Here is your SEC Recap for May 7th.
#6 Florida 9 Alabama 3
Florida freshman right-hander Hudson Randall (Atlanta, Ga.) twirled seven shutout innings and all nine starters contributed a hit as the fourth-ranked Gators (32-11/16-6 SEC) defeated Alabama (28-18/9-13 SEC), 9-3, on Friday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The victory matched UF’s season-best winning streak of six games and kept head coach Kevin O’Sullivan’s club one game behind league-leading South Carolina (36-9/17-5 SEC), a 13-9 winner at Kentucky.
Randall (6-3) claimed his fourth-straight win by yielding eight hits, with three strikeouts and a walk. Freshman Mike Zunino (Cape Coral, Fla.) (2-for-4) drove in three runs, freshman Nolan Fontana (Winter Garden, Fla.) went 3-for-5 with two runs and two doubles and freshman Austin Maddox (Jacksonville, Fla.) (2-for-5, two RBI) connected on his team-best 14th homer. The Gators also turned a season-high four double plays.
#10 Arkansas 11 #15 Ole Miss 4
OXFORD, Miss. – The No. 10 University of Arkansas baseball team exploded for 10 runs over the final three innings in an 11-4 win over No. 11 Ole Miss Friday night at Oxford-University Stadium. Brett Eibner hit his 17th home run of the season, a go-ahead blast in the seventh to spark the club’s offensive barrage. Tim Carver added a two-run shot in the eighth and Travis Sample came off the bench to hit a grand slam to seal the victory in the ninth.
Drew Smyly gave up two runs in six innings on his way to his eighth win of the season. Zack Cox tallied his 30th multi-hit game of the season with a 3-for-3 effort at the plate. James McCann and Carver also had three hits in the Hogs’ victory. With the win, the Razorbacks move back into sole possession of first place in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference.
#11 South Carolina 13 Kentucky 9
Lexington, Ky. – Christian Walker tied a school record for doubles in a game with three, tied his career-high with four hits and also drove in four runs and senior right-hander Blake Cooper improved to 9-0 on the year in 5.2 innings of work as South Carolina held on for a 13-9 victory over Kentucky in game one of a three-game SEC baseball series on Friday night at Cliff Hagan Stadium. Carolina is now 36-9 and 17-5 in the SEC while the loss drops Kentucky to 24-21 and 7-15 in league play. Game two of the series is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday night and will be televised on FS South by the Big Blue Network. The game can also be heard on the Gamecock Radio Network and at GamecocksOnline.com.
Trailing 7-4, the Gamecocks scored five runs in the top of the sixth inning to take a 9-7 lead. Things got started for Carolina on a one-out base hit by Bobby Haney. Carolina then caught a break as a sacrifice bunt by Scott Wingo was misplayed by third baseman Andy Burns to give the Gamecocks a pair of runners. Whit Merrifield reached base then on an infield single to load the bases. On a 0-1 pitch, Jackie Bradley Jr. drilled a double to right field scoring both Haney and Wingo and cutting the Kentucky lead to one run. The Wildcats went to the pen for reliever Nick Kennedy. Christian Walker welcomed him to the game drilling a double to the warning track in right field scoring Merrifield and tying the game at 7-7. Pinch hitter Jeffery Jones would put the Gamecocks ahead on a RBI ground out to score Bradley and Adrian Morales had a two-out RBI base hit to left field scoring Walker as the Gamecocks went ahead by two runs. That lead was extended to 11-7 in the eighth inning as Walker doubled home Bradley and Evan Marzilli knocked in Walker with a sacrifice fly to center field.
South Carolina Recap
Kentucky Recap
#17 LSU 16 #19 Vanderbilt 15 (10 innings)
BATON ROUGE — Catcher Micah Gibbs ripped a walk-off double in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift No. 15 LSU to a 16-15 win over No.18 Vanderbilt Friday night in Alex Box Stadium.
The Tigers (34-13, 12-10) erased a seven-run deficit after the fourth inning and took the lead in the eighth after Blake Dean drove home the go-ahead run to make the score 15-14. Vanderbilt (33-13, 10-10) tied the game in the ninth when second baseman Anthony Gomez belted a solo homer off closer Matty Ott.
#28 Auburn 9 Mississippi State 6
AUBURN, Ala. – No. 19 Auburn scored six times in the first inning, three off of one swing by Casey McElroy, and held on to claim a 9-6 series-opening win over Mississippi State on Friday night at Plainsman Park. Auburn improved its record to 31-15, 13-9 SEC while Mississippi State fell to 20-26, 5-17. With the win, Auburn matched its win total from all of last season and equaled the most conference wins since the 2005 team finished 13-17.
"We jumped out early and Mississippi State never went away. We had to battle for everything we could tonight," Auburn Head Coach John Pawlowski said. "Cory (Luckie) got us into the sixth inning and Casey came up with a big three-run home run early in the game. It was a good win for us tonight."
Auburn Recap
Mississippi State Recap
Tennessee 4 Georgia 1
ATHENS, Ga. – Senior Stephen McCray was masterful in the first Friday night start of his Tennessee career, twirling the Volunteers’ first complete game in almost two years to lead his squad to a 4-1 victory in its series opener against Georgia with 3,327 on hand at Foley Field in Athens. Playing in front of numerous family and friends, the Lilburn, Ga., native set career highs with nine innings pitched and eight strikeouts as he improved to 5-3 on the season.
With the victory, Tennessee improved to 25-21 on the season and 9-13 in Southeastern Conference play, while Georgia fell to 13-31 and 3-17. The win also moved UT up into a tie for the eighth and final spot in the SEC Tournament with Alabama, as the Crimson Tide dropped a 9-3 decision to Florida in Tuscaloosa on Friday evening.
