FROM CBB NEWS SOURCES
Vanderbilt 7 Ole Miss 4
HOOVER, Ala. (AP) — David Macias opened the game with a homer and Vanderbilt scored five runs in the third to beat Mississippi 7-4 and stay alive in the Southeastern Conference tournament.
That set up a rematch later Saturday for a berth in the title game. Ole Miss had won its first two games in the double-elimination tournament.
Dominic de la Osa’s two-run single keyed the Commodores’ big inning.
Vandy reliever Brett Jacobson pitched four hitless innings but left after a walk to open the bottom of the ninth. Russell Brewer got the final out for the save.
Cody Overbeck hit a two-run homer in the first for the Rebels.
An ailing Ole Miss starter Cody Satterwhite left in the second inning.
LSU 12 Alabama 8
HOOVER, Ala. (AP) — Blake Dean hit a grand slam in the eighth inning and drove in six runs to send streaking LSU into the Southeastern Conference tournament title game with a 12-8 comeback win over Alabama on Saturday.
Dean’s slam that easily cleared the right field fence off reliever Josh Copeland topped off a six-run inning for the Tigers (42-16-1). It also helped LSU match the school record 19-game winning streak set by the 1997 team.
Seeking their first tournament title since 2000, the Tigers will meet the Vanderbilt-Mississippi winner on Sunday. They have come from behind to win all three games at Regions Park.
Dean, who had a two-run single and went 3-for-5, also hit the game-winning solo homer in the bottom of the 10th to beat South Carolina on Wednesday.
The Crimson Tide (34-26) had scored six straight runs after falling behind 3-0 and nearly rallied again. Josh Rutledge’s two-run single in the bottom of the eighth cut it to 10-8, but reliever Jared Bradford got two straight groundouts to keep the lead intact.
Bradford escaped with a popup and a double play after Brandon May reached on an error to open the ninth.
Matt Clark doubled, homered and scored three runs for the Tigers, who tacked on two unearned runs in the ninth after Alabama’s third error.
Jared Mitchell added three hits with a pair of RBIs and runs.
Both teams capitalized on blunders in the fourth. LSU scored a run with the help of a misplayed pickoff attempt and a dropped fly ball by right fielder Kent Matthes for a 3-0 lead.
Alabama answered with four runs in the bottom half, scoring two runs on a wild pitch and another on a fielder’s choice.
Ole Miss 8 Vanderbilt 7
HOOVER, Ala. (AP) — Michael Guerrero hit two home runs and drove in four runs in Mississippi’s 8-7 win over Vanderbilt Saturday night, lifting the surprising Rebels into the Southeastern Conference tournament championship game.
Eighth-seeded Ole Miss (37-23), which lost 7-4 in the first meeting Saturday, will seek its second SEC tournament title in three seasons against LSU on Sunday.
Guerrero’s sudden power display is a big reason. He has four homers in four tournament games, matching his regular-season total. This time he hit a three-run shot just inside the left-field foul pole in the first and a solo homer in the fifth to stake Ole Miss to a 6-2 lead over the Commodores (40-20).
Vandy scored three runs in the eighth to make it 8-6 and scored again in the ninth off Ole Miss closer Scott Bittle. Bittle came in with runners on first and second and nobody out and struck out the first two batters. Then he gave up an RBI double to Andrew Giobbi and a two-run single up the middle to Shea Robin and walked Jonathan White on four pitches.
Bittle finally escaped by striking out David Macias, leaving two men on. He gave up a one-out solo homer to Pedro Alvarez in the ninth, a school record-tying 49th for his career.
Ryan Flaherty, who hit a two-run shot in the first, then singled. Bittle struck out Dominic de la Osa and Steven Liddle to end the game.
Jordan Henry went 4-for-5 in Game 2 and reached base eight times in the doubleheader for Ole Miss. Freshman Matt Smith hit a solo homer.
The Commodores had stayed alive with a five-run third inning in the first game, highlighted by de la Osa’s two-run single. Macias opened the first game with a homer for Vandy.
Cody Overbeck hit a two-run homer in the first for the Rebels.
An ailing Ole Miss starter Cody Satterwhite left in the second inning.
“Having Satterwhite out of the game shook them up just enough,” Vandy coach Tim Corbin said. “When they came back out, we took advantage of that.”
Added Bianco, “He thought he could go, but he just couldn’t.”
Defending champion Vandy had swept Ole Miss to move into the title game last year.
