Here we recap each game from day two of the 2017 SEC Baseball Tournament, explain how these games affect the NCAA Tournament, and preview day three.
There was more rain on Wednesday causing a delay in the LSU and Missouri game for a little over an hour, but otherwise it was a great day of SEC baseball action at the Hoover Met.
Game 4: Georgia – 0 Mississippi State – 3
A Bulldogs-on-Bulldogs battle began the day on Wednesday. It was the Maroon and White that prevailed thanks in part to their two star players. Brent Rooker was 3-5 with a 2-run home run, while Konnor Pilkington tossed 8 scoreless innings allowing just 5 hits and 2 walks with 6 strikeouts. Georgia freshman shortstop Cam Shepherd was 2-4 with a walk. Georgia was eliminated from the 2017 SEC Baseball Tournament, while Mississippi State advances to play Arkansas on Thursday morning.
Game 5: South Carolina – 2 Kentucky – 7
South Carolina came out hot and took a 2-0 lead, but then Kentucky scored seven unanswered runs on their way to victory. Kentucky’s Evan White finished the game with 4 RBI. Zach Logue and Chris Machamer combined to throw six scoreless innings in relief for the Wildcats to preserver the lead. The Gamecocks move to the loser’s bracket to play Missouri, while Kentucky moves on in the winner’s bracket where they will face LSU.
Missouri took an early lead in this one on a Kameron Misner home run. But LSU scored six unanswered runs in route to a 10-3 victory. Cole Freeman was the player of the game for LSU going 4-4 with 2 runs scored and 4 RBI. The first three hitters in the LSU lineup — Kramer Robertson, Freeman and Antoine Duplantis — combined to go 8-13 with 6 runs scored and 7 RBI. LSU starting pitcher Caleb Gilbert gave up just 1 run over five innings before an hour long rain delay forced him to leave the game. Much like South Carolina, Missouri showed a lot of fight early on but seemed to tire towards the second half of the game and played really sloppy.
Game 7: Auburn – 4 Florida – 5
Auburn had it’s chances early against Florida starting pitcher Alex Faedo, but couldn’t take advantage. An Auburn error led to Florida’s first run of the game, and then they strung together four straight hits in the fourth inning to take a 4-0 lead. However, Auburn rallied back to tie it in the seventh with four runs of their own. The Gators took back the lead in the bottom of the eighth and held on in the ninth for the win. Florida’s JJ Schwarz was 2-3 with a double, a walk and 2 runs scored. Faedo finished the game giving up 2 runs (1 earned) on 6 hits and 2 walks over 6-plus innings with 7 strikeouts. Jonah Todd for Auburn was 3-5 with a run scored and an RBI. The Tigers will face the loser of game eight, which will be the first game Thursday morning. Florida will face the winner of that game, but won’t play again until Friday.
NCAA Tournament Picture: Mississippi State eased any concerns with a shutout win over Georgia. They still have a lot of work to do if they want to host a regional. South Carolina and Missouri both missed great opportunities to build their tournament resume. Their game tomorrow is an elimination game for the SEC Baseball Tournament as well as the NCAA Baseball Tournament in my opinion. Kentucky increased it’s chances of hosting a regional, but would need to make the championship to have a chance at a top eight seed. LSU is a firm regional host, and is in place to earn a top eight seed. The same can be said for Florida after a big win on Wednesday night. Auburn is safely in the NCAA Tournament, and really doesn’t have anything else to play for. Even if they win the SEC Tournament I don’t see them earning a regional host.
Day 2 Reactions: Games were much cleaner on Wednesday as a lot of teams threw their aces. Konnor Pilkington for Mississippi State really stood out to me with eight scoreless innings. The ball continues to fly out of the Hoover Met thanks to constant winds that keep pushing rain through the area. Even though South Carolina and Missouri both got beat bad, they showed a lot of fight early as each team knows what is on the line. There were no major upsets on Wednesday as all of the top seeded teams won. However, Wednesday showed us everything that is great about SEC baseball with dominant pitching and timely hitting from its best hitters. Hopefully the rain is finished and we can have a couple of nice days.
Day 3 Preview: The Arkansas Razorbacks will finally take the field for the first time in the 2017 SEC Baseball Tournament when they face Mississippi State on Thursday morning. They are the only team in the tournament that has yet to play a game. Their bats should be well rested and ready to test this suddenly hitter-friendly ballpark. I’ve already mentioned what’s on the line in the South Carolina-Missouri game. We won’t know Auburn’s opponent in the third game on Thursday, but the loser of the first game on Thursday will have to turn right back around to face the Tigers in an elimination game at 4:30. Kentucky and LSU will be the nightcap, and that will be a game you won’t want to miss.
