SEC Baseball Recap Week 5: New Number One
Image: Tennessee Athletics
By Jon Reed
Just when you start to think some teams are about to separate themselves from the pack, they slip up.
Arkansas went from looking unbeatable to dropping two in a row to the Georgia Bulldogs to fall to 12-3 in conference. LSU gets swept on the Plains of Auburn. Texas and Tennessee both get hard-fought road series wins.
The Longhorns are in sole possession of first place with a 13-2 record, followed by the Razorbacks at 12-3 and the Vols at 11-4.
Let’s take a look at how it happened.
Tennessee Takes Road Series at Ole Miss
Game 1 saw Tennessee’s ace, former Ole Miss pitcher Liam Doyle, shut down the home team on the way to a 3-2 victory. Doyle sturck out 14 over 8.1 innings of two-run baseball. Tennessee didn’t score after the fifth inning, but neither did Ole Miss.
Game 2 was a story of missed opportunities for the Vols as they could not cash in with any timely hits late in the game despite constantly having runners on base. Ole Miss was able to pitch out of trouble on the way to an 8-5 series-evening win.
The rubber match was a back-and-forth affair. Tennessee took the lead in the first, then Ole Miss took it back in the second. Then, the Vols tied it in the top of the third before the Rebels got it back in the bottom of the inning. Then Tennessee exploded for 5 runs in the top of the sixth inning and looked set to cruise to a win. However, Mississippi scored five runs over their next three at bats and led 8-7 going into the ninth inning. A Reese Chapman two-run bomb put the Big Orange up for good, and a Hunter Ensley single added an insurance run on the way to a 10-8 victory.
Georgia Knocks Razorbacks Off at Home
Game 1 was a Razorback slugfest as they improved to 32-3 overall with a 13-3 win, spearheaded by 10 runs over the final three innings, including 7 in the ninth. The Bulldogs responded early in Game 2, scoring 3 in the bottom of the first. They nursed that lead throughout the game and held off a late Arkansas rally on the way to a 7-6 victory.
Game 3 was electric. Arkansas trailed 5-3 going into the ninth inning, but sent the game to extras thanks to two solo bombs by Ryder Helfrick and Wehiwa Aloy. Each team scored 1 in the eleventh before Henry Hunter walked it off with a blast in the twelfth for the Bulldogs, who won 7-6.
Auburn Shocks LSU with Sweep
The most surprising result of the weekend was the Tigers of Auburn taking all three from the Tigers of Louisiana.
Game 1 was a comfortable 8-4 win that they led 6-0. Game 2 saw Auburn’s pitching staff, led by Cade Fisher’s 5 innings of 1-run baseball, keep LSU in check on their way to a 4-2 victory. Game 3 was controlled by Auburn for most of the game. The War Eagles held a 3-0 lead until the eighth, where LSU scored 2. But 2 was not good enough, and Auburn held on for a 3-2 win.
Texas Moves to Number 1 After Taking 2 out of 3 in Lexington
The Longhorns kept their winning streak going in Game 1 thanks to a late-inning explosion, scoring 5 combined runs in the seventh and eight innings on their way to a 6-3 victory. The Wildcats battled back in Game 2, winning 5-4 in 15 innings. Ethan Hindle’s solo home run in the bottom of the ninth extended the game, and Griffin Cameron helped bring the winning-run home in the fifteenth with his single that led to a throwing error and unearned run.
The series-deciding Game 3 was a close 5-4 win by Texas.
Texas A&M Breaks Out the Brooms Against South Carolina
And the bats as the Aggies scored 40 runs in the three-game sweep.
Thursday’s Game 1 was a close 8-7 walk-off win. Game 2 was a 17-0 run-rule BLOWOUT. Game 3 saw a ten-run comeback capped off with two ninth inning grand slams, including the walk-off shot by Kaeden Kent.
We’ve been talking about how it would take something special for Texas A&M to save their season and get in the tournament, and they seem to have activated that magic. South Carolina continues to be depressing.
Oklahoma Takes 2 Out of 3 Against VanderbiLLt
The Sooners offense was too much for the Commodores on Friday and Saturday. Oklahoma coasted to a 9-4 Game 1 victory after scoring 4 in the first. Game 2 started in a similar fashion with the SEC-newcomers scoring 3 in the first on their way to a 14-0 run-rule shutout.
Vandy was able to flip the script on Sunday and get at least one win thanks to a consistent offensive outing that saw them score in seven of the eight innings in a 13-2 run-rule victory.
Mississippi State Wins 2 out of 3 at Alabama
The Bulldogs made a statement in Game 1 with a 13-3 run-rule victory. Riley Quick helped Alabama bounce back in Game 2 as he went 5.1IP while only giving up one run. It was the only run State scored in a 4-1 series-tying loss.
The deciding Game 3 saw State take a 2-0 lead in the first. Bama tied it up with a run in the third and another in the sixth, but State responded with 1 in the seventh and another in the eighth for a 4-2 win.
Florida Sweeps Lifeless Missouri
The Gators scored six in the first and never let up on their way to a 11-2 victory in Game 1. Missouri didn’t score any runs in Game 2 as they lost 5-0 in seven innings. The good news for Missouri is that they scored in Game 3. The bad news is they didn’t score enough and lost 3-2.
They are now 0-15 in conference play. I bet they wish they would’ve hired Tony Vitello.
Upcoming Weekend Schedule
Kentucky @ Tennessee
Auburn @ Texas (Thursday)
Alabama @ LSU (Thursday)
Georgia @ Vanderbilt
Texas A&M @ Arkansas (Thursday)
Florida @ Mississippi State
Ole Miss @ South Carolina
Oklahoma at Missouri (Thursday)