Here is your SEC Recap for April 17th.
#6
LSU 9 Alabama 7
BATON ROUGE, La. – Alabama nearly erased a five-run deficit, scoring three times in the eighth inning before LSU All-American closer Matty Ott got sophomore left fielder Jon Kelton to ground out with the bases loaded, as the Tide fell to No. 6 Tigers 9-7 in front of an Alex Box Stadium record 12,313 fans Saturday night.
Alabama (22-14, 5-9 SEC) dug itself a 5-0 hole in the second inning but slowly chipped away at the LSU lead and closed the gap to 9-7 in the eighth inning when it loaded the bases with two outs. Ott threw one pitch in the eighth inning as Kelton hit a ground ball back to the mound and Ott flipped to first baseman Blake Dean to preserve the two-run lead.
LSU Recap
Alabama Recap
#7 Arkansas 10 Georgia 2
FAYETTEVILLE – Brett Eibner pitched seven solid innings and collected four RBI at the plate to lead the No. 7 University of Arkansas baseball team to a 10-2 win over Georgia Saturday afternoon at Baum Stadium. With the victory, the Razorbacks clinched their 10th consecutive win, the longest streak since the 2005 club reeled off 12 in a row. Leadoff hitter Collin Kuhn also starred for Arkansas (30-6, 11-3 SEC) with a 4-for-5 performance, falling a home run short of hitting for the cycle. The Hogs also extended their streak of tallying at least 10 hits to 15 games.
"It was the same type of game (as Friday)," head coach Dave Van Horn said. "They scored, then we got the lead and kept the lead and added to it. (Georgia) hit some balls hard and we made some good plays in the field. We hit the ball hard, too. I’m just glad the rain didn’t come in and affect the game in terms of causing a delay."
#9 Florida 6 #30 Kentucky 3
Sophomore reliever Greg Larson (Longwood, Fla.) (2-1) threw 3.2 scoreless and hitless innings and sophomore first baseman Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) drove in three runs to lift No. 7 Florida (25-9/10-4 SEC) to a 6-3 victory over Kentucky (21-14/4-10 SEC) on Saturday night. The triumph secured the Gators’ first series win at Cliff Hagan Stadium since 2004. After allowing a leadoff double in the fourth, UF’s pitching staff held the Wildcats without a hit until there were two outs in the eighth and the hosts stranded 14 runners in the ballgame.
The Gators took a 1-0 lead in the second on an RBI single by senior Matt den Dekker (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) off freshman southpaw Taylor Rogers (4-4). Freshman Austin Maddox (Jacksonville, Fla.) (3-for-5, two runs) had raised his hitting streak to seven games with his team-leading 12th double and was sacrificed to third on a bunt by senior Jonathan Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.). den Dekker delivered a base-hit into right field to break the ice.
#13 South Carolina 9 #19 Ole Miss 5
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Christian Walker’s grand slam highlighted a seven-run second inning and starting pitcher Sam Dyson did not allow an earned run in 6.1 innings of work as South Carolina defeated Ole Miss 9-5 to clinch a weekend SEC baseball series at Carolina Stadium. Carolina is now 28-7 and 11-3 in the SEC while the loss drops Ole Miss to 23-13 and 7-7 in league play. The series finale is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon with a live video broadcast on GamecocksOnline.com and also available on the Gamecock Radio Network.
South Carolina has now won all five series this year in the SEC with eight straight series wins in conference play dating back to the 2009 season.
South Carolina Recap
Ole Miss Recap
Auburn 12 #18 Vanderbilt 2
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Cory Luckie’s complete game five-hitter was just what the doctor ordered for the No. 23 Auburn baseball team, which tied its SEC series with No. 18 Vanderbilt with a 12-2 win on Saturday afternoon at Hawkins Field.Brian Fletcher (3-for-6, 3 R) homered twice and drove in four runs as Auburn improved to 24-12, 8-6 SEC.
"We came up with some big hits and put some pressure on them early in the game and defensively we were really solid," Auburn Head Coach John Pawlowski said. "It starts with the guy on the mound. What a gutsy performance by Cory today. He issued two walks, he filled the zone up all day long and he kept the leadoff guys off all day long. That is just a solid performance when we really needed one."
Mississippi State 11 Tennessee 7
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State freshman right-hander Chris Stratton threw his squad’s first complete game of the season and Ryan Duffy launched a pair of home runs Saturday afternoon as the Bulldogs defeated Tennessee 11-7 in Southeastern Conference baseball action at Dudy Noble Field.
A season-best crowd of 11,089 was on hand as the Maroon and White evened their Super Bulldog Weekend conference series at a game apiece. It was the 14th largest crowd ever at Dudy Noble Field and the 24th time a crowd of 10,000 or better has attended a baseball game on the MSU campus.
MSU improved to 18-17 overall, while UT fell to 18-18. Both teams own 4-10 league records.
Mississippi State Recap
Tennessee Recap
