Here is your SEC Recap for April 22nd.
#2 South Carolina 8 Mississippi State 2
Starkville, Miss. – Second ranked South Carolina scored in six of nine innings with Christian Walker going 4-for-5 with two runs scored and Peter Mooney, Evan Marzilli and Robert Beary driving in two runs apiece as the Gamecocks defeated Mississippi State 8-2 on Friday evening in game one of a three-game SEC baseball series at Dudy Noble Field. Carolina is 30-7 and 13-3 in the SEC while the loss drops Mississippi State to 23-15 and 6-10 in league play.
Junior left-hander Michael Roth worked 6.1 innings and allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits with four strikeouts and three walks to pick up the win. He is now 9-1 on the year. MSU starter Chris Stratton suffered the loss and is now 4-5 on the year. He allowed seven runs, five earned, on nine hits with three strikeouts and a walk.
South Carolina took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning with an unearned run against Stratton. Christian Walker singled to right field with two outs and Brady Thomas reached base on catcher’s interference called on MSU backstop Wes Thigpen. On a 1-2 pitch, Adrian Morales drilled a RBI double down the right field line to score Walker and give the Gamecocks a one-run lead. MSU responded in the bottom of the first with an unearned run of its own. C.T. Bradford led off with a walk, reached second on a passed ball and scored on Jarrod Parks’ one-out RBI single to left-center.
South Carolina Recap
Mississippi State Recap
Nashville, Tenn, – Vanderbilt scored five runs in the first inning and never trailed en route to an 11-3 series-opening win Friday night at a sold out Hawkins Field.
After the Tigers scored a run in the top of the first, the Commodores sent 11 men to the plate scoring five runs on five singles, two walks and a hit batter. The Dores broke the game open in the fourth tacking on three more runs with Mike Yastrzemski’s two-run double and Curt Casali’s RBI-single. Jason Esposito’s two-run triple in the seventh capped the night’s scoring and set the final score. Seven different Commodores had at least one hit and six had at least one RBI. Casali led all players with three hits and Yastrzemski added three RBI in the win. LSU star Mikie Mahtook went 1-for-4 in the loss.
The trio of sophomore Hudson Randall (Atlanta, Ga.), junior Nick Maronde (Lexington, Ky.) and senior MattCampbell (Tampa, Fla.) combined on a five-hit shutout and No. 5 Florida (29-10/12-4 SEC) used a 14-hit offensive attack to notch a 7-0 victory over Alabama (25-16/8-8 SEC) in front of 4,206 fans at McKethan Stadium on Friday night.
Randall (7-1) scattered four hits over 6.1 innings and was boosted by three RBI and a two-run homer by junior Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.), a three-run homer by senior Josh Adams (Jacksonville, Fla.) and a 3-for-5 outing by sophomore Nolan Fontana (Winter Garden, Fla.). UF’s eighth shutout of the campaign matches the team’s highest total since 1991 and all nine Florida starters had at least one hit.
Tennessee 5 Georgia 4 (10 innings)
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – After Georgia intentionally walked Khayyan Norfork to load the bases with one out in the 10th inning, Tennessee senior Matt Duffy calmly delivered a walk-off single, lacing an 0-1 pitch high off the wall in right to lift the Volunteers to a 5-4 victory over the Bulldogs on a beautiful Friday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
“I was a little nervous because the game was on the line and you never want to let your team down and want to get that big hit,” Duffy said. “I’ve never walked off in my life, so that was pretty cool. I was just looking for a pitch to drive, and luckily he left one up and I got a hold of it.”
The victory was UT’s third straight, improving its record to 22-15 overall and 5-11 in Southeastern Conference play. The Bulldogs fall to 19-20, including a 9-7 league mark. The Vols will go for the series win at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
AUBURN, Ala. – For the third time in three outings, freshman right-hander Bobby Wahl entered with the game on the line and closed things out for the Rebels as Ole Miss (24-16, 9-8 SEC) defeated Auburn (21-17, 8-9 SEC) on Friday night by a score of 10-7.
The win evened the weekend series at a game each heading into Saturday’s series finale at noon on CSS.
David Goforth (3-5) picked up his second straight win as he worked 5.0 innings, allowing four runs on five hits with four walks and six strikeouts. Wahl picked up his third save of the season, holding Auburn off the board in the final 1.2 innings with one walk and four strikeouts after entering the game with two outs and a man on first in the eighth.
#12 Arkansas at Kentucky (PPD)
