Mike Minor struck out 11 Auburn hitters over 7 innings of work during Vanderbilt's 12-3 win Friday.
Here is your SEC recap for Friday, March 27. Friday’s game between South Carolina and Kentucky was postponed due to field conditions and will be made up as part of a Saturday doubleheader. The game between Arkansas and Mississippi State was suspended in the bottom of the 5th inning and will be completed before the start of the second game of the series tomorrow. The other four conference games were completed as scheduled.
#1 Georgia 12, Tennessee 6
Top-ranked Georgia hit a season-high four home runs and seven doubles including four extra base hits by Rich Poythress as the Bulldogs cruised past Tennessee, 12-6, Friday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Poythress went 4-4 with two home runs, two doubles, a walk and four RBI and raised his batting average to .455. The junior from Grovetown, Ga., had a career-high 12 total bases and his first multiple-home run game.
Colby May had three hits including a double, and Chase Davidson and Bryce Massanari had two hits apiece. Massanari and Lewis both homered as the Bulldogs (20-3, 5-2 SEC) won their fifth straight league game.
Trevor Holder (5-1) sat down 15 of the first 16 he faced and worked 7.0 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits for his 20th career win, moving him into a tie for sixth all-time at UGA.
#14 Ole Miss 7, #7 LSU 4
BATON ROUGE, La. — The Rebel bats didn’t strike often on Friday night, but when they did it was with power as No. 11 Ole Miss (16-6, 5-2 SEC) used four home runs – including a pair from freshman Matt Snyder – to power past No. 2 LSU by a score of 7-4 at Alex Box Stadium.
Snyder paced the Rebels at the plate with a 2-for-4 night with four RBI and two runs scored as he belted out a solo home run to put the Rebels on the board in the second and then belted out a three-run home run in the sixth to extend the Rebel lead. Snyder has now hit at least one home run in three-straight games.
#23 Florida 11, #27 Alabama 4
No. 23 Florida (16-8/4-3 SEC) overcame a 4-0 deficit with 11 unanswered runs to knock off Alabama (16-8/3-4 SEC) in the opener of a weekend series on Friday night at McKethan Stadium. The Gators plated three runs with two out in the seventh, highlighted by a double from junior Buddy Munroe (Miami, Fla.) (3-for-4, three runs, two RBI) and a go-ahead two-run single by senior Brandon McArthur (Seffner, Fla.) (2-for-4). UF then erupted for six more runs in the eighth, featuring a three-run double by freshman Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) (3-for-4), to earn its fourth-straight league victory.
Junior Clint Franklin (Orlando, Fla.) (2-0) threw four scoreless innings of one-hit ball before junior Billy Bullock (Balm, Fla.) retired all six batters he faced to collect his fifth save. The righty entered the game in the eighth with two runners aboard and the Gators clinging to a 5-4 lead and later recorded two strikeouts when the Crimson Tide had a pair in scoring position.
Vanderbilt 12, Auburn 3
AUBURN, Ala. — Trailing 3-0 heading into the sixth, Vanderbilt’s offense erupted scoring 12 runs over the final four innings as the Commodores went on to a 12-3 win over Auburn in Southeastern Conference baseball action Friday night at Plainsman Park.
VU won its fourth straight game and second straight SEC contest to move to 17-8 overall and 3-4 in league play. The Tigers lost their fifth straight SEC contest to fall to 16-9 overall and 2-5 in conference action.
The teams were locked in a pitcher’s duel through the first four innings before the Tigers plated three runs in the fifth off of Mike Minor. Justin Hargett had a RBI single to break the shutout and then AU scored another run on a bases loaded catcher’s interference call and a sacrifice fly by Joseph Sanders.
Other than the fifth, Minor (2-2) was outstanding on the mound, recording a season high 11 strikeouts in seven innings of work. He allowed three runs, two earned, on five hits and picked up his first win in league play this year.
#16 Arkansas 10, Mississippi State 3 – Bottom 5 (Suspended)
FAYETTEVILLE – The No. 9 Arkansas baseball team was leading the Mississippi State Bulldogs 10-3 in the bottom of the fifth inning when play was suspended at 8:10 p.m. due to heavy rains in the Fayetteville area. After an hour long rain delay, Arkansas game management in conjunction with the umpires and head coaches chose to forego attempting to complete the contest and the two teams will meet again on Saturday at their regularly scheduled time, 2:05 p.m.
Saturday’s action will start with the conclusion of game one of the three-game series and move on to game two approximately 45 minutes after game one ends.
South Carolina at Kentucky – Postponed
Lexington, Ky. – The South Carolina-Kentucky baseball game scheduled for Friday evening has been postponed due to unplayable field conditions at Cliff Hagan Stadium. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 12 noon.
