Catcher BT Riopelle did it again Thursday night in grand fashion, and it moved Florida into the SEC baseball tournament semifinals.
For the second consecutive game, Riopelle, who hit the winning 3-run homer Wednesday against Alabama, made the difference. He hit 2 home runs against Vanderbilt in the Gators’ 6-3 victory, the latter a grand slam to seal the outcome.
“I’m just seeing the ball well. We took advantage when it really mattered and that’s why we got the win,” he said. “He struck me out on a backdoor slider on the at-bat before. He threw me another one and I didn’t miss it. It’s a back-and-forth game between the hitter and the pitcher, and I won that one.”
Riopelle sent an 0-1, two-out pitch from reliever Bryce Cunningham over the left-center fence to break a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the seventh inning.
“He comes to the field every day, plays hard and winning is important to him,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “He’s got a lot of experience and has been put into situations the last two nights and had two really good at bats.”
The No. 1 seed Gators (44-13) advance to take on the winner of today’s matchup between No. 9 Alabama and No. 4 Vanderbilt. That matchup will be Saturday at approximately 4 p.m.