The 2022 SEC Baseball Tournament is underway in Hoover, Ala. with many teams looking to increase their chances of making the NCAA Tournament and keep their season alive.
Game 15: Florida 9, Texas A&M 0
Updated Saturday, May 28th 9:43 PM
The first spot in the SEC Championship Game was claimed by Florida, as the Gators blanked Texas A&M, 9-0. The game marks the fourth time Texas A&M Head Coach Jim Schlossnagle has played Florida and the third time his team has been shut out by the Gators.
Jud Fabian (1-for3) got the scoring going in the top of the second inning with a solo shot, his 23rd home run of the season.
Florida scored at least one run in each of the following five innings to take an 8-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning. Fisher Jameson sat the Aggies down in order in the frame, part of an 11-hitter stretch of perfect baseball for Jameson. He ultimately earned the four-inning save, his first of the season.
Florida tacked on one more run in the top of the ninth inning via a Jac Caglianone fielder's choice to push the lead to 9-0, which held as the final score.
Next up for the Gators is the winner of Saturday night's matchup between Kentucky and Tennessee. Meanwhile, Texas A&M will await their fate on Selection Monday. The Aggies are likely to host a Regional and earn a top-eight seed.
—John Peters
Game 14: LSU 2, Kentucky 7
Updated Saturday, May 28th 5:43 PM
Kentucky has eliminated LSU and moved onto the semifinals of the SEC Tournament to face Tennessee.
Tyler Bosma was electric in this game. He had a no-hitter going in the 7th inning and had only walked two Tigers. A booted ball by the 2nd baseman beat out by Tre’ Morgan followed by an RBI triple by Tyler McManus chased Bosma from the game.
That triple hit off the top of the wall and led to a scary moment in the outfield as centerfielder John Thrasher crashed into the fence and lay motionless for a few quiet moments. Thankfully, he was able to walk off the field and he is now being evaluated for a potential head injury, according to the SEC Network broadcast.
Kentucky scored in four of the first five innings and made it difficult for LSU pitching by being on base most of the rest of the game.
Up next for LSU is the NCAA Tournament where they are expected to host a regional.
Kentucky won the series against Tennessee earlier this season in Lexington, so the Volunteers will be looking to avenge that series loss and the Wildcats are hoping to extend their postseason run and make a bid for the NCAA Tournament.
—Kyle McKelvey
Game 13: Florida 11, Alabama 6
Updated Saturday, May 28th 3:10 PM
Florida eliminates Alabama in the first game of the action on Saturday in Hoover and moves on to the semifinals. This was a back-and-forth affair for most of the game, until the 9th inning when Florida blew it open.
The Gators got the scoring started in the top of the first with a Wyatt Langford leadoff homerun. A walk and a hit batter also led to some two-out scoring for Florida. Jac Caglianone pulled an RBI double down the right field line and Josh Rivera hit a two-RBI single through the left side to make it 4-0 Florida.
Alabama would not go down easy, however, as they responded with an RBI single from Dominic Tamez and a three-run homerun from Zane Denton.
Langford batted in two more runs with a solo homer in the top of the 2nd and a fielder’s choice groundout in the top of the 3rd that brought home Mac Guscette. Drew Williamson for the Tide answered again in the bottom of the third as he uncorked a two-run bomb over the center field wall.
The bullpens then took over the game for both teams, with only the Gators breaking through for a run in the top of the 6th. Nick Ficarotta for the Gators shut down the tide for 6.1 innings, only allowing five hits and two walks, fanning 6 Alabama batters.
Florida finally broke the game open in the last frame. Another fielder’s choice RBI gave way to a three-run Mac Guscette homer into the left field bullpen.
For Alabama, the loss puts them in a tricky spot in terms of the bubble. Our latest projection had them as the second team out of the tournament. With a few bid stealers already locked in this Saturday afternoon, it feels like the Tide’s bubble has popped. They await the committee’s decision on Monday.
Florida will face Texas A&M in game three on Saturday afternoon in a single elimination game for the right to play in the SEC Championship game.
—Kyle McKelvey
Game 12: LSU 2, Tennessee 5
Updated Saturday, May 28th 2:05 PM
Both fan bases were geared up for this great matchup late on Friday night.
It was Tennessee that got the party started with 2 runs in the bottom of the first on a Jordan Beck triple that plated Luc Lipcius who reached on a walk. Beck would come around to score on a wild pitch.
The Volunteers added another run in the second thanks to an error and two walks in the innings.
