Saturday Recap

The big highlight from Saturday’s baseball slate was Auburn taking their doubleheader against Mississippi State that subsequently allowed them to take the series. The Tigers jumped all over the Bulldogs in the first game, winning 17-8, before picking up a 5-3 victory in the back half. Dylan Ingram took the spotlight as he hit two homers in the doubleheader, one in each game, including a grand slam in the first one. The wins mean that Auburn and Mississippi State are now tied at the top of the SEC West with identical 14-7 conference records.

South Carolina picked up a crucial 5-1 over 7th-ranked Kentucky. The 21st-ranked Gamecocks were rather desperate entering play and were able to even up their weekend series against the Wildcats in the end thanks to stout pitching and an early offensive outburst. Carlos Cortes went deep in the win as did Kentucky’s Tyler Marshall, but that homer was the only source of offense all afternoon for the Wildcats. Adam Hill was solid enough with a one-hit performance through five innings before the bullpen helped keep things clean.

LSU was able to eek out an extra innings win over Alabama, winning 4-3 in 11 innings. The go-ahead run was scored by Kramer Robertson after Michael Papierski drove him in on a single. Greg Deichmann also went deep for the Bayou Bengals as LSU improved to a 30-15 mark overall while ‘Bama dropped to 15-29.

8th-ranked Florida used a five-run seventh inning to win 6-3 over the Georgia Bulldogs and avoid what would’ve been a ghoulish loss. The Gators sent nine men to the plate that inning and utilized sac flies and singles to get their runs, playing a bit of small ball that frustrated the ‘Dawgs to no end. Five different Gator batters were able to collect RBI in the win including J.J. Schwarz and Dalton Guthrie, each of whom are two of hte top hitters on the team. Brady Singer pitched well, allowing just three runs in eight innings while striking out five.

Finally, Vanderbilt held a 3-0 lead up until the eight inning, when Tennessee dropped five runs on them. Then, as if that weren’t enough, the Vols added four more runs in the ninth inning to eventually go on to win 9-3 over their in-state rivals. Jordan Rodgers homered in the contest, hitting a grand slam in the top of the eighth inning.

Only four games lie ahead of us today and the biggest one is Kentucky-South Carolina. The Gamecocks can score a big series win over the Wildcats to improve their standing among their peers not only in the SEC but around the country as well. UK ranks as one of the top teams in the country in most standings and metrics so a win can only behoove the Gamecocks if they want to make something of their postseason chances.

Elsewhere, Missouri needs to get a big W and they’ll have a chance to against Texas A&M who previously thumped them in their Friday doubleheader.

Finally, Florida goes for a sweep of Georgia and Tennessee and Vanderbilt look to settle things in a Sunday rubber match.