning.

Top Eighth Inning

Karson Bowen grounded out for the second out of the inning. Landon Stripling flied out to right field to end the inning. If Alabama doesn't score in the home half of the eighth inning the game will be over.

Caden McDonald hits a double into left field, scoring Surowiec and Cyr. Florida leads 13-3. The Gators are in position for a run-rule victory.

Ethan Surowiec hits a ground rule double to put the Gators on second and third with one out.

Steckmesser struck out Lawson to open the inning but Cyr singled to get a man on first with one out. Alabama brings in Owen Sarna to try to shut down the Gators.

Alabama brings Evan Steckmesser into the game out of the bullpen.

Bottom Seventh Inning

John Lemm grounds out to first base to end the inning.

Jason Torres draws a two-out walk to keep the inning going.

Brady Neal launches a two-run home run over the right field fence to draw Alabama a little closer. Florida leads 11-3.

Justin Lebron lines out to second base. Fowler is safe at fist on the double-up attempt.

Bryce Fowler gets on base for the first time today, drawing a walk.

Peyton Steele struck out looking to open the day. Alabama is up to 12 strikeouts on the afternoon.

Top Seventh Inning

Sam Mitchell dug in and got Hayden Yost and Kyle Jones to strike out swinging.

Landon Stripling singled through the infield and Cade Kurland kept things going with a single of his own. Florida has men on first and second with one out.

Karson Bowen's sacrifice fly scores McDonald from third base. Florida leads 11-1.

Sam Mitchell enters the game for Ashton Crowther. His wild pitch moves Caden McDonald to third base as Alabama is looking for the first out of the inning.

Caden McDonald doubled down the left field line, scoring Surowiec from second to make the score 10-1. Jason Jackson comes out of the dugout to talk to Crowther.

Ethan Surowiec hit a double down the right field line, scoring Lawson and Cyr and keeping the Gators well in front at 9-1. Crowther is looking for the first out of his appearance.

Blake Cyr drew an eight-pitch walk to get men on first and second with no outs.

Brendan Lawson kept his strong day going, opening the inning by doubling into the gap.

Alabama brings Ashton Crowther into the game from the bullpen.

Bottom Sixth Inning

Brennan Holt and Luke Vaughn strike out looking as McDonald strikes out all three Crimson Tide batters in the inning. Alabama is up to 11 strikeouts on the day.

Eric Hines strikes out for the third time this game as the Crimson Tide is running out of chances in the SEC quarterfinal.

Caden McDonald takes over for Liam Peterson on the mound in relief.

Top Sixth Inning

Kyle Jones grounds into a double play. His ground ball is fielded by Jason Torres who throws to Brennan Holt and then to Vaughn to get out of the inning without giving up a run.

Cade Kurland flies out to centerfield for the first out of the inning, but Matthew Heiberger follows it up by walking Hayden Yost on four pitches to load the bases.

Landon Stripling keeps Florida's momentum going, lining a single into the outfield to put Gators on first and second with no outs.

Matthew Heiberger opens the inning by plunking Karson Bowen in the back. It's the second batter he's hit in the back and the umpire comes out to talk to Heiberger.

Bottom Fifth Inning

John Lemm strikes out on four pitches and the inning is over. It's Lemm's second strikeout of the day, but Alabama was able to get a run on the board. Florida leads 7-1 after five innings.

Jason Torres beats out a drop-third strike to keep the inning going. Florida's catcher couldn't find the ball and Alabama has men on first and third with two outs.

Justin Lebron slides in safely at third after the Florida catcher couldn't bring in Liam Peterson's pitch cleanly.

Brady Neal's sacrifice-fly ball is deep enough to score Peyton Steele. 7-1 Florida.

Justin Lebron hits a double into the gap to get Alabama runners on second and third with one out as the Crimson Tide looks to dig back into this game.

Bryce Fowler strikes out swinging. He's 0-for-3 on the day and the Crimson Tide is up to six strikeouts on the day.

Peyton Steele hits a ball off Liam Peterson up the middle. He reaches safely on the ricochet and Alabama has a man on first with no outs.

Top Fifth Inning

Caden McDonald flies out to Bryce Fowler to end the inning. Florida scores five runs on four hits and an error in the inning to stretch the Gator lead to 7-0.

