Here is your SEC Recap for May 18th.
#5 Florida 9 North Florida 3
Freshman Austin Maddox (Jacksonville, Fla.) went 4-for-4 and drove in five runs to lead No. 4 Florida (38-12) to a 9-3 victory over UNF (29-23) on Tuesday night in front of 3,314 fans at McKethan Stadium. In addition, the rookie belted his team-leading 17th homer, a two-run shot in the fifth, to establish a Gator freshman single-season record. UF extended its winning streak to five games and has captured 12 of its last 13 outings.
“We got a really good start from Tommy Toledo and North Florida has always played us tough,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan. “They’re scrappy and they’re well coached by Dusty Rhodes. It was good to get on the board early and get a 5-0 lead. I thought it gave us a little cushion and it was great to get a lot of players in there tonight. Overall, it was a great team effort and a positive way to end the regular season here at home.”
Florida Recap
North Florida Recap
#9 South Carolina 11 Furman 6
Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina had 10 consecutive batters reach base in a nine-run seventh inning including a grand slam home run by Bobby Haney as the Gamecocks defeated Furman 11-6 on Tuesday night in non-conference baseball action at Carolina Stadium. The Gamecocks are now 42-11 on the year while the loss drops Furman to 16-34 for the season. South Carolina returns to action beginning on Thursday night hosting Florida in the first of a three-game series in a battle for the SEC championship. First pitch for the series opener is 7 p.m. with the game televised live on SportSouth and also can be heard on the Gamecock Radio Network and at GamecocksOnline.com.
With the game tied at 2-2, the Gamecocks made their move in the bottom of the seventh inning. Bobby Haney singled to open the inning followed by a one-out base hit by Whit Merrifield and a walk to Jackie Bradley Jr. that loaded the bases. Both Haney and Merrifield would score on Christian Walker’s RBI single to right field off of Furman reliever Kevin Gaid. After an intentional walk to Jeffery Jones loaded the bases, the Gamecocks scored their third run of the inning on a walk issued to Adrian Morales. After that, Robert Beary laced a RBI single scoring Walker and ending the evening for Gaid. With Kevin Gottlieb on in relief, Carolina kept it going as Brady Thomas delivered with a RBI single. The bases were still full and set the stage for Haney, who reached base for the second time in the inning, this time briefly, as he crushed a grand slam home run to right field, his third homer of the year and second career grand slam that increased the Gamecock advantage to 11-2. Furman would scratch across a run in the eighth inning as well as three runs in the ninth inning.
South Carolina Recap
Furman Recap
#15 Oklahoma 5 #14 Arkansas 2
NORMAN, Okla. — Michael Rocha allowed one run across 7 1/3 innings and the No. 15 Sooners topped No. 14 Arkansas in front of 1,553 fans at L. Dale Mitchell Park on Tuesday.
The win snapped a five-game losing streak for the Sooners against the Razorbacks dating back to the last regular season game in Norman on March 12, 2002. It also improved OU’s overall record to 38-14 while Arkansas dropped to 38-15.
#21 Auburn 9 Jacksonville State 7
AUBURN, Ala. – Tony Caldwell’s eighth-inning pinch hit single drove in two runs to snap a tie and send Auburn to a 9-7 win over Jacksonville State in its final home game of the year. Hunter Morris and Trent Mummey each homered in the game as Auburn improved to 36-17 on the year with three regular season games remaining. Jacksonville State fell to 26-24.
"I had an opportunity and I really wanted to come through in the clutch after coming off the bench," Caldwell said. "With one out I was trying to drive the ball to the outfield and when I got two strikes I just spread out and battled."
Auburn Recap
Jacksonville State Recap
Tulane 9 #27 LSU 1
NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane baseball team got what they needed out of freshman starting pitcher Kyle McKenzie and the offense posted 12 hits on their way to a 9-1 victory over rival LSU. McKenzie tossed 5.1 scoreless innings, while Brennan Middleton and Jeremy Schaffer each extended their hitting streak to nine games. Matt Ryan had three hits, walked and scored four runs to propel the Olive and Blue to the victory over their intra-state rivals at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium.
"You see the enthusiasm in the crowd and fortunately we had a guy who… had the hot hand tonight," said Tulane head coach Rick Jones. "We played so well defensively (tonight). You won’t see a much better play than the one that Nick Boullosa made in centerfield and that is a momentum turner. We had some really good at bats with runners on base…and Middleton’s blow stretched the lead. This is one of those games…and we needed it tonight."
Kentucky 6 Murray State 3
PADUCAH, Ky. — In his third career start, Kentucky sophomore right-hander Joe Devine tossed a career-high 5.1 innings and struck out a career-best four, helping lead UK to a 6-3 win over Murray State in the final non-conference game of the 2010 regular-season, on Tuesday night in front of 1,571 fans at Brooks Stadium.
Kentucky (30-23) got a strong outing from Devine, who gave UK a strong start in the final non-conference game of the 2010 regular-season. A native of Henderson, Ky., Devine tossed 5.1 innings, allowing three hit and one run, walking one and striking out a career-best four, with the lone run coming as a solo homer. Freshman Walter Wijas and junior Mike Kaczmarek then blanked the Breds out of the bullpen, before Logan Darnell picked up his first save of the season and the fourth of his career.
Kentucky Recap
Murray State Recap
Mississippi State 16 Southern Miss 9
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Mississippi State erased an early deficit by scoring 11 straight runs to defeat in-state rival Southern Mississippi 16-9 in a college baseball game played Tuesday night at Pete Taylor Park.
Playing before a Taylor Park season-best 4,511, the Bulldogs earned a season split with the Golden Eagles, while snapping a four-game losing streak in games played on the Southern Miss campus. MSU had not won here since the 2004 season. The victory marked the Bulldogs’ third win in true road games this season.
Mississippi State Recap
Southern Miss Recap
Tennessee 12 UNC-Asheville 3
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee baseball team broke open a 3-3 tie with nine unanswered runs over their final two trips to the plate to claim a 12-3 triumph over UNC Asheville (15-33) on Tuesday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville. The win moves the Volunteers’ record to 30-23 on the season, marking the 18th time in school history that they have reached the 30-win plateau.
"It might be an understatement to say that we started out a little slow, but we were able to get it going," UT Head Coach Todd Raleigh said. "I thought (Steve) Crnkovich was the difference tonight. He went out there and threw up zeroes to keep the game from getting out of control until we were able to relax and get some hits. It was good to see Josh (Liles) and Khayyan (Norfork) come around and get some hits tonight. They struggled last weekend and we really need some table-setters for Blake (Forsythe) and Cody (Hawn), so it was great to see them get going."
Tennessee Recap
UNC-Asheville Recap