LSU took advantage of a couple of Tennessee errors in the fifth to claw back into the game and make it 3-2. Dylan Crews had the only hit for LSU in the inning with a double.
But the Volunteers answered right back with 2 runs in the bottom of the fifth with hits by Lipcius, Drew Gilbert, and Jorel Ortega.
It’s only fitting that the SEC Pitcher of the Year has one of the best performances of the SEC Tournament. Chase Dollander allowed just 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits and 2 walks over 6.2 innings with 9 strikeouts.
LSU will play an elimination game against Kentucky on Saturday, while Tennessee secures a spot in the semifinals.
—Jake Mastroianni
Game 11: Texas A&M 12, Alabama 8
Updated Saturday, May 28th 12:18 AM
This wasn’t the prettiest of baseball games, but Texas A&M found a way to comeback for the 12-8 victory.
The Aggies made 5 errors in the first four innings of the game that aided Alabama in jumping out to a 6-1 lead.
But then it was Alabama’s turn to hurt itself as the pitching staff walked three batters and hit three batters in the fifth and sixth innings. The Aggies took advantage, scoring 3 runs in each of those innings to take the lead.
The big blow came in the fifth inning when Dylan Rock hit a 2-out, 3-run homer to pull the Aggies within 2 runs. That chased Alabama starter Grayson Hitt who had been rolling up until that point.
Texas A&M would continue to add runs scoring four in the seventh to break the game open.
Alabama will face Florida on Saturday morning still looking for one more win to likely secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
With the victory, the Aggies are starting to look like a lock for a top-eight seed. A&M will face the loser of Alabama and Florida in the third game of the day on Saturday.
—Jake Mastroianni
Game 10: Vanderbilt 2, Kentucky 10
Updated Friday, May 27th 5:15 PM
Kentucky kept its slim chances of getting an at-large bid alive by taking down Vanderbilt on Friday 10-2.
Vanderbilt continues to show some of the problems that have kept them from being an elite team this year.
They squandered an opportunity for a big first inning when Enrique Bradfield Jr. got picked off at second base. Vanderbilt would go on to load the bases in that inning, but couldn’t score.
Defensively, they made a couple of errors and several bad plays that allowed Kentucky to add on.
But give a lot of credit to the Wildcats that racked up 16 hits in this game. Every starter for Kentucky picked up at least one hit.
Javier Vaz was 4-4 for Vanderbilt, including 2 doubles, but there wasn’t much else going on around him in the lineup.
The Commodores go 1-2 in the SEC Tournament and have a lot to clean up before the NCAA Tournament.
Kentucky will move on to play the loser of the Tennessee-LSU game. A win there would give them a huge boost in the RPI.
—Jake Mastroianni
Game 9: Arkansas 5, Florida 7
Updated Friday, May 27th 1:19 PM
Florida had the home run ball working on Friday morning with Jud Fabian, Jac Caglianone, and Colby Halter all going deep.
But the story was on the mound where Nick Pogue had a solid outing giving up just 2 earned runs on 3 hits and 2 walks over 5 innings with 8 strikeouts.
Since Hunter Barco was lost for the season Florida has been looking for some other starters to step up. Pogue, Brandon Sproat, and Brandon Neely have done just that, making this Florida team a very dangerous squad entering the NCAA Tournament along with their power bats.
There is not a team in the country limping into the postseason more than Arkansas. Their loss to Florida gives them four straight defeats, and the Hogs have not won back-to-back games since the end of April.
The talent is there, we all know what they are capable of, but things just are not clicking for them right now as they have played their way not only out of a top eight seed but a regional host as well.
Florida will move on to play the winner of the Kentucky Vanderbilt game on Saturday morning.
—Jake Mastroianni
Game 8: Kentucky 6, LSU 11
Updated Friday, May 27th 1:19 PM
Kentucky jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning with a two-run shot by catcher Devin Burkes.
From there, it was pretty much all LSU as they struck for three runs in the third, fourth, and sixth innings.
Outfielder Josh Pearson picked up 5 hits in the game with 3 runs scored, and 3 RBI, a double and a home run. Tyler McManus had a 2-RBI double in the third and an RBI single in the sixth.
Outside of giving up the home run, LSU starter Ma’Khail Hilliard was really good, lasting 6 innings and allowing just those 2 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks with 6 strikeouts.
Kentucky got some runs late to make the final score look closer than it actually was.
The Wildcats are still on the outside of the playoff bubble and have a lot of work left to do in the SEC Tournament to keep their season alive. They play Vandy in the second game on Friday.
