Friday Recap

The LSU Tigers won the SEC West after defeating Mississippi State 11-5 on Friday night. The Tigers’ hot streak of late helped to prop them over the top, as they’ve gone 14-4 in their final 18 games heading into Saturday’s finale. Michael Papierski homered in the 11-5 win, and Papierski, Greg Deichmann, Kramer Robertson, Antonie Duplantis and Nick Coomes drove in runs.

LSU was helped out by the Texas A&M Aggies, who defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks 5-2. The Hogs had been breathing down the Tigers’ necks of late, but their loss on Friday night effectively ended any outside shot of them stealing the West Division title. Corbin Martin was the star, as the Aggies hurler went eight innings and struck out 12.

The race for the SEC East title tightened up a bit more as Florida defeated Kentucky 14-3. Heading into the season’s final day, the Gators hold a one-game edge over the Wildcats (20-9 to 19-10). Essentially, with whatever happens on Saturday, either the Gators will be SEC East Champions, or they’ll shaer the title with the ‘Cats. In the 14-3 drubbing, Mark Kolozsvary went deep and six different Gators, Kolozsvary included, drove in runs.

Other notable results from Friday’s action included Auburn’s 9-1 win over Ole Miss and Georgia’s 5-4 victory over South Carolina. The Tigers appear to be getting on the right track again while, conversely, the Rebels’ postseason hopes are starting to crumble. Similarly, the Gamecocks seem to be fading at the wrong time, while UGA has completely embraced the spoiler role with this late season run, having won eight of their last 10 games heading into the final day of the season.