How to Watch Florida Gators Baseball's Matchup Against Alabama in the SEC Tournament

HOOVER, Ala.-- Fresh off an 8-3 win over Vanderbilt, the Florida Gators now turn their attention to four-seed Alabama in the SEC Tournament Quarterfinals on Thursday, looking for revenge after getting swept by the Crimson Tide in the regular season.

Quarters in Hoover.

🎥 | https://t.co/ZWbwGV7usN
📊 | https://t.co/s6Nvsb2SaD
🎙️ | https://t.co/fdl4WMqtJI pic.twitter.com/jpEJx8YZq0
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 21, 2026

Here is everything you need to know for Thursday's game as the Gators continue its chase for its first SEC Tournament title since 2015.

Time and TV

Florida's matchup against Alabama, the second matchup of the day, is slated to begin at approximately 4:30 p.m. after the SEC updated the schedule due to expected inclement weather later in the day. Television coverage can be found on SEC Network.

Starting Pitchers

Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan confirmed that usual Saturday starter and reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week Liam Peterson (2-5, 4.00 ERA) will get the start on Thursday and that reliever Ernesto Lugo-Canchola would also be available after throwing on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Alabama is expected to start ace Tyler Fay (9-3, 4.43), who threw a no-hitter is his lone outing against Florida this season.

Florida's Path to a Title

Winner of Thursday's game advances to the SEC Tournament Semifinals on Friday and will face the winner of No. 1 Georgia's matchup against No. 8 Mississippi State. The semifinal game will take place at 1 p.m. with television coverage on SEC Network.

The Road to Omaha runs through Hoover. 😤

🔗 https://t.co/N7VfO29Px5 #SECBSB x #SECTourney pic.twitter.com/JwgvhRNbRi
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) May 17, 2026

The SEC Tournament Championship Game will be played on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET with television coverage on ABC.

Looking for Revenge

As stated, Florida got swept by Alabama in the regular season, which included a no-hitter by Fay on March 20 and a 14-7 drubbing on March 22. The series marked Florida's only time getting swept this season, but O'Sullivan said he has put that game in the back of his mind and has "kind of moved on."

"I would expect it to be a very competitive game," he said. "I've truly tried to put that series in the back of my mind. So no matter how hard you try, I'm not going to reflect back on it."

Gators in Hosting Contention

The Gators have likely already locked up a hosting bid in regional play in the NCAA Tournament but still need some help to lock up a super-regional hosting bid. A win over Alabama plus a guaranteed loss by either Auburn or Texas A&M would go a long way into accomplishing that.

Auburn (7) and Texas A&M (8) are both ranked higher than Florida (10) in D1Baseball's mock tournament that was released on Thursday morning.

ABS Update

Throughout the SEC Tournament, the league will be experimenting with an Automated Ball-Strike challenge system, which garnered significant attention through the first day of play.

Florida was the most efficient team, going a perfect 3-for-3 on calls against Vanderbilt. All of the challenges came from catcher Karson Bowen, and the Gators were the only team to be perfect on all of its calls.

"I don't think it could be stated enough about having an older catcher with maturity behind the plate. He gives us so much more than just good play day in and day out," O'Sullivan said on Bowen. "His leadership -- I mean, he's calling the games for the most part. And for me to be able to give him that confidence, tells you everything that you need to know about him.

Trailblazers 🔥 pic.twitter.com/eWImRzM7DE
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 20, 2026

O'Sullivan also detailed Florida's process for making challenges, saying that pitchers were banned from doing so and that hitters had to focus on being "a good teammate" when using discretion on making a challenge.

"If we've got two outs, nobody on first, it's a questionable call, that's not the time to do it," he said. "Now we've got runners in scoring position, and you feel firmly about it, that's fine. No one is going to get upset if you're wrong.

"If you're down a run in the eighth and it's a 3-2 count and it's close and you feel like you have an opportunity to get on base to start an inning, that's fine, but the best thing (Tommy Slater) said to me and to the team was just be a good teammate, and when you make decisions, make them with some clarity."

The SEC's rules and a tracker for each result of a challenge can be found here.

Sign up for our free Florida Gators newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news!

Add us as a preferred source on Google