LSU is looking really good for a regional host and will have a primetime matchup against the top ranked Vols on Friday night.
—Jake Mastroianni
Game 7: Vanderbilt 1, Tennessee 10
Updated Thursday, May 26th 9:30 PM
The number one team in the country finally got to take the field in the 2022 SEC Tournament and they showed why they are the best team with a convincing 10-1 win over rival Vanderbilt.
They scored in every inning but two and put up a five-spot in the third inning to break the game open.
Drew Gilbert led the charge with 2 hits, including a double, 2 runs scored, 2 RBI, and a walk.
Blake Tidwell, who continues to work his way back from Tommy John surgery, got the start and lasted 4.1 innings allowing just 1 earned run on 3 hits and 3 walks with 3 strikeouts.
The Volunteer bullpen was lights out finishing off the game allowing just 2 hits and a walk with 5 strikeouts.
Tennessee moves on to face the winner of the LSU-Kentucky game, while Vanderbilt will play the loser of that game on Friday morning.
Game 6: Florida 0, Texas A&M 10
Updated Thursday, May 26th 6:15 PM
Trevor Werner got A&M on the board in the bottom of the third with a 2-run homer. But the Aggie bats really broke it open with a 7-run sixth inning that included home runs by Ryan Targac, Jordan Thompson, and a 3-run blast by Austin Bost.
Texas A&M starting pitcher Micah Dallas was really good, tossing 5 shutout innings allowing just a hit and a walk with 7 strikeouts. Joseph Menefee came on to pitch the last two innings as the Aggies run-ruled Florida 10-0.
It was a dominating performance by Texas A&M who looks to lock up a top eight national seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Up next for Texas A&M will be the Alabama Crimson Tide. That game is likely to be the third game played on Friday, May 27.
Meanwhile, the Gators will play Arkansas on Friday morning.
—Jake Mastroianni
Game 5: Alabama 4, Arkansas 3
Updated Wednesday, May 25th 7:15 PM
Alabama kept its hot streak alive, knocking off Arkansas for the third time in the last week. The story of the game was a lack of situational hitting and poor defense by the Razorbacks.
Two of Alabama’s four runs were unearned. A Robert Moore error in the second led to a run, and a back pick attempt in the fourth sailed into left field, allowing another run to score. Alabama moved ahead 4-1 as Tommy Seidl scored from third.
“We didn’t play very good defense at the beginning of the game, and they took advantage,” said acting Arkansas head coach Matt Hobbs. Dave Van Horn was out with an illness.
Chris Lanzilli was a bright spot for Arkansas; he had two hits, including a two-run home run that narrowed the game to 4-3. But that was all Arkansas could muster as they finished the game with just five hits.
Next up for Alabama is the winner of Texas A&M and Florida, which has been pushed to Thursday morning. Arkansas will face the loser in an elimination game.
—John Peters
Game 4: Kentucky 3, Auburn 1
Updated Wednesday, May 25th 6:15 PM
Auburn starter Carson Skipper was really sharp to begin the game tossing 3 shutout innings allowing just a hit and a walk with 7 strikeouts.
He was pulled for Trace Bright and Kentucky jumped on him in the fourth thanks to a walk and a wild pitch to score the first run of the game. Ryan Ritter had the big RBI single.
Kentucky starting pitcher Sean Harney was brilliant, tossing 7-plus shutout innings allowing just 4 hits and a walk with 5 strikeouts. He also got some help from his defense who made several spectacular plays.
The middle infield defense of shortstop Ritter and second baseman Daniel Harris IV was particularly great.
Co-SEC Player of the Year Sonny DiChiara got Auburn on the board with a solo home run in the 8th on a 3-2 pitch with two outs to tie the game at one. And it wasn’t a wall scraper…
But the Wildcats responded in the top of the ninth with back-to-back jacks by Oraj Anu and Adam Fogel.
Auburn was able to get the first two on in the bottom half, but Tyler Guilfoil was able to shut the door for Kentucky to hold on for a 3-1 win.
The win keeps the Wildcat’s NCAA Tournament hopes alive. Like Alabama, they still likely have a good bit of work left to do at Hoover.
Auburn is still a lock to make the NCAA Tournament, but going one-and-done at the SEC Tournament could hurt their chances of hosting a regional.
—Jake Mastroianni
Game 3: Ole Miss 1, Vanderbilt 3
Updated Wednesday, May 25th 9:15 AM
Vanderbilt put some pressure on Ole Miss starter Dylan DeLucia early, and while they only got single runs in the third and fifth inning, they were able to chase him after just 4.1 innings pitched.
