Both semi-final games were cut short due to a power surges as LSU and Arkansas advanced to the 2017 SEC Baseball Tournament Championship game.
LSU kicked the day off with it’s second straight 10-running as they beat South Carolina 11-0 in 7 innings.
Kramer Robertson continued his good hitting in the tournament going 3-5 with 3 runs and 2 RBI, including a home run. Greg Deichmann also hit a home run and finished 3-4 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI.
Jared Poche was solid on the mound for LSU as well tossing six shutout innings allowing just 2 hits and 2 walks with 1 strikeout.
South Carolina’s run in the SEC Tournament comes to a disappointing end. They simply ran out of steam, and more importantly, they ran out of pitching.
They used four different pitchers in the seven inning game, and only one didn’t allow a run.
The offense wasn’t much better as they only had three hits and two walks.
Things were even uglier for Florida in the second game as Brady Singer gave up 8 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks in just 1 inning pitched as Arkansas ran away with this one 16-0.
Chad Spanberger, the clear front-runner for tournament MVP at this point, hit two more home runs on Saturday and finished 3-6 with 3 runs scored and 3 RBI.
Four hitters in the Arkansas lineup had three hits. They had 15 hits and eight walks as a team.
Dominic Fletcher was 3-4 with a home run, 3 runs scored and 4 RBI.
Kacey Murphy tossed a 7-inning complete game shutout allowing just 2 hits and 3 walks with 8 strikeouts.
Arkansas and LSU will meet in the championship game on Sunday, while Florida will head back home and prepare for their regional matchup.
Things are a bit more questionable for South Carolina.
NCAA Tournament Picture: I would have felt really good about the Gamecocks getting into the NCAA Tournament had they beat LSU on Saturday. Now that they didn’t, I’m not sure they get in at this point. It will be an uncomfortable selection show on Monday for South Carolina. Florida is a lock for a national seed, as is LSU. I think Arkansas has worked it’s way into a hosting position. A win over LSU Sunday would almost certainly guarantee them a hosting spot next weekend.
Championship Game Preview: It’s been pretty evident that LSU and Arkansas were on a collision coarse in this tournament. Outside of a bullpen collapse against Mississippi State, the Razorbacks have been on fire in this tournament. Meanwhile, nobody has even come close to touching LSU. Both of these offenses have been tearing it up in Hoover, and I don’t expect it to be any different on Sunday. LSU probably has a little more pitching left at this point. I just think the Tigers are unbeatable right now. If I had to pick today, I’d pick them to win the College World Series.
Prediction: LSU
