TUESDAY

Tennessee 8, Lipscomb 5: Thanks in part to a six-run outburst in the third inning, Tennessee defeated Lipscomb 8-5 on Tuesday to move to 2-2 on the year. The Volunteers were primarily led by the efforts of Zach Daniels. The freshman outfielder hit his first career home run — a grand slam — in the big third inning for the Vols, which proved to be the biggest blow of the game.

Pitching wasn’t necessarily the forte for Tennessee, though. Starter Sean Hunley was hit for two runs in 3.1 innings and then lefty Garrett Crochet, the pitcher of record, was hit for an additional two runs. Right-hander Daniel Vasquez, however, tossed two clean innings to shut their opponents down.

Alabama 4, Middle Tennessee State 0: Alabama’s 4-0 win over Middle Tennessee State ironically improved them to 4-0 on the young season.

‘Bama had to use seven pitchers over the course of the nine inning affair, but they allowed just four hits over that span with four strikeouts and one walk.

Three different Tide batters were responsible for the four runs plated in the game. The first run of the game came off the bat of Chandler Avant, whose 2nd inning double drew first blood. Then, a few batters later, third baseman Cobie Vance drove Avant and shortstop Jeff Manning in on a two-run single. Six innings later, Chandler Taylor brought in a run on his only hit of the game in five trips. Taylor’s single sent outfielder Joe Breaux in to score.

South Carolina 5, North Florida 2: South Carolina has won three of their last three following their 5-2 win over the North Florida Ospreys.

TJ Hopkins, Chris Cullen, Justin Row and Jacob Olson were responsible for the five runs that were driven across on Wednesday. Olson, who went 2-4 at the plate, hit a solo home run to get things started in the second inning. Justin Row followed his effort up with a single to bring in a run. With the score tied at 2-2, the aforementioned Cullen broke the tie in the sixth with a single. Another run was brought across after Cullen drew a bases loaded walk, which was then followed up by an RBI double by Hopkins in the eighth.

John Gilreath was solid through his four innings of work, as Gilreath allowed only one hit while striking out four with one free pass. Sawyer Bridges fell into trouble, allowing four hits through two with one earned run. Two were scored with Bridges on the mound, but an error led to one of them coming across. However, T.J. Shook and Eddy Demurias combined for three shutout innings to thwart out any shot that UNF would pick up the win.

Auburn 3, Georgia State 2: Auburn, too, needed dramatics to defeat upset-minded Georgia State on Wednesday. The Tigers trailed the entire game and didn’t score their three runs until the final two innings.

Auburn’s first run came off a double play ball, in which designated hitter Conor Davis was able to score from third while the play ensued. The Tigers were then forced to try and conjure up magic with two outs in the ninth inning. Conjure they did. The aforementioned Davis shot a single in to tie the game that scored Will Holland. And then first baseman Brendan Venter won the game on a single of his own that brought Jeremy Johnson around to score.

After Ryan Watson was hit for two earned runs in 3.1 innings, Corey Herndon, Blake Schilleci and Cody Greenhill kept Georgia State off the scoreboard. Herndon, Schilleci and Greenhill combined for 5.2 innings of shutout baseball while allowing no hits, either. They struck out a total of seven batters while issuing four walks.

Ole Miss 8, Memphis 6: Ole Miss remains undefeated in the early goings of the season after their 8-6 win over Memphis.

The top performance at the plate came from Nick Fortes, who slammed two home runs in the first and third innings of the game. Fortes totaled five RBI on those blasts, and finished with six total on the day. Not too shabby, eh?

Memphis drew closer, but eventually, Dallas Woolfolk snuffed out any chance of a Tigers rally with a clean final inning. Woolfolk nabbed his second save of the season with three punchouts.

Vanderbilt 7, Presbyterian 1: Vandy knocked off the Blue Hose 7-1 on Tuesday night and two youngsters were at the forefront. Pat DeMarco and Austin Martin, the team’s leadoff and cleanup hitter, combined to go 7-9 at the plate with a combined two RBI and three combined runs scored.