Dominic Keegan followed up a Spencer Jones double in the third with a big two-out RBI single.
Enrique Bradfield got a leadoff single in the fifth and came around to score on a groundout to make it 2-0 in the fifth.
Vanderbilt shortstop Carter Young has been heating up lately and had two hits in this one, including a double in the sixth. He’d later score on an error by Ole Miss shortstop Jacob Gonzalez.
The three runs would be plenty for the Vanderbilt pitching staff.
Carter Holton tossed 6 shutout innings allowing just 3 hits and 2 walks with 6 strikeouts. Nelson Berkwich followed him and allowed a run on a hit and a walk. And then Christian Little finished it off tossing 2 shutout innings with 4 strikeouts.
Ole Miss was on our bubble coming into the tournament. They’re probably still safe, but with the loss and early exit from the SEC Tournament, they’ll have to sweat it out on Selection Monday.
Vanderbilt was a lock, but with a losing conference record during the season, it has to feel good to get a few more wins in the tournament as they look to build confidence going into the postseason.
—Jake Mastroianni
Game 2: South Carolina 1, Florida 2 (10)
Updated Tuesday, May 24th 9:45 PM CT
Josh Rivera got a two-out double in the fourth for Florida and then scored on a single to shortstop. The ball was hit deep in the hole and South Carolina shortstop Michael Braswell tried to make a tough throw but it was short and bounced up the South Carolina first baseman. Rivera never stopped running and scored easily.
Brandon Sproat kept the Gamecocks hitless through 6.1 innings before Josiah Sightler broke up the no-no with a clean single. He moved to second on a groundout and then tried to score on a single to left by Michael Braswell but gunned down at the plate on a perfect throw by Wyatt Langford.
South Carolina starting pitcher Will Sanders was excellent as well, tossing 7 innings allowing just 1 unearned run on 4 hits and 3 walks with 10 strikeouts.
Sproat attempted to go the distance but Braylen Wimmer and Josiah Sightler each singled, setting up Andrew Eyster to tie the game on a fielder's choice groundout.
In the end, Sproat allowed 1 earned run on 4 hits and a walk over 8.1 innings with 7 strikeouts.
The game went to extras where Ty Evans got a double that hit off the third base bag, and then pinch-hitter Kendrick Calilao singled up the middle and it looked like the Gators were going to walk it off, but the runner was held at third really late.
A batter later, Colby Halter lined to center and the runner was gunned down at home – but the catcher dropped the ball and Florida escaped with the 2-1 win.
That ends the season for South Carolina.
Florida moves on to play Texas A&M on Wednesday. The Gators have been on quite the roll lately and continue to get some great pitching that makes them a scary team in the postseason.
—Jake Mastroianni
Game 1: Alabama 5, Georgia 3
Updated Tuesday, May 24th 6:15 PM CT
The Crimson Tide are one of those teams that need to keep winning in order to reach the NCAA Tournament. They did that on Tuesday with a 5-3 win.
Alabama jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning thanks in part to some good base running. Caden Rose led off the game with a double and was brought home on a single by Andrew Pinckney.
Pinckney stole second and was moved to third on a groundout to first. After a walk, he was brought home on a fly out in foul territory to the third baseman. The third baseman was running backwards and made a wild throw to home that allowed Dominic Tamez to move up to second. That would lead to the third run of the inning as Zane Denton brought him on a single up the middle.
They scored two more in the second thanks to a wild pitch, walk, and hit batter along with two more sacrifices. That chased Georgia starter Luke Wagner.
With the score 5-1 after two-and-a-half, the rains came and delayed the game two hours. That knocked Alabama starter Garrett McMillian out of the game.
His replacement, freshman Ben Hess, proceeded to throw 4.1 shutout innings allowing just a hit and a walk with 10 strikeouts. At one point he had retired 13 in a row and struck out seven in a row.
Georgia’s Jaden Woods was equally effective after the delay and kept the Bulldogs in the game by tossing 4 shutout innings allowing just a hit and 2 walks with 7 strikeouts.
Connor Tate hit a 2-run homer in the 8th to cut the Alabama lead in half, but Alabama closer Dylan Ray shut the door in the 9th for the save.
Alabama will face Arkansas on Wednesday – a team they just beat twice this past weekend. They likely need at least a couple of more wins and nothing crazy to happen in other conference tournaments to get an at-large bid.
—Jake Mastroianni
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