Don’t look now, but the defending College World Series champions are rounding into shape at the perfect time as LSU won a huge series over Texas A&M at home.
They won each of the first two games by 6-4 scores.
In the first game, a 4-run sixth inning for LSU was highlighted by a 2-RBI double from Josh Pearson. Gage Jump wasn’t quite as dominant as he showed the past two weekends, but did a good job holding down that Aggie offense over 5.1 innings.
Texas A&M put 3 runs on the board in the first inning of game two against Luke Holman. Then LSU started to settle down after that and didn’t give up anything more while striking out 10 over 5 innings.
Tommy White got the scoring started for LSU with a solo home run as part of a 3-run third inning to tie the game. And then he had the final blow from LSU with an RBI single in the eighth.
The Aggies unleashed the bats on Sunday scoring 9 runs in the fifth and 5 runs in the ninth for a 14-4 win. Gavin Grahovac had 3 hits, a 3-run home run in the fifth, and 4 RBI total.
With the number one team dropping a series, Arkansas had a chance to get back on top, but they also suffered a road series loss as Kentucky now has the best record in the SEC with two weeks left.
Hagen Smith struck out 14 batters in game one of the series – his ninth double-digit strikeout game of the year. In SEC play, he’s only failed to get double-digit strikeouts once (April12 at Alabama).
He got plenty of run support in the 10-3 win as Kendall Diggs drove in four.
The Wildcats flipped the script with an 11-3 win in the second game. Emilien Pitre and Nick Lopez each drove in 4 runs.
Kentucky jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the finale before holding on for a 7-4 win. Mason Moore was solid on the mound over 5 innings, while Pitre and Lopez stayed hot as each had 2 hits, 1 home run, and 2 RBI.
Florida was in desperate need of a series win at home, but Tennessee wouldn’t oblige them as they took two of three in Gainesville.
The two teams played a doubleheader on Friday with Tennessee taking the first game 6-2 and the Gators hanging on for a 4-3 win in the second game.
AJ Causey once again came in after an opener for Tennessee and pitched well, tossing 5 shutout innings with 7 strikeouts for his eighth win of the year.
Liam Peterson, Fisher Jameson, and Luke McNeillie combined to strike out 16 Volunteer hitters in the second game. Jac Caglianone was 3-3 with 2 runs scored, including the eventual winning run in the eighth inning.
Florida was up 3-2 in the finale with Caglianone throwing a good game. But Tennessee started to get to him in the sixth and then attacked the bullpen when they came in for an 11-run inning.
Hunter Ensley went 3-4 with 2 home runs and 7 RBI for Tennessee in the 16-3 (7) win.
Vanderbilt continues to struggle mightily on the road this year as they were swept at Georgia, who suddenly looks like a hosting team.
It was complete domination in the first two games with Georgia winning 10-0 (7) and 14-4 (8).
Bulldogs starter Leighton Finley struckout 11 in 6 scoreless innings in game one, while Paul Toetz had the big day at the plate with 3 hits, 1 HR, and 3 RBI.
It was a group effort offensively for Georgia in the second game as every hitter had at least 1 hit, but nobody had more than 2.
Kolten Smith was nearly perfect for Georgia coming out of the bullpen tossing 4 scoreless innings with 6 strikeouts and just 1 hit allowed.
Zach Harris started game three for Georgia and didn’t allow a hit over 4 innings. The Georgia offense stayed hot with 11 runs on 9 hits and 8 walks for the 11-7 win.
Charlie Condon homered in every game, has home runs in seven straight games, and has 33 on the year.
Missouri’s turnaround this year has been impressive, but their time is running out to get to Hoover after a series loss to South Carolina.
The Gamecocks two big bats, Ethan Petry and Cole Messina, each went deep in a 10-2 win. Messina drove in 5 runs.
Missouri jumped on South Carolina starter Eli Jones with 4 runs in the first inning en route to an 8-3 win.
Drew Culbertson drove in 3 runs for Missouri, while Carter Rustad was solid in relief giving up 3 earned runs over 6.1 innings with 6 strikeouts.
Dalton Reeves hit a solo shot in the seventh and Ethan Petry added a 2-run homer to tie the game at four. The Gamecocks followed with another 3-run inning in the eighth and two more in the ninth for a 9-4 win.
Mississippi State quietly has the fifth most wins in the SEC – boosted by a series win over Alabama at home this past weekend.
The Bulldogs offense was relentless in the first game scoring 3, 1 2, and 6 runs in the first 4 innings on their way to a 13-3 (7) win.
Hunter Hines has started to heat up as he had a 2 home run game with 4 RBI. Amani Larry hit a grand slam.
Jurrangelo Cijntje did a great job holding down the Alabama offense in a 8-1 win in game two. He allowed just 1 run on 7 hits and no walks with 8 strikeouts over 7 innings.
Logan Kohler was 3-4 with a home run and two driven in.
While Alabama would have loved a series win, they did manage to take a game on the road in the finale, 10-5. Senior infielder Max Grant hit a big 3-run home run for Alabama in the second inning.
The Crimson Tide has some work to do in order to feel good about their postseason chances as they now get set to face a hot LSU team in Tuscaloosa next weekend.
Ole Miss picked up some much-needed wins at Auburn over the weekend.
A Will Furniss 3-run homer in the fifth broke the game open for Ole Miss who would go on to take game one 11-7.
Andrew Fischer was the hero for Ole Miss in game two as he hit a game-tying home run in the fifth and had a go-ahead sacrifice fly out in the top of the 9th for the 5-4 win.
The Tigers managed to avoid the sweep with a wild, 10-9 win on Sunday. Auburn took the lead in the seventh before Ole Miss tied it in the eighth. Auburn took the lead again in the bottom of the eighth only to see Ole Miss score 3 runs in the top of the ninth to take a 9-8 lead.
Then Auburn would win with 2 outs in the ninth on this passed ball.
SEC Power Rankings
Tier 1
1) Tennessee
2) Texas A&M
3) Arkansas
4) Kentucky
Tier 2
5) Mississippi State
6) South Carolina
7) Georgia
Tier 3
8) Vanderbilt
9) LSU
10) Alabama
11) Florida
12) Ole Miss
Tier 4
13) Missouri
14) Auburn
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