* - If both bracket winners are undefeated, there will be no 5 p.m. or 8 p.m. games on Saturday.
Game 11: #6 Vanderbilt 7, #8 Ole Miss 4
HOOVER, Ala. (AP) -- David Macias opened the game with a homer and Vanderbilt scored five runs in the third to beat Mississippi 7-4 and stay alive in the Southeastern Conference tournament.
That set up a rematch later Saturday for a berth in the title game. Ole Miss had won its first two games in the double-elimination tournament.
Dominic de la Osa's two-run single keyed the Commodores' big inning.
Vandy reliever Brett Jacobson pitched four hitless innings but left after a walk to open the bottom of the ninth. Russell Brewer got the final out for the save.
Cody Overbeck hit a two-run homer in the first for the Rebels.
An ailing Ole Miss starter Cody Satterwhite left in the second inning.
Ole Miss Quotes
OLE MISS HEAD COACH MIKE BIANCO
On the team's pitching performances... "Justin was tremendous today. We just didn't get off to a good start with Cody Satterwhite being sick. He thought he could go, but he just couldn't. Rory came in and he had a fight of his own. We opened the door, but you have to credit them because they got the hits. We had opportunities during the game, but we just couldn't get the hit."
JUSTIN CRYER, PITCHER
On the field controversy... "I was just excited about getting the out. I caught the ball and ran to first, and apparently I was starring the runner down. I was just pumped about ending that inning and get the out of first."
On pitching seven innings... "I haven't done it since high school. I think I threw around six innings last season against South Carolina, but before that it was high school. It was a different approach for me, but I just came in and threw the best I could."
Vanderbilt Quotes
VANDERBILT HEAD COACH TIM CORBIN
On Vanderbilt's five-run third inning... "It was huge because they walked a couple of people. Having (Cody) Satterwhite out of the game shook them up just enough. When they came back out, we took advantage of that. We had a couple of hits together with those walks and Dominic (de la Osa) had a big hit to drive in two runs. We wanted to score as many runs as possible and keep applying pressure."
On who will pitch the night game for Vanderbilt... "I don't know yet. I'll have to talk to (pitching coach) D.J. about that. We're trying to piece it together right now."
On the defense of third baseman Pedro Alvarez... "He almost had an ESPN No. 1 play on that near triple play. It was great defensive output by him. He had a lot of run-saving plays."
BRETT JACOBSON, RELIEF PITCHER
On the strike out with the bases loaded in the fifth inning... "I actually hung the pitch really bad. That's baseball for you. Sometimes you make a great pitch and the other team gets a hit and sometimes you make bad pitches that don't get hit. I was fortunate that he didn't hit that ball."
On his performance... "I struggled with command a little bit. I was fortunate enough that every time they put the ball in play our defense was turning a double play. The defense picked me up a lot today in making those plays and getting all those outs."
Game Notes
Game 12: #2 LSU 12, #5 Alabama 8
HOOVER, Ala. (AP) -- Blake Dean hit a grand slam in the eighth inning and drove in six runs to send streaking LSU into the Southeastern Conference tournament title game with a 12-8 comeback win over Alabama on Saturday.
Dean's slam that easily cleared the right field fence off reliever Josh Copeland topped off a six-run inning for the Tigers (42-16-1). It also helped LSU match the school record 19-game winning streak set by the 1997 team.
Seeking their first tournament title since 2000, the Tigers will meet the Vanderbilt-Mississippi winner on Sunday. They have come from behind to win all three games at Regions Park.
Dean, who had a two-run single and went 3-for-5, also hit the game-winning solo homer in the bottom of the 10th to beat South Carolina on Wednesday.
The Crimson Tide (34-26) had scored six straight runs after falling behind 3-0 and nearly rallied again. Josh Rutledge's two-run single in the bottom of the eighth cut it to 10-8, but reliever Jared Bradford got two straight groundouts to keep the lead intact.
Bradford escaped with a popup and a double play after Brandon May reached on an error to open the ninth.
Matt Clark doubled, homered and scored three runs for the Tigers, who tacked on two unearned runs in the ninth after Alabama's third error.
Jared Mitchell added three hits with a pair of RBIs and runs.
Both teams capitalized on blunders in the fourth. LSU scored a run with the help of a misplayed pickoff attempt and a dropped fly ball by right fielder Kent Matthes for a 3-0 lead.
Alabama answered with four runs in the bottom half, scoring two runs on a wild pitch and another on a fielder's choice.
Alabama Quotes
HEAD COACH JIM WELLS
Opening statement... "We had the game where we wanted it. We had our best guy in. It just didn't work out. We walked too many. That really hasn't been the case with our closer and then that was pretty much it – threw the ball right down the middle and the guy hit it out."
On Austin Graham... "He was really rushing and never able to recover. He's done a great job for us all year – he was fresh but just couldn't find the zone."
On LSU... "They're a real good club. They've got some magic going and some really talented players.
Looking back on the tournament... "Our guys are battlers. We play hard every day, bounce back after every loss. I'm proud of what we've accomplished."
"There's been a lot of progress. This is a really good team with really good character. It's not fun to go out and do what we did today, but you're around a bunch of guys who really care, play hard, have overcome a lot to come back.
BRANDON MAY, DESIGNATED HITTER
"We just didn't play well today. That's all there is to say."
ALEX AVILA, CATCHER
"We weren't ahead of the batters. When you can't get ahead, you have to give in. If you can't get ahead, you're not going to win."
