{"id":278811,"date":"2026-05-21T00:02:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T00:02:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/278811\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T00:02:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T00:02:28","slug":"vanderbilt-falls-8-3-in-sec-baseball-tournament-to-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/278811\/","title":{"rendered":"Vanderbilt Falls 8-3 in SEC Baseball Tournament to Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Vanderbilt Commodores<\/a> were dealt a significant blow to their NCAA Tournament hopes<\/a> on Wednesday afternoon, falling to Florida 8-3 in the\u00a0second round of the SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover, Alabama.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Coming into the day, the Commodores held\u00a0an RPI ranking of 71<\/a> and\u00a0likely needed\u00a0to advance through the SEC Tournament to get a chance at an at-large bid.\u00a0The worst RPI for an SEC team ever to receive one was Alabama in 2008, which had a ranking of 48.\u00a0Now, Vanderbilt\u2019s 19-year NCAA Tournament streak is in serious jeopardy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The issues that have plagued Vanderbilt all\u00a0season\u00a0came into play again in the loss, as the pitching staff struggled to\u00a0contain\u00a0the Florida offense, allowing 14 hits.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Gators jumped on Vanderbilt early\u00a0in the bottom of the first, when\u00a0outfielder Kyle Jones\u00a0singled\u00a0up in the middle before stealing second early in the next at-bat.\u00a0Shortstop Brendan Lawson\u00a0doubled to right field, bringing Jones in to score.\u00a0Then, Blake Cyr hit a ball deep to left field that was misjudged by Braden Holcomb and dropped, resulting in a double that moved Lawson to third. When\u00a0third baseman Ethan Surowiec grounded out, Lawson scored to make the score 2-0.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gators right fielder Hayden Yost added to the lead with a solo shot that hugged the right field line but stayed fair, as Florida went up 3-0.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Commodores struggled to create offense against SEC Pitcher of the Year Aiden King, recording just two hits in the first four innings. King was\u00a0highly efficient through his 4.2 innings, throwing just 75 pitches.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

But somewhere after the second out in the fifth inning, with no runners on, Vanderbilt found a flash of success.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The top of the order and third baseman\u00a0Brodie\u00a0Johnston\u00a0gave the bats some life with a double down the line before Mike\u00a0Mancini drew a walk. Then, Braden Holcomb doubled to left-center field, scoring both the runners on base.\u00a0Logan\u00a0Johnstone kept them momentum going with a triple to right-center that brought in Holcomb to tie the game 3-3.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Florida pulled King in favor of Jackson Barberi, who closed the inning with a strikeout.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Gators struck back\u00a0immediately\u00a0in the bottom of the fifth, when Lawson walked, stole second and was brought around the bases a few pitches later by a two-run blast from Cyr\u00a0against Brennan Seiber.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After holding Vanderbilt to hitless sixth and seventh innings, Florida continued to pile on the score\u00a0after the stretch. Wyatt Nadeau walked both Surowiec and Gators catcher Karson Bowen before being replaced by\u00a0Luke Guth. A groundout from Landon Stripling moved the runners to second and third before\u00a0Cade Kurland dribbled a single up the middle to score both, making the score 7-3.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lawson added a solo home run to the scoreboard in the bottom of the eighth, putting the Gators up 8-3.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

After its fifth-inning fireworks, Vanderbilt only produced one more hit the rest of the way, coming on a last gasp single up the middle from Johnston in the bottom of the ninth before Mancini\u00a0flied out to right field to end the game.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The nation\u2019s longest active NCAA Tournament streak now lies in the hands of the committee, and Vanderbilt will have to hope things turn its way after just\u00a0one win\u00a0in the SEC Tournament.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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