Here is your SEC Recap for March 26th.
#4 LSU 6 Tennessee 2
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Second baseman Tyler Hanover drove in four runs Friday night and right-hander Austin Ross pitched six solid innings to lead fourth-ranked LSU to a 6-2 win over Tennessee in Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
LSU improved to 18-3 overall, 3-1 in the SEC while Tennessee dropped to 11-11 and 0-4.
The teams meet in Game 2 of the series at 3 p.m. ET Saturday. Sophomore left-hander Chris Matulis (3-0) will start for LSU while Tennessee will counter with senior right-hander Stephen McCray (2-2).
#19 Ole Miss 3 #5 Florida 2
OXFORD, Miss. – With the bases loaded and two men down in the inning ,freshman Brett Huber struck out the Gator’s Austin Maddox to pick up his second save of the season and give No. 17 Ole Miss (18-5, 3-1 SEC) a 3-2 victory over second-ranked Florida (17-4, 3-1 SEC).
Huber entered the game with one out in the eighth and got the Rebels out of the inning before taking the mound again in the ninth. Florida opened the ninth with a single and a stolen base, but Huber was able to get two men out before the Gators used a walk and a single from Daniel Pigott to cut the lead to one.
#16 Arkansas 9 #20 Alabama 8
FAYETTEVILLE – Behind two big innings, the No. 16 University of Arkansas baseball team rallied past Alabama, 9-8, Friday night at Baum Stadium. Zack Cox was 3-for-5 at the plate with a three-run home run and career-high six RBI and Andy Wilkins moved into a tie for fifth place on the Razorbacks’ career home runs list. Arkansas (16-5, 2-2 SEC) overcame five- and three-run deficits and used a four-run eighth to cap the comeback.
"I’m just glad to see our guys respond," head coach Dave Van Horn said. "Down 5-0, we could have rolled over but there was some serious attitude in our dugout and I’m sure tomorrow will be another good game.
"I think it really shows the determination in our dugout. We tie it up, 5-5, and next thing you know, we’re down, 8-5, and nobody was pouting or moping. There were guys getting after each other, saying ‘we can still do it’ and ‘let’s put together a big inning like we did earlier’ and that’s kind of what happened."
#21 South Carolina 11 Auburn 5
Auburn, Ala. – South Carolina broke out with eight runs in the first two innings powered by three home runs and starting pitcher Blake Cooper worked seven strong innings to earn his fourth win of the season as the Gamecocks defeated Auburn 11-5 on Friday evening in game one of a three-game SEC baseball series. Carolina is 18-4 and 4-0 in the SEC while the loss drops the Tigers to 16-3 and 3-1 in conference play. Both teams face off again on Saturday with first pitch set for 1 p.m. ET at Plainsman Park. The game will be televised live on CSS-TV (Time Warner Cable channel 165 in Columbia) and ESPN360.com and can also be heard on the Gamecock Radio Network.
All nine position starters for South Carolina tallied at least one hit with Adam Matthews going 3-for-3 with three RBI and Bangs batting 2-for-4 with three RBI as well. Matthews, Bangs and Scott Wingo all homered for Carolina. With his leadoff base hit in the first inning, Whit Merrifield became the 23rd player in school history to record 200 career hits with the Garnet & Black. Auburn was led by Creede Simpson, Hunter Morris, Brian Fletcher and Ryan Jenkins who all had two hits apiece for the Tigers.
South Carolina Recap
Auburn Recap
#23 Vanderbilt 7 #26 Kentucky 0
NASHVILLE — Sophomore right-hander Sonny Gray threw seven innings of four-hit scoreless baseball to lead Vanderbilt to a 7-0 win over Kentucky in Southeastern Conference baseball action Friday night at Hawkins Field.
The Commodores improved to 19-4 overall and 2-2 in SEC play, while Kentucky fell to 16-6 and 1-3 in league play.
It was VU’s first shutout against Kentucky since an 8-0 win in the series opener in 2005.
Vanderbilt Recap
Kentucky Recap
Mississippi State 9 Georgia 8
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State erased a six-run deficit to defeat Georgia 9-8 in a Southeastern Conference baseball game played Friday night at Dudy Noble Field.
The Maroon and White Bulldogs rallied from down 7-1 with a six-run bottom of the fifth inning. Connor Powers would later score the game-winner on a wild pitch in the eighth inning.
M-State snapped a five-game losing streak in the conference’s only series between a pair of Bulldogs. MSU improved to 13-9 overall and 1-3 in league play, while Georgia fell to 8-14 and 0-4. The Maroon and White are now 5-2 in one-run games this season.
Mississippi State Recap
Georgia Recap