Martin, the designated hitter, went 4-5 out of the 1-spot, certainly one of the better days he’ll have in his career. DeMarco, meanwhile, hit 3-4 with two runs scored and the aforementioned two RBI. Ethan Paul, Stephen Scott and Connor Kaiser were the other three Dores responsible for driving in runs. Kaiser brought in two of the additional four runs plated against Presbyterian. Paul, meanwhile, hit his first home run of the season.

Maddux Conger moved to 1-0 on the year after throwing five innings of shutout ball. Conger allowed three hits, punched out five and issued two walks. Hugh Fisher and Reid Schaller cleaned up in relief, with Schaller allowing the lone run of the game. But, by then, it was too little, too late.

Florida 6, FAU 1: Top-ranked Florida took down the FAU Owls with ease on Tuesday, winning 6-1 to improve to 4-0 on the season.

Jack Leftwich, who earned his first win of the season, struck out five batters and allowed just the one run through his 4.1 innings pitched. Over the next 4.2 innings, Andrew Baker, Tommy Mace and the great Michael Byrne allowed just five hits and no runs. Byrne struck out four batters in two innings.

It proved to be a big night for rightfielder Wil Dalton. Dalton posted three RBI, scoring the game’s first and final runs of the game. He laced a single that scored Jonathan India in the second, and then hit a two-RBI single in the seventh which brought India and Nelson Maldonado home. Dalton finished 2-2 at the plate with a run scored and two walks. The aforementioned India hit his first homer of the season in the fourth inning. The other runs were driven in by Maldonado and, unofficially, by Brady McConnell who had reached on a fielder’s choice following an error.

Xavier 3, Kentucky 2: Eighth-ranked Kentucky was upset by the Big East’s Xavier Musketeers Tuesday night. The Wildcats fell to the previously winless Musketeers, who got out in front early with a 2-0 advantage. After tying the game in the sixth inning, having cut the lead in half back in the third, Xavier regained the lead in the 10th inning after a sac fly.

Texas A&M 11, Stephen F. Austin 4: Texas A&M bombarded Stephen F. Austin to the tune of an 11-4 victory Tuesday night.

The Aggies jumped all over SFA in the first three innings, scoring four runs in those three frames. Zach DeLoach led off the game with a homerun andthen three batters later, Hunter Coleman smacked an RBI double to put the Aggies up 2-0. Michael Helman got in on the fun in the ensuing inning, hitting a double that scored the aforementioned DeLoach. In the third, rightfielder Baine Schoenvogel joined the party after hitting an RBI single.

An inning ater, Coleman got back on the scoresheet, hitting an RBI groundout to, again, bring DeLoach across to score. That wasn’t it for the Aggies that inning, as Logan Foster laced a single that scored not one, but two runs. Braden Shewmake then took the spotlight, as he’d score the next three runs for the Aggies. The sophomore hit an RBI single in the 5th followed by a 2-RBI triple in the 7th. George Janca then scored on a passed ball in the eighth for the game’s final run.

Dustin Saenz allowed no earned runs through 4.2 innings, although a run did score while he was on the mond. He had three strikeouts, two walks and a wild pitch before being pulled for Nolan Hoffman. Kyle Richardson was the pitcher of record after just one inning of work.

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WEDNESDAY

South Carolina 15, Winthrop 2: LT Tolbert and Hunter Taylor each homered in South Carolina’s 15-2 romp over the Winthrop Eagles.

Taylor had the biggest bop between the two, as he mashed a grand slam in the third inning that helped push the Gamecoks way ahead of their competition. He went 1-4 at the plate, but he certainly made it count. Tolbert, meanwhile, went 3-4 with four RBI and two runs scored, having smashed his home run in the bottom of the 8th, one of the two-run variety.

