With only three weeks left in the regular season, SEC teams are looking to better position themselves for the SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament.
A perfect example of this was the series between Alabama and Ole Miss this past weekend. A couple of teams on the bubble needing a big series win to get pointed in the right direction.
It was the Crimson Tide who got that series win on the road. They dominated Ole Miss on Thursday in a 12-0 (7) win, and then they pulled away late in the third game for a 10-3 win.
Ole Miss was able to hold off Alabama in the middle game for an 8-9 win.
The Crimson Tide offense has been great all year, and now they appear to have found some solutions in the starting rotation.
In the first game, senior Greg Farone went all 7 innings allowing just 6 hits with no walks and 6 strikeouts. And then in the finale, freshman Zane Adams gave up 3 earned runs over 7 innings.
Speaking of teams in need of wins, LSU has found themselves in a scary spot with just three weeks left to go. But they were able to take advantage of Auburn at home this past weekend.
Gage Jump remains in a groove on the mound for LSU tossing 7 shutout innings in a 5-0 win on Friday. Tommy White and Hayden Travinski went deep.
White homered again in game two, and Luke Holman struck out 9 over 6.2 innings. But it came down to the ninth inning where Josh Pearson got the walk-off hit.
Auburn kept it from being a perfect weekend for LSU as they took the finale 7-5 thanks to a 5-run first inning.
While LSU is battling with Missouri and Ole Miss just to make it to Hoover, Auburn is a safe bet to miss.
Mississippi State went on the road this past weekend and stole a series from Vanderbilt.
They dropped the first game 4-0 as Vanderbilt got a complete game shutout from Bryce Cunningham (9 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 0 ER, 4 Ks).
They bounced back with a 7-5 win on Saturday thanks to a big day from Hunter Hines who was 3-4 with 5 RBI including a 3-run home run. Brooks Auger was good on the mound for the Bulldogs allowing just 1 earned run over 5 innings with 6 strikeouts.
The finale was a wild one with Mississippi State taking an early 6-0 lead, but Vanderbilt tied it up with a 6-run sixth and then took the lead in the seventh.
Then Hines delivered again on the weekend with a go-ahead 2-run homer in the ninth that led to an 8-7 win and series win.
Likewise, South Carolina got a huge series win over Kentucky to help boost their resume as a potential NCAA Tournament host.
Game one of this series was a classic as the game was 1-1 going into the ninth inning where each team scored 3 runs. South Carolina did so with three solo home runs.
Kentucky scored 1 in the top of the 10th, and then Blake Jackson walked it off with a 2-run shot in the bottom half.
Kentucky starter Trey Pooser was great, striking out 11 in 7 innings.
The offensive surge late in game one carried into game two as South Carolina and Kentucky combined for 28 runs.
Leadoff man, Ryan Waldschmidt, for Kentucky had 4 hits and 4 runs scored, while Grant Smith drove in four in the 15-13 win.
South Carolina run-ruled the Wildcats on Sunday 10-0 in 7 innings. Dylan Eskew (6.1 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 0 ER, 2 Ks) had a great start for the Gamecocks, while Kennedy Jones drove in four.
Georgia had the daunting task of traveling to College Station this past weekend to face the top-ranked Texas A&M Aggies, and they managed to avoid getting swept on the weekend.
Ryan Prager (6 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 ER, 6 Ks) was good on the mound for Texas A&M in game one. Jackson Appel had a big 2-run home run to give them a 4-2 lead on the way to a 5-2 win.
Evan Ascheenbeck finished it off with 2.2 scoreless innings for his 7th save of the year.
Game two was a wild one with the wind gusting out. The Bulldogs put up 9 runs in the top of the first only to see A&M answer with 8 runs in the bottom half. In the sixth inning, A&M would have another 8-run inning on their way to a 19-9 win.
But on weekends like this for Georgia, it’s just about not getting swept. They managed that in the third game with a 5-run seventh inning that was capped by a 2-run home from Charlie Condon.
On the mound for the Bulldogs, Kolten Smith struck out 11 over 6 innings.
Florida also survived the weekend on the road against a top team in Arkansas, but the Gators are in a spot where they need series wins.
Hagen Smith struck out 11 in 7 innings allowing just 2 hits and 1 walk as the Razorbacks scraped by with a 2-1 win thanks to an eighth-inning sacrifice flyout by Jared Sprague-Lott to score Ty Wilmsmeyer.
Game two was a frustrating one for Florida as they lost 6-5 despite collecting 10 hits and 7 walks.
The big play of the game came in the eighth inning when the Gators had the bases loaded and Payton Holt pulled off the deke of a lifetime.
Jac Caglianone wasn’t great on the mound in the third game but hit a grand slam to help lift Florida to a 9-5 win that they desperately needed.
After a big series win against Kentucky, Tennessee was able to follow that up with a sweep against Missouri as they stayed in the race for the regular season title.
The Volunteers had to work in the final two games of this series to get it done. After winning the first game 10-1, they won each of the next games by 3-2 scores.
Give a lot of credit to that Missouri pitching staff for holding down Tennessee’s powerful offense at home. But AJ Causey (6 IP, 1 ER, 6Ks) and Drew Beam (7.1 IP, 2 ER, 8 Ks) were just as good for Tennessee in those first two games.
SEC Power Rankings
Tier 1
Texas A&M
Arkansas
Tennessee
Tier 2
Kentucky
Tier 3
Mississippi State
Vanderbilt
South Carolina
Alabama
Georgia
Florida
LSU
Ole Miss
Tier 4
Missouri
Auburn
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