SEC Baseball Weekend Recap: Week 2

By Jon Reed

The SEC was busy this weekend.

Seven basketball teams advanced to the Sweet 16 in the men’s tournament, and the typical weekend bloodbath/fight to the death saw some big teams tested. As the dust settles, we have a current four-way tie for first place at 5-1 between Georgia, Texas, LSU, and Tennessee.

Here’s how it happened.

Tennessee Wins 2 out of 3 at Alabama
That’s a big road series win for the Vols. Game 1 saw Tennessee jump out to a 3-0 win with their ace Liam Doyle on the mound. Vibes were high. Then, Alabama scored 5 in the bottom of the second as Doyle lost control and walked in a couple of runs before the stud Justin Lebron cleared the bases.  The Vols threatened late but couldn’t break through as Bama held on to win 6-5.

Game 2 was shaping up to be a carbon copy as Tennessee jumped out to a 5-0 lead early before the Crimson Tide began chipping away. However, this time Tennessee added some much needed insurance runs as Dean Curley blasted a two-run HR in the top of the eighth. It got slightly dicey late as the bullpen floundered a bit, but flamethrower Tanner Franklin came in and, ironically enough, put out the fire to close the door for a 10-7 victory.

Game 3 was all Vols. Alabama’s coach Rob Vaughn melted down early, and his team followed suit as his pitching staff gave up 9 runs on 15 hits en route to a 9-2 defeat. Fire up Dixieland Delight.  

Texas Wins 2 out of 3 vs LSU
High level baseball in Austin this weekend.

LSU’s ace Kade Anderson improved to 5-0 on the season as he held the Longhorns in check for six innings. The Tigers gave him four runs of support in the top of the seventh alone as LSU won game 1 8-2.

The Texas bats woke up in game 2 for an 11-7 victory.

The rubber match was electric as the Tigers could have potentially moved back to the number 1 spot in the national rankings with a win. Texas scored three runs in the first two innings and added two more in the fourth for a 5-0 lead. They were able to get to the finish line with their bullpen for a decisive 6-2 victory.

Georgia Sweeps Florida in Gainesville
The term “belt to ass” gets thrown around a little too much these days. After watching the Bulldogs follow up a 17-2 win in game 2 with a 15-4 run rule blow out for a sweep, it feels like the term fits here.

It also makes Florida blowing game 1 by giving up a two-run bomb to DH Ryland Zaborowski hurt even worse as it turned a one-run lead to a one-run loss with a final score of 8-7.

Vanderbilt Sweeps Texas A&M
It is getting late early for A&M coach Michael Earley. The Aggies fall to 0-6 in league play and are 11-12 overall.

Game 1 saw the A&M get off to a good start jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. That’s good news! The bad news is that they only scored one more run on their way to a 5-3 defeat. They scored 1 run over nine innings on Friday in game 2 in a 3-1 loss.

In game 3, the offense “exploded” for five runs. Unfortunately, Vanderbilt rode a six-run seventh inning to an 8-5 victory and a much needed sweep for the Commodores. Vandy is now able to leave the series with a lot of confidence while Texas A&M leaves with even more questions and doubts than they already had.

Arkansas Dominates South Carolina
The Razorbacks win streak now sits at 7 games after a weekend romp of the Gamecocks. Arkansas won the series by a score of 35-9 thanks to a trio of blow out wins. Game 1 was a 12-2 run rule. Game 2 was 12-3. The sweep was completed at 11-4.

Oklahoma Wins 2 Out of 3 vs Mississippi State
The Sooners rallied on Saturday and Sunday after losing a pitching duel in game 1  2-1. Game 2 was the exact opposite. The Sooners exploded with five first inning runs and led 7-0 before Mississippi State answered with five runs of their own in the third. The game was tied 10-10 after six innings, but Oklahoma’s 3B Dawson Willis crushed a game-winning two-run bomb in the bottom of the eighth on the way to a 13-11 victory.

Oklahoma won the rubber match 7-3.

Auburn Wins Sunday Rubber Match at Kentucky
The Tigers stole game 1 in the ninth inning on their way to an 8-7 victory, scoring the game-winning run on a Kentucky error that allowed the second run of the frame to score. Game 2 was even more of a heartbreak as the Wildcats lost in extras by the same 8-7 score, despite tying the score heroically with 4 runs in the ninth.

Auburn was denied a sweep on Sunday as Kentucky scored five runs in the first inning on their way to a 6-0 win.

Ole Miss Sweeps at Missouri
Every weekend, it just becomes more and more inexplicable that Missouri didn’t hire Tony Vitello when they had the opportunity.

This weekend, it seems even dumber as they lost game 1 (9-6), game 2 (17-10), and game 3 (14-6) to Ole Miss.

Thank you for passing up on Tony Vitello, Missouri! It is important to always give thanks for your blessings in life.

Upcoming Weekend Schedule
Tennessee @ South Carolina

Arkansas @ Vanderbilt

Mississippi State @ LSU

Auburn @ Georgia

Florida @ Ole Miss

Oklahoma @ Alabama

Kentucky @ Texas A&M

Texas @ Missouri