Ethan Surowiec gets on base safely as Justin Lebron can't come up with a ground ball. The error keeps the inning going as Matthew Heiberger looks to get out of the inning. Cyr scores on the error to make it 7-0.

Blake Cyr keeps piling on Alabama for Florida. Cyr hits one over Neal's head to the right field wall for a triple. He scores Jones and Lawson for 2 RBIs, bringing the score to 6-0 Florida.

Matthew Heiberger plunks Brendan Lawson in the back on the sixth pitch of the at bat, putting Lawson on first and Jones on second with two outs.

Alabama is bringing in Matthew Heiberger to take Tyler Fay's place. Fay worked 4.2 innings, allowed four runs on six hits with five strikeouts. He is responsible for Jones on first base. Heiberger needs one out to get out of the inning.

Kyle Jones keeps the inning going, poking a single into right field. He scores Yost from second and Florida is up 4-0.

Hayden Yost hits one over Brady Neal's head in right field for a double. Bowen scores from second and Florida extends its lead to 3-0. Alabama pitching coach Jason Jackson comes to the mound to check in with Fay.

Cade Kurland is thrown out at first by Justin Lebron on a nice pick and throw across the diamond. Bowen moves to second and there's two away in the inning.

Landon Stripling flies out to right field for the first Gator out of the inning.

What a wild play. Karson Bowen grounds to Brennan Holt, but since Holt was moving away from first base, he flipped it to Justin Lebron who almost threw out Bowen at first base. Bowen is safe at first on the hit, but Alabama nearly had an incredible defensive play.

Bottom Fourth Inning

Luke Vaughn lines out to third base to end the inning. Alabama has stranded runners in all four innings and Florida is up 2-0 after four innings.

Brennan Holt gets his second single of the game. The second baseman has a two-out hit as Alabama looks to answer Florida's scoring efforts.

Eric Hines strikes out for the second time this game. There are two outs and spirits seem a little dampened.

The rain looks to have stopped as John Lemm steps into the batters box. The sky is still dark, but the rain has taken a break. Lemm grounds out to second base for the first out of the inning.

Top Fourth Inning

Tyler Fay strikes out Caden McDonald to end the inning. Fay gives up two solo home runs, but strikes out two more batters. The Gators take a 2-0 lead into the middle of the inning.

Ethan Surowiec takes Tyler Fay deep for the second solo home run of the inning. Surowiec smashed his home run over the left field fence and the Gators take a 2-0 lead.

Tyler Fay bounces back and strikes out Blake Cyr for the second time this game. The Gators have two away in the fourth inning.

An afternoon shower is passing through. It just looks like rain for now and looks very brief, but the field is getting wet at the moment.

Brendan Lawson opens the scoring with a solo home run to straightaway centerfield. His ball kept carrying and carrying as it cleared the wall and Florida takes a 1-0 lead.

Kyle Jones quickly flied out to left field for the first out of the inning.

Bottom Third Inning

Jason Torres strikes out swinging, stranding Lebron at third base. Alabama's gotten hits in each inning, but the score remains 0-0 after three innings.

Justin Lebron steals third base as Jason Torres works into a full count.

Brady Neal grounds out to the Florida first baseman. Justin Lebron was moving on a full count pitch and made it to second base succesfully. Alabama has Lebron on second with two outs.

Justin Lebron gets on base safely after he beat out a chopper in the infield. Alabam's gotten hits in three consecutive innings.

Bryce Fowler grounds out to second base for the first out of the inning. The Crimson Tide leadoff man is 0-for-2 to open the game.

Top Third Inning

Fay ends the inning notching his third strikeout of the day. The Alabama starter got Hayden Yost looking for his third straight scoreless frame.

Tyler Fay flashes his fielding ability in the third inning. He covers first base nicely on a ground ball to Luke Vaughn for the first out. Cade Kurland followed up grounding out to Fay for two quick outs.

Bottom Second Inning

Peyton Steele strikes out swinging to end the inning, stranding Brennan Holt at first base. The score remains 0-0 after two innings.

Luke Vaughn gets a hold of one, but it's caught at the centerfield warning track. The centerfield wall is 405 at the Hoover Met. The wall at Sewell Thomas Stadium is 390, this wall was just a little too deep for Vaughn to get on the scoreboard.

Brennan Holt hits a teardrop right over the pitcher's head in the infield. He legs out the effort and gets on base for a single. Alabama has three singles early in the game.