Georgia 14, Kennesaw State 4: UGA rolled over Kennesaw State 14-4 on Wednesday. The stormed ahead in the sixth inning after trailing 4-3, and produced an 11 run tally that wouldn’t move the rest of the way. 17 batters went to the plate with the biggest hit being merely a double. Others walked or were hit by pitches or hit sac grounders or singled. Quite the, um, productive inning, wouldn’t you say?

Vanderbilt 15, Presbyterian 2: Vandy continued their success over Presbyterian after their 7-1 win on Tuesday with a 15-2 victory on Wednesday. The Dores went ahead 3-0 in the first inning and never looked back after that, scoring an additional 12 runs the rest of the way. They blew up for six in the eighth inning, a frame that saw 10 batters go to the plate. They sprinkled runs through singles and a double and a triple, with Connor Kaiser reaching on an error, as well.

Auburn 6, Troy 5: Auburn, once again, had to use some dramatics to pull ahead of the Troy Trojans. The Tigers, tied at 5 apiece in the eighth inning, struck for the lead on sac fly by Conor Davis. Davis went 2-3 with two RBI on the night, with none being more important than that one that came late in the game.

Missouri 9, Miami (FL) 0: Perhaps one of the most surprising results came in Coral Gables, as Mizzou stomped all over the ‘Canes, 9-0. Kameron Misner and Trey Harris hit 4-7 out of the 2- and 3-holes with a combined four runs scored. Chris Cornelius, meanwhile, went 3-4 with two RBI and a walk, as the shortstop continued his torrid run at the plate. Alex Samples went 0-3 but he, too, came away with two RBI in the shutout win.

Brian Sharp threw five shutout innings, allowing only four hits. He struck out eight, as the Tigers pitchers that followed would punch out seven for a combined 15 on the night. TJ Sikkema continued his dominance, as Sikkema pitched three scoreless frames with five strikeouts and just one walk and one hit allowed.

Florida 7, Bethune-Cookman 4: Top-ranked Florida had Bethune-Cookman breathing down their necks after the fourth inning. With the lead at just 4-3, the Gators soon broke away, scoring one in the fifth and two in the seventh. Eventually, they came away with a 7-4 victory.

JJ Schwarz starred as he hit his first triple and second home run of the season. Nelson Maldonado and Wil Dalton also highlighted the win with doubles, each of them being their second of the season. Dalton, like Schwarz, brought in runs as each man hit two in. Keenan bell, meanwhile, drove in a run as well.

Mississippi State 12, Jackson State 1: Mississippi State finally got into the win column with their 12-1 romp of Jackson State. Eight batters tallied at least one hit in the game, as they finished with 10 hits to go with their 12 runs. Outfielders Hunter Vansau and Tanner Poole each went deep for their first home runs of the season. Poole’s blast was good for the three-run variety, while Vansau’s was a solo blast to leadoff the fourth.

LSU 14, New Orleans 6: 10 different batters drove in at least one run in LSU’s 14-6 win over New Orleans.

The Tigers fell behind 3-0 early on in the first inning but responded with three more in the first and another in the second. After going down 5-3 after the fifth inning, the Tigers responded with four runs in the sixth and then four more in the seventh. They bested a furious effort from their in-state foes, and improved to 2-2 in the process.

LSU was able to plate these 14 runs without a single long ball. Four different players picked up doubles and Antonie Duplantis raked up a triple, as well.

Arkansas 1, Arizona 0: Heston Kjerstad’s solo home run in the fifth inning was the only run that Arkansas needed to triumph over the Arizona Wildcats. THe sixth-ranked Hogs, now 4-0 on the young season, won a pitcher’s duel with UofA out west in San Diego. It proved to be one of the more dramatic encounters of the year so far for any team in the SEC, and certainly one of the most dramatic.

Great pitching lifted Arkansas to a win as well. Kacey Murphy tossed six shutout innings, allowing one hit, one walk, and struck out six. Cody Scroggins pitched just 0.2 innings, allowing only a hit but two walks. But, Matt Cronin stepped in and shut the door. Cronin hurled 2.1 innings of shutout ball, struck out three and walked only one.