Here is your SEC Recap for March 27th.
#6 South Carolina 4 #1 Florida 3
Gainesville, Fla. – Fourth ranked South Carolina rallied from three runs down and three Gamecock relievers combined to hurl seven shutout innings of relief as Carolina defeated top ranked Florida 4-3 on Sunday afternoon at McKethan Stadium to clinch a three-game SEC baseball series. Carolina is now 18-5 and 4-2 in the SEC while the loss drops Florida to 21-4 and 4-2 in league play.
After scoring three runs in the top of the sixth inning to tie the game at 3-3, the Gamecocks went ahead for the first time in the top of the eighth inning. Adam Matthews doubled to lead off the inning off of Florida reliever Tommy Toledo and Peter Mooney was hit by a pitch to give Carolina a pair of runners with no outs. Jackie Bradley Jr. then dropped down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners and Christian Walker was intentionally walked to load the bases and set the stage for Adrian Morales. With a full count, Morales walked on a pitch from Toledo that was high and inside to give Carolina a 4-3 lead.
South Carolina Recap
Florida Recap
#2 Vanderbilt 2 #12 Arkansas 1
Fayetteville, Ark. – The Vanderbilt pitching staff led the way on Sunday afternoon at Baum Stadium in the Commodores’ 2-1 win to clinch the series.
Starter Taylor Hill turned in five scoreless innings to earn the win and the bullpen did the rest allowing one run on four hits over the final four frames. The Razorbacks threatened to tie the game in the eighth inning after cutting the lead to one run on a sacrifice fly but freshman Kevin Ziomek came in and slammed the door. With two runners on the lefty struck out the first batter and Arkansas’ Bo Bigham flew out to left field to end the inning. Navery Moore then pitched around an error in the ninth to seal the Dores’ sixth series victory of the year and earn his sixth save of the season.
Vanderbilt Recap
Arkansas Recap
Game 1: Georgia 9 #10 LSU 5 (7 innings)
Game 2: Georgia 3 #10 LSU 2 (7 innings)
ATHENS, Ga.– The Georgia baseball team swept ninth-ranked LSU in a doubleheader, 9-5 and 3-2, Sunday in front of 2,083 at Foley Field to win a Southeastern Conference series.
In game one, a six-run outburst in the second inning sparked Georgia to a 9-5 victory as Bulldog Michael Palazzone pitched a complete game. Due to inclement weather Saturday, Sunday’s doubleheader featured a pair of seven-inning contests. The Bulldogs evened their SEC record to 3-3 and are now 11-13 overall including 6-8 against ranked teams. Georgia opened conference play last week at fourth-ranked South Carolina.
Mississippi State 5 #22 Auburn 0
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State pitching threw its fourth shutout of the season as the Bulldogs blanked No. 21 Auburn 5-0 in the final game of a Southeastern Conference weekend baseball series Sunday afternoon at Dudy Noble Field.
Nick Routt and Daryl Norris combined on a four-hit shutout for the Maroon and White. It was MSU’s first shutout of a league opponent since Ricky Bowen threw a two-hit, 4-0 shutout of Ole Miss at home on March 16, 2008. MSU pitching had previously shut out Lamar, Akron and Sacred Heart on the 2011 campaign.
With the victory, the Bulldogs completed a three-game series sweep of Auburn. For the Maroon and White, it was their first three-game conference sweep since the 2007 College World Series-participant Bulldogs accomplished the same feat in this stadium against Auburn.
Mississippi State Recap
Auburn Recap
Alabama 8 Kentucky 3
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama baseball team completed a series sweep of the Kentucky Wildcats with an 8-3 victory on Sunday at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide (18-7, 5-1 SEC) has now won seven games in a row, including five straight in the SEC, and improves to 16-1 at home. Kentucky drops to 14-11 overall and 2-5 in SEC play.
“Anytime you can sweep someone in the SEC you are doing something right, but I think it all starts on the mound,” UA head coach Mitch Gaspard said. “The difference in the series to me was that our guys were able to take us into the sixth and seventh innings and that shortens down the bullpen for you. It was a good week for us, we played fairly well in all five games, so we get five wins. Now we have to take that into next week.”
Freshman first baseman Austen Smith finished the day 2-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored, while senior catcher Brock Bennett and junior shortstop Jared Reaves each collected a pair of hits and a pair of runs for the Tide. Junior designated hitter Jose Rosecrans added to his team-leading home run total with a two-run blast in the first inning.
Ole Miss 8 Tennessee 0
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Wright turned in a solid performance on the mound Sunday and the Rebel offense kicked into gear as Ole Miss (18-7, 3-3 SEC) shut out Tennessee (18-6, 2-4 SEC) by a score of 8-0 to claim the weekend series.
Wright (3-2) worked 8.0 innings in the outing, striking out eight and walking one while limiting Tennessee to four hits in his time on the mound.
Levi Dean (4-1) took his first loss of the season as he allowed three runs on six hits with a walk and a strikeout.
Ole Miss Recap
Tennessee Recap