Eric Hines leads off the inning by striking out swinging. It's Liam Peterson's first strikeout of the day.

Top Second Inning

Karson Bowen is thrown out at first trying to bunt down the third base line. Tyler Fay is through two innings without allowing a run.

Caden McDonald grounds into a double-play. Justin Lebron fields the initial ground ball and the Crimson Tide defense easily erases both runners.

Ethan Surowiec gets Florida's first hit of the day, singling into left field.

Bottom First Inning

John Lemm strikes out to end the inning and strands two runners. The Crimson Tide got the games first two hits of the day, but the score remains 0-0 after one inning.

Jason Torres singled up the middle for a little two-out rally. Neal moves to second. Torres' ground ball was stopped in the infield, but the shortstop couldn't get back up and make the throw after his dive.

Brady Neal gets the game's first hit. He pokes one up the middle for a two-out single.

Justin Lebron pops up to shallow right field for the second out of the inning for Alabama.

Bryce Fowler sends the second pitch he sees deep into right field, but flies out. Good contact, however it's an out, as Rob Vaughn often says.

Top First Inning

Blake Cyr strikes out swinging and it's a 1-2-3 first inning for Tyler Fay with two strikeouts.

Brendan Lawson lines out to Luke Vaughn at first base for the second out.

Tyler Fay strikes out Kyle Jones swinging for the first out of the game.

3:32 - First pitch is a ball by Tyler Fay and we're underway in Hoover.

Pregame

3:17 p.m. CT - The video board is showing a step by step explination of the ABS system. This will be the first game the Crimson Tide has ever played with the ability to challenge balls and strikes.

2:59 p.m. CT - Georgia has held on to win 5-3. THe Crimson Tide and Gators will play at approximately 3:30 p.m. CT.

2:47 p.m. CT - Mississippi State and Georgia are entering the top of the ninth inning. Georgia is holding a slim 5-2 lead entering the final frame. The winner of Alabama and Florida's game will meet the winner of this contest.

Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron had no shortage of fans waiting for him as the Crimson Tide got off the bus in Hoover ahead of today’s game against Florida pic.twitter.com/PPnX74RFUI
— Joe Gaither (@JoeGaither6) May 21, 2026

Starting Lineups

Alabama

CF - Bryce Fowler
SS - Justin Lebron
RF - Brady Neal
3B - Jason Torres
C - John Lemm
DH - Eric Hines
2B Brennan Holt
1B Luke Vaughn
LF Peyton Steele

Florida

CF - Kyle Jones
SS - Brendan Lawson
LF - Blake Cyr
3B - Ethan Surowiec
DH - Caden McDonald
C - Karson Bowen
1B - Landon Stripling
2B - Cade Kurland
RF - Hayden Yost

How to Watch: 4-Seed Alabama vs. 5-Seed Florida in SEC Tournament Quarterfinals

Who: Alabama (37-18, 18-12 SEC) vs. Florida (38-18, 18-12 SEC)

What: SEC Tournament Quarterfinal Matchup

When: Thursday, May 21, TBA - Estimated 3:30 p.m. CT (30 minutes after the conclusion of Georgia vs. Mississippi State starting at noon.)

Where: Hoover Metropolitan Complex, Hoover, Alabama

TV: SEC Network

Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network. LISTEN LIVE

Series: Alabama trails 61-69, with the first matchup occurring on May 1, 1940. The Crimson Tide is 4-6 in SEC Tournament play against the Gators.

Last Meeting: The Crimson Tide swept the Florida Gators in a three-game series in March in Tuscaloosa. The series was highlighted with Alabama starting pitcher Tyler Fay, throwing the program's first complete game no-hitter in over 80 years.

Last time out, Alabama: The Crimson Tide won its third SEC series in a row by taking Saturday's game three against Ole Miss 6-2. Alabama saw all three starting pitchers work deep into their respective appearances, Justin Lebron notch four RBIs and Jason Torres make a clutch hit to earn the series win over the Rebels.

Last time out, Florida: The Florida Gators won their opening game at the SEC Tournament 8-3 over the Vanderbilt Commodores. The Gators jumped into 3-0 lead in the first two innings and scored three runs late to pull away from the Commodores. Brendan Lawson and Blake Cyr had two RBIs each as the Gators advanced.

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