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Vanderbilt 6, Texas A&M 5
After last night's walk-off victory for LSU, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt had the unenviable task of trying to top the drama of the final game of Day 1.
Well, challenge accepted apparently.
A&M and Vanderbilt traded blows throughout the nine frames. The Aggies struck for three in the bottom of the second with a two-RBI double by Jonathan Moroney and a triple by Austin Homan. Then, the Commodores matched them in the ensuing inning with a two-RBI single by Will Toffey and a single by Connor Kaiser.
Vandy then took the lead in the fifth, and then Texas A&M retook the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Vanderbilt threw a hard jab in the eighth and tied the game on a sacrifice fly by Kaiser who rolled in this game, to say the least. However, the biggest haymaker thrown in the game was by Walter Grisanti who smacked a pinch hit solo homer in the top of the ninth to give the Commodores the lead.
Vanderbilt now moves on through to the winner's bracket, and will face the winner of Mississippi State-Alabama. Texas A&M, meanwhile, heads into the loser's bracket, and will face the loser of South Carolina-Ole Miss in a win or go home situation in the double elimination portion of this tournament.
Ole Miss 10, South Carolina 4
Another game, another upset.
This time, the Ole Miss Rebels took down the South Carolina Gamecocks 10-4 after an offensive outburst. The Rebels didn't ever have a big inning per se, but had frames of two runs and three runs twice during the game, the former coming in the first and fifth innings while the latter came in the third and eighth.
Henri Lartigue went 4-for-5 at the plate on Wednesday afternoon with two runs scored and a three-run homer in the eighth inning. Lartigue was joined by J.B. Woodman, and Colby Bortles in the RBI department in the game as the trio was responsible for all 10 runs brought in.
The Rebels now move on to face Vanderbilt in the winner's bracket, while South Carolina gets a crack at Texas A&M on Thursday morning.
Mississippi State 4, Alabama 1
Very little drama followed the SEC Champions into their first game in the SEC Tournament. The Mississippi State Bulldogs chipped and chipped and picked up a 4-1 victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide to continue on in the winner's bracket.
Zac Houston scored the win in the matchup after nearly going the distance. Houston pitched 8.2 innings, fanned five, only allowed two extra-base hits and one earned run which came in the final frame off the bat of Chandler Taylor who plated home a run on a single. Blake Smith would subsequently shut the door on the Tide who now move on to the loser's side of the bracket.
Gavin Collins gave one a ride in the fourth inning, hitting a home run off Geoffrey Bramblett to put the Bulldogs up 3-0 at the time. Runs were also driven in by Jake Mangum and Brent Rooker who both had singles. Collins finished the night with a 4-for-4 mark and drove in a run in the first inning as well on a single that scored Mangum.
LSU 5, Florida 3
It was the longest game in SEC Tournament history, and one of the wildest and wackiest, too.
LSU defeated Florida 5-3 in 14 innings. What happened? Lots.
The Gators would strike for two runs in the bottom of the first to take an early lead on the Tigers, highlighted mostly by a Buddy Reed triple. Things were going crisply for the Gators from then on as they protected their 2-0 lead with stout pitching from A.J. Puk. However, Florida would then begin to unravel. In the top of the eighth, LSU struck for one against Puk after a double by Antoine Duplantis and a single by Jake Fraley. Puk was relieved but would be tagged with a run as LSU would tie the game after a groundout by the ensuing batter, Kramer Robertson.
Things would then start to get wild. Robertson would steal second and head to third after a wild pitch. Bryce Jordan then knocked a single to center and Robertson would come in to score the go-ahead run as LSU's resiliency was, once again, put on full display.
The Gators, however, would not be denied and would tie the game in their final frame. Buddy Reed would score after a single by Deacon Liput. From there, things would remain even as LSU and Florida kept it deadlocked at three runs apiece. Even through some crazy defensive shifts, the Tigers would keep the Gators at bay - or in the swamp, whichever you prefer - and hold them off even after loading the bases with no outs.
In the top of the 14th - after the game length record was set - LSU would strike for gold. After piecing together some quality at-bats, Jordan Romero hit a go-ahead single that plated Chris Reid home. In the next at-bat, it was Cole Freeman who did the damage, scoring Brennan Breaux for some much needed insurance.
Despite letting the first batter on base in the bottom half of the inning, LSU would shut the door on any comeback attempt, and won the marathon affair 5-3 a few minutes south of 3 a.m. on the east coast.