Game 1: #7 Arkansas 8, #2 Florida 5
HOOVER, Ala. -- Mike Bolsinger threw four-plus innings of relief to lead the No. 20 Arkansas Razorback baseball team to an 8-5 victory over the No. 9 Florida Gators in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Championship Tournament on Wednesday morning in Hoover, Ala.
The No. 7 seeded Razorbacks (32-20) used a five-run fourth inning to dispatch the No. 2 seeded Gators (38-19) for the fourth time this season and advance in the winners bracket of the conference tournament.
"You have to give credit to the players," Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said. "They made a couple of big plays and got some big two-out hits."
Arkansas capitalized on four Florida errors to score seven unearned runs and pick up its seventh first round Southeastern Conference Tournament win in school history.
The fateful fourth inning began with a one-out single by Zack Cox through the right side. Cox would move to second when a ball off the end of the bat by Brett Eibner to the first baseman was thrown wide to second allowing both runners to reach base safely. A strike out later and Tom Hauskey delivered a pinch hit single up the middle to score Cox and make it a 2-2 game. Chase Leavitt followed with a single to left scoring Eibner. Ben Tschepikow would walk to load the bases and Travis Sample came through with another two-out hit, his, a double down the left-field line which scored all three base runners and give the Hogs a 6-2 lead.
Arkansas starter Dallas Keuchel pitched into the fourth inning and got two outs before handing the ball to Bolsinger and after a rocky start, the right-hander from McKinney, Texas, settled in to allow just one hit and two walks while striking out five. Arkansas and Florida combined for 11 runs over the opening four innings, but the bullpens for each squad settled the nerves and delivered zeros on the scoreboard through the seventh.
The Razorbacks caught a tough break in the top of the first inning when a potential RBI single by Andy Wilkins resulted in a dead ball and no run. With one out in the inning, Tschepikow laced a double over the head of the left fielder. Two batters later with two outs Wilkins hit a hard shot up the middle that struck the umpire before it left the infield resulting in the dead ball. Tschepikow, who was running with two outs and on the crack of the bat would have been able to score on the play but because of the dead ball, was sent back to second base.
Arkansas would get the critical first run of the game in the top of the second as Bo Bigham grounded out allowing Zack Cox to score from third base. Cox led off the inning with a double to the left-center field gap and moved to third on a throwing error by the third baseman. On the play Brett Eibner hit a line drive to third and as he tried to throw out Cox at second the ball sailed into right field allowing Cox to advance.
Florida took the lead in the bottom of the third thanks to back-to-back walks to lead off the inning. With runners on first and second, Florida used a sacrifice bunt to place runners in scoring position and the next batter hit a sharp ground ball to second which Bigham Made a diving stab at, but could not make the transfer to throw the runner out. One run scored on the play, but the error proved costly on the next batter as another ground ball scored a second runner in the inning to make it a 2-1 game in favor of the Gators.
After Arkansas took its 6-2 lead, Florida came back with three runs in the bottom of the fourth to make it 6-5 but Florida was not able to score any more off Bolsinger (4-4) or closer Stephen Richards (9 saves). The Razorbacks however were able to score single runs in the eighth and ninth innings on a RBI single by Leavitt and a solo home run by Cox.
Arkansas touched up Florida pitching for 11 hits on the afternoon with Cox leading the way with three. Leavitt and Tschepikow proved to be a lethal 1-2 punch as they combined for four hits. Sample, Wilkins, Bigham and Hauskey completed the Razorback attack. The Razorback pitching allowed just four Florida hits, but walked nine batters while striking out nine others.
The Razorbacks face the winner of the No. 3 Ole Miss/No. 6 Georgia contest at 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 21. For more information regarding Razorback baseball or University of Arkansas athletics please visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
Arkansas Quotes
Arkansas Head Coach Dave Van Horn
On his team's first round win against second-seeded Florida... "Give credit to our players, they did a great job and made some great plays today. They got some big two-out hits. Our starter, Dallas Keuchel, just didn't have it today. He was giving up a lot of walks, and that isn't what he normally does. I like the way Mike Bolsinger came in and settled the game down. He gave us the chance to score some more runs, especially in the eighth and ninth innings. Those last two innings gave us confidence heading into the ninth inning with Stephen Richards closing it out."
On having the starting second baseman, Ben Tschepikow, play shortstop... "He didn't know he was gong to play short until I asked him this morning at breakfast. I liked the response he gave me and that was that he wanted to do whatever he could to help the team. He has a great attitude and wants this team to do well. He did a great job at short. That last play of the game, when he fielded the double-play ball cleanly and made a perfect throw to second and get the double play. That was huge because Florida had something going there at the end with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth. Overall, he played really well."
Ben Tschepikow, Arkansas Shortstop
On Arkansas' 8-5 win against Florida ... "We just came out and played hard for the whole game. We hadn't been playing good baseball here in the last couple of weeks, so it would have been easy for us to lay down and not put up a fight. We are still working towards getting in a regional, so we want to play our best here and play every game like it's our last."
Florida Quotes
Florida Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan
Opening Statement ... "We feel behind early - it was 6-2 after the fourth and then we bounced backed and scored three. I thought we were right there in it. Unfortunately, we didn't take care of the ball as well as we have been. We had about five walks or so, but Arkansas made some plays when they needed to in the ninth to win the game."
On having not won an SEC Tournament game during his time at Florida ... I don't look at it that we. We just have to wait for it. You make four errors and chances aren't that good. Meanwhile, we got back into the game because they had nine walks. If we played good defense, they would not have scored so many runs. It has nothing to do with the postseason, we take the normal batting practice, the normal infield/outfield everyday. There is no need for special motivational speeches. If we make good pitches, good plays and play good defense, it is bound to happen."
Preston Tucker, Florida First Baseman
On Florida's 8-5 loss to Arkansas on Wednesday ... "Arkansas came out ready to play today. They got hits when they needed to, and they made pitches when they needed to in order to win the game."
Game Notes
Game 2: #6 Georgia 6, #3 Ole Miss 3
HOOVER, Ala. -- Matt Cerione's grand slam in the top of the sixth gave Georgia a 4-1 lead and the Bulldogs held on for a 6-3 win over Ole Miss in the first round of the SEC Tournament Wednesday at Regions Park.
The No. 6 seed Bulldogs (36-20) advance to face No. 7 seed Arkansas Thursday at 6 p.m. Eastern. The Razorbacks defeated No. 2 seed Florida, 8-5.
Cerione finished with five RBI while Zach Cone and Peter Verdin had two hits apiece.. It was the Bulldogs' first win in an SEC Tournament game since 2006.
Justin Grimm (3-4) earned the win after holding Ole Miss to two runs--one earned--on eight hits in 5.1 innings.
"Justin got off to a good start and threw the ball extremely well," Georgia coach David Perno said. "He's been pitching well the last several weeks and he continued that today. We're trying to get back to playing good baseball, and we got off to a good start here."
Both teams were scoreless until the bottom of the fifth when Kevin Mort scored on a wild pitch with one out to give Ole Miss a 1-0 lead.
The Bulldogs came back in the top of the sixth with singles by Cone and Levi Hyams to start the inning. Verdin walked two batters later to load the bases for Cerione, whose first career grand slam just cleared the center field wall to give Georgia a 4-1 lead. Bryce Massanari then walked and Rich Poythress singled to put runners at first and second with one out, but Nathan Baker came in and retired the next two batters to get Ole Miss out of the inning.
The Rebels (40-16) then loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the sixth and scored on a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 4-2. After a walk to Mort, Will Harvil struck out Evan Button to get out of the jam.
Cone singled again to lead off the seventh, then Miles Starr was hit with one out to put runners on the corners. Verdin followed with a double down the left field line that scored Cone, then a sacrifice fly by Cerione scored Starr to extend Georgia's lead to 6-2.
Ole Miss scored a run in the bottom half of the seventh on a two-out single by Kyle Henson and had the bases loaded when Justin Earls entered the game and induced an inning-ending popup to preserve the Bulldogs' 6-3 lead.
Drew Pomeranz (6-4) took the loss after he allowed four runs on five hits in 5.1 innings.Dean Weaver pitched the final 1.2 innings for his 10th save.
Trevor Holder (7-4, 4.68 ERA) will get the start on Thursday against Arkansas. The winner will have Friday off before playing again on Saturday. The loser will play Friday at 4 p.m. Eastern.
Georgia Quotes
Georgia Head Coach David Perno
Opening Statement ... "[Georgia starting pitcher] Justin Grimm got off to a good start. He has been a little snake-bitten throughout the season with us not scoring enough. It has just been unfortunate because he has thrown the ball really well the last month and continued that momentum today. We got one big swing from our center fielder [Matt Ceroine] and all of our outfielders played well today."
On playing Arkansas on Thursday ... "We know we are going to play an Arkansas team that is similar to us. We had similar seasons - very good first halves and kind of fought it in the second half, but it is a fresh start for both of us. They had a big win today [against Florida] and we had a big win. We are going to face Brett Eibner, who had his way with us in Athens because he shut us out. Hopefully we will be up to it. This is not a ballpark for us when you look at our lineup and you see five guys with double-digit home runs, and this park is not giving a whole bunch of them. Hopefully we can get one when we need it like today. We got our hands full, and we know it, but it is good to be in the winners bracket."
Matt Cerione, Georgia Center Fielder
On his grand slam ... "The first at bat, I just didn't pick it up out of [Ole Miss' Drew Pomeranz's] hand but he is a great pitcher and we were only down one run with the bases loaded, and I was just trying to get that guy in from third. That is all I was trying to do. He threw a curve ball the first pitch and I fouled it off. I was just trying to stay on my legs, and he doubled it up, and I got a hold of it. He is a great guy. He battles. He is a competitor. He got the best of me today, too, but I got one good swing off of him as well."
Ole Miss Quotes
Ole Miss Head Coach Mike Bianco
On his team's 6-3 loss to Georgia on Wednesday ... "I thought it was a really good college baseball game. What happened today, I told our guys, is just baseball. We outhit them, but they got the big hits. They had one big inning, Drew Pomeranz was cruising until that inning. It was the difference maker in the game. That is something we have been good at staying out of, the big inning. On the other side, we have been able to hit with runners in scoring position, but we didn't do that today. We missed out on too many opportunities. They are a very talented Georgia team."
On catcher Kyle Henson ... "He had a great week against Arkansas last week and he was able to carry that over to this week. He's been great to have in the middle of our lineup. He just provides a big spark in our offense in so many ways. He gets base hits, he leads the team in homeruns now and he has had a lot less at-bats than some of the other guys. He's done great behind the plate. He's been blocking balls and he's really added something to our everyday lineup."