The 10th seeded Florida Gators were eliminated from the SEC Tournament after a 3-1 second round loss to Ole Miss. Only one of the four combined runs was earned in the contest as the two ballclubs combined for five errors through the first 4.5 innings of play, the most in an SEC Tournament game since 2022.
Florida entered the contest swinging a hot bat, scoring 11 runs on 13 hits vs South Carolina the night before. Wednesday night was a totally different story. The Gators went 0-9 with runners in scoring position and 0-14 with runners on base. Florida had just four hits and left six runners on base.
The Gators only allowed one earned run on the mound as Liam Peterson looked electric early before running into some trouble in the 4th inning behind two costly defensive errors. Luke McNeillie and Jake Clemente posted a combined four scoreless inning of relief while allowing just two hits.
Florida dropped to 38-20 (15-15 SEC) on the 2025 season, and will now await the selection committee to see where they will be seeded for the NCAA Tournament.
Here’s a quick inning by inning recap.
1st inning: UF 0 UM 0
Florida put the pressure on Ole Miss early but couldn’t take advantage. After a leadoff walk followed by a defensive error, the Gators had runners on the corners with one out. Brody Donay popped out to the shortstop before a failed double steal attempt ended the frame.
In the bottom half, Florida ace Liam Peterson struck out the side, displaying his changeup early in the game to keep Ole Miss off-balance. Neither team recorded a hit in the first inning.
2nd inning: UF 0 UM 0
The Gators went down in order in the 2nd inning as Rebels’ ace Hunter Elliot started to settle in after a shaky start. It was clear from the second inning on that Florida’s lefty bats were not seeing the ball out of Elliot’s hand very well.
After allowing a leadoff single, Liam Peterson strands a runner on third base with his 4th strikeout of the game.
3rd inning: UF 0 UM 0
Florida goes down in order again in the third as Elliot picked up two more strikeouts. At this point in the game, Elliot had retired seven batters in a row.
Liam Peterson picked up two more strikeouts in a 1-2-3 third inning, bringing his total to six through three innings. This was an important 11 pitch inning to keep his pitch count at 46.
4th inning: UM 3 UF 0
Senior outfielder Ty Evans broke up Elliot’s no hitter in the 4th inning with a single through the left side. With two runners in scoring position and two outs, Hayden Yost struck out for the second time to end the inning.
After a much needed double play, Peterson had nobody on base with two outs before things started to turn south. Ole Miss plated their first run after back to back doubles from Utermark and Humphrey. That would be the only earned run of the game as Florida followed up with two defensive errors that allowed two more runs to come across.
5th inning: UM 3 UF 1
Florida outfielder Ashton Wilson doubled to kick off the 5th inning, recording Florida’s second hit of the night. Wilson came around to score on a throwing error from Ole Miss’s shortstop. The Gators would leave their 4th runner on base and are 0-7 at the plate with a runner in scoring position at this point.
After a leadoff walk from Peterson, RHP Luke McNeillie took the mound in the 5th. Peterson is on back to back weeks of short rest, and with the NCAA Tournament around the corner, Florida wasn’t interested in pushing Peterson much further. McNeillie picked up back to back strikeouts and catcher Brody Donay threw out a runner to end the frame.
6th inning: UM 3 UF 1
Hunter Elliot’s night was done after a one out hit by pitch, which was great news for a Gators lineup that had struggled vs the lefty all game long. However, Mason Morris came in and got two outs with one pitch as Blake Cyr grounded into a double play.
Luke McNeillie set down Ole Miss in order with two strikeouts in the 6th inning.
7th inning: UM 3 UF 1
Florida picked up their third hit of the game after a one out single from Landon Stripling, but that was all the Gators could get.
After a leadoff single in the bottom half, Florida turned to closer Jake Clemente in an effort to keep this game where it was. Clemente allowed a single to the shortstop before picking up a strikeout and double play to end the frame.
8th inning: UM 3 UF 1
The Gators couldn’t do anything after Bobby Boser’s leadoff single in the 8th, leaving him stranded on second base after back to back strikeouts.
Clemente posted a 1-2-3 eighth inning, giving Florida’s bats a chance to stay alive in Hoover, Alabama.
9th inning: UM 3 UF 1
Ole Miss turned to their closer Connor Spencer, who holds a 1.69 ERA this season. The Gators would go down in order for the third time tonight as Spencer picked his 5th save of the season.
FINAL: UM 3 UF 1