Here is your SEC Recap for April 11th.
Auburn 6 #3 LSU 5
AUBURN, Ala. – With runners on the corners, none out and LSU employing five infielders in the bottom of the ninth, Justin Fradejas and Auburn executed a perfect safety squeeze to score Casey McElroy and give Auburn a 6-5, series-clinching win over No. 3 LSU on Sunday afternoon at Plainsman Park. Fradejas placed his bunt right at LSU first baseman Blake Dean, who was able to make a play on the ball but his throw home was high and to the first base side, allowing a hard-charging Casey McElroy to get in under a swipe tag by LSU catcher Micah Gibbs, sending the 3,130 fans into a frenzy as Auburn won its first home series over LSU since 1998.
"There was certainly some excitement in the dugout when Justin put down that safety squeeze," Auburn Head Coach John Pawlowski said. "This is a great win for our kids and our program. We were down 3-0 before we even came to bat. The kids stayed with it, we stayed with the game plan and we found a way to scratch for a run here and there."
#9 Arkansas 13 Mississippi State 3
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Randall Fant allowed one run in seven innings and Brett Eibner was 3-for-5, including a grand slam, with five RBI as the No. 9 University of Arkansas baseball team topped Mississippi State, 13-3, Sunday afternoon at Dudy Noble Field. The grand slam for Eibner was the second of his career. Five players tallied three hits in the series finale for the Razorbacks. The win gives Arkansas (26-6, 9-3 SEC) its first-ever road sweep of the Bulldog
On the mound, Fant shook off a bumpy start and logged a career-high seven innings in his fifth start of the season. The freshman left hander gave up just two hits, walked a pair and totaled four strikeouts. Fant retired the final 14 hitters he faced and 18 of the last 19. The Texarkana, Texas, native improves to 3-0 with the win.
Arkansas Recap
Mississippi State Recap
#10 Florida 9 Tennessee 1
Freshman right-hander Hudson Randall (Atlanta, Ga.) held Tennessee (16-17/3-9 SEC) without a hit until the sixth inning and No. 8 Florida (23-8/8-4 SEC) erupted for a season-high seven runs in the sixth to cruise to a 9-1 victory in the rubber game of the weekend series at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. It was the first time that the Gators captured a series in Knoxville since taking two of three contests during the 2002 campaign.
Over a career-high eight innings, Randall (3-3) limited the Vols to four singles and a run and matched his personal-best of six strikeouts. He was supported by an offense that banged out 13 hits, including seven doubles. Sophomore Jerico Weitzel (Ridgway, Pa.) (3-for-4, two runs) had a career-high three doubles and junior Josh Adams (Jacksonville, Fla.) jacked a three-run homer in the sixth when the contest was scoreless.
#16 South Carolina 2 #19 Vanderbilt 0
Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina pitchers Jay Brown, Michael Roth and Matt Price combined to face the minimum on Sunday afternoon and recorded a two-hit shutout as the Gamecocks defeated Vanderbilt 2-0 on Sunday afternoon to win the rubber game of a three-game SEC baseball series. With the victory, head coach Ray Tanner has now tallied 1,000 career victories. He is the fourth fastest active coach to tally 1,000 Division I victories in games played (Tanner is 1,000-446-3 in Division I). The Gamecocks are now 25-7 and 9-3 in the SEC while the loss drops Vanderbilt to 26-8 and 6-6 in conference play.
"I’m grateful to be where I am," said head coach Ray Tanner. "I think I have one of the better jobs in the country and I’m just a part of a team. Like I said before, I’ve never made any pitches, I’ve never gotten any hits, I’ve never made any plays. I’m just proud to be part of this program. Jay Brown, I’ll always remember getting 1,000 when he pitched and I’m honored that he was the guy that went out there. He figured in with Roth and Price in a tough game today."
South Carolina Recap
Vanderbilt Recap
Georgia 6 #18 Ole Miss 3
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia defeated 15th-ranked Ole Miss 6-3 Sunday, and it marked head coach David Perno’s 300th career win.
The Bulldogs (11-21, 3-9 SEC) salvaged the final game of the series with the Rebels (23-10, 7-5 SEC) and snapped a five-game losing streak in the process. Sunday was a must win for the Bulldogs who dropped a 4-3 heartbreaker in 13 innings Saturday for their fifth one-run loss in conference play.
#25 Alabama 11 Kentucky 9
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Alabama found itself down by nine runs entering the top of the sixth inning.
Senior third baseman Jake Smith capped a five-run inning with his fourth career grand slam to ignite the Crimson Tide offense, as No. 19 Alabama rallied for an improbable 11-9 come-from-behind win on Sunday afternoon at Cliff Hagan Stadium in Lexington.
The nine-run Alabama comeback marks the largest in school history, dating back to at least the 1995 season, the last year game-by-game records were kept by the Crimson Tide.