LSU Quotes
LSU HEAD COACH PAUL MAINIERI
Opening comment... "It was another tremendous comeback by a great group of kids. I know it may sound like a broken record. This was a tough game, and for a long time during the game, we were our own worst enemy. Alabama was able to score off of things like wild pitches. We were just having a tough time taking pitches and blocking balls. It's been the case all year, though, that these kids don't panic. They just kept battling. It was another great win for the Tigers, and we are thrilled to play in the championship game tomorrow."
On the 19-game win streak... "The guys will tell you that I really don't speak that much about it to them. It's more than obvious that they are aware of it with it mentioned in the paper and on television. I think the reason that we are not focused on the streak is because each game means so much for different reasons. That has kept our minds off of it that it is a winning streak. Now is not a good time to lose, so we might as well keep on winning."
JARED MITCHELL, LEFT FIELDER
On the game... "It was not our best game, but that just shows that this is a resilient group of guys. There was not one time in the game that any guy in the dugout thought that we didn't have a chance. We just kept fighting and fighting."
ANTHONY RANAUDO, PITCHER
On his performance... "It was just nice to get in there in this situation and game. I was feeling well since I got hurt early in the season. It just felt good to be part of the team again and to be able to pitch. It was nice to get a win."
Game 13: #8 Ole Miss 8, #6 Vanderbilt 7
HOOVER, Ala. (AP) -- Michael Guerrero hit two home runs and drove in four runs in Mississippi's 8-7 win over Vanderbilt Saturday night, lifting the surprising Rebels into the Southeastern Conference tournament championship game.
Eighth-seeded Ole Miss (37-23), which lost 7-4 in the first meeting Saturday, will seek its second SEC tournament title in three seasons against LSU on Sunday.
Guerrero's sudden power display is a big reason. He has four homers in four tournament games, matching his regular-season total. This time he hit a three-run shot just inside the left-field foul pole in the first and a solo homer in the fifth to stake Ole Miss to a 6-2 lead over the Commodores (40-20).
Vandy scored three runs in the eighth to make it 8-6 and scored again in the ninth off Ole Miss closer Scott Bittle. Bittle came in with runners on first and second and nobody out and struck out the first two batters. Then he gave up an RBI double to Andrew Giobbi and a two-run single up the middle to Shea Robin and walked Jonathan White on four pitches.
Bittle finally escaped by striking out David Macias, leaving two men on. He gave up a one-out solo homer to Pedro Alvarez in the ninth, a school record-tying 49th for his career.
Ryan Flaherty, who hit a two-run shot in the first, then singled. Bittle struck out Dominic de la Osa and Steven Liddle to end the game.
Jordan Henry went 4-for-5 in Game 2 and reached base eight times in the doubleheader for Ole Miss. Freshman Matt Smith hit a solo homer.
The Commodores had stayed alive with a five-run third inning in the first game, highlighted by de la Osa's two-run single. Macias opened the first game with a homer for Vandy.
``Having Satterwhite out of the game shook them up just enough,'' Vandy coach Tim Corbin said. ``When they came back out, we took advantage of that.''
Added Bianco, ``He thought he could go, but he just couldn't.''
Defending champion Vandy had swept Ole Miss to move into the title game last year.
Opening statement... "We came up short tonight, but we've got some young kids who grew up this week."
On pitching... "It was a tough challenge – we didn't have a whole lot. If we'd gotten to the championship game, we would've pieced it together, but it was tough."
"We limped in here a little. The fact that we won the first game, los the second and came back – we feel a little bit better about where we are."
On whether he learned anything about his team this week.. "I always expect character, we always expect to win at the end. I liked what I saw from our young kids this week."
RYAN FLAHERTY, SHORTSTOP
On the difference in the game... "They had a guy in there that was shutting us down. Our downfall is that we couldn't come back until late."
On what the team can take away from the tournament... "I think we can take a lot out of this tournament. We've got a little bit of momentum going."
On the game... "I'm proud of our guys and the way they competed. I just heard that we are the first eight seed to make it to the championship game which is amazing. I'm proud of what we did today. We really competed. We played well for most of the game, but we had some bad innings and gave up some big runs. Besides that, we had some huge homeruns with two by (Michael) Guerrero and one by Smith. I thought Bukvich did great tonight off of two days rest. He didn't have his best stuff, but he competed well. Jake Morgan also continues to shine"
On the team's recent play... "I think we are playing our best ball right now. When you look at our league and the environment we play in, I think without a doubt we are doing our best."
On Brett Bukvich's performance... "He just really competes out there. I'm proud of him. We haven't thrown a lot of fastballs. We tried to mix it. It's been a really good three-pitch mix where we mix the fastball with change-ups and breaking balls. The thing about him is that he seems to make big pitches at big times."
SCOTT BITTLE, PITCHER
On Brett Bukvich's performance... "He was huge. He went out there and got us a big lead. He did wonderful today, and we couldn't have asked for anything better."
MICHAEL GUERRERO, CENTER FIELDER
On his homeruns during the tournament... "I was told that I wasn't going to hit one at all, not even at batting practice, because the field is so big. I had to prove some people wrong, so I feel pretty good about it."
BRETT BUKVICH, PITCHER
On beating Vanderbilt... "It's huge. Since the win at Kentucky, we have just been playing great ball. Now we are going to come out and try to win a SEC championship."