The Gators are moving on in SEC tournament play Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Gators Advance to Second Round of SEC Tournament In Dominant Fashion

Originally posted on Florida Gators on SI
By Kyle Lander | Last updated May 20, 2025 9:00 PM ET

The Florida Gators advanced to the second round of the 2025 SEC Tournament, cruising past the South Carolina Gamecocks 11-3 on Tuesday in Hoover, Ala.

After going down a run in the first, the Gators responded with seven unanswered runs from the second through the fifth to help secure this win. They launched three home runs during this stretch from infielder Bobby Boser, catcher Brody Donay and outfielder Hayden Yost. Boser’s was a three-run homer while Donay's and Yost’s were solo shots. The other two runs came from RBI doubles from Yost and outfielder Ty Evans in separate innings.

BOBBY GO BOOM #GoGators // SECN pic.twitter.com/imuQeNLbIb
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 20, 2025

With this win, the Gators will now take on the Ole Miss Rebels on Wednesday in the second round of the tournament at 9 p.m. EDT. The game will be streamed via SEC Network. The Gators lost the series earlier in the year, dropping two of the three games in Oxford, Miss.

Florida Bats Come To Life Early and Never Look Back

Florida’s starter, Billy Barlow, had a rough start in the first inning against the Gamecocks.

The first three Gamecocks loaded the bases after two singles and a walk. Barlow did limit the damage, though, inducing a ground ball double play that scored one run. He got another ground out after that to end the half-inning and keep the score at 1-0.

Florida’s starter keeping it to just one run was important, too. That’s because the Gators rolled off seven unanswered runs over the next four innings.

Boser got the home team on the board with a three-run blast over the center field wall in the second for his 16th of the year. Then, Donay’s 17th home run of the season and an RBI double from Yost plated two more in the third.

DONAY DEMO No. 17 ️#GoGators // SECN pic.twitter.com/X0Dkve3uuw
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 20, 2025

The next two came in separate innings with an RBI double from Evans in the fourth and a solo shot from Yost in the fifth that put the score at 7-1.

HAY YO, THAT'S GONE #GoGators // SECN pic.twitter.com/wBU67POxDA
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 20, 2025

Barlow did return to the mound in the fourth, but only recorded two more outs before making way for right-handed pitcher Blaine Rowland, who closed out the inning.

Rowland continued his work on the mound over the next three innings, posting zeroes in the fifth, sixth and seventh to keep the Gamecocks at bay.

However, South Carolina finally got to Rowland in the eighth. They tagged him for two runs in the inning after back-to-back doubles cut the Gators' lead to four runs. These runs chased Rowland out of the game. Coming in as his replacement was righty Christian Rodriguez.

Florida did rebound in the bottom half of the eighth, though. The offense scored four runs thanks to a flurry of walks and hits to begin the inning. They came close to run-ruling the Gamecocks, but couldn’t find the final two runs needed.

In the end, the Gators won this contest 11-3 to advance to the tournament's second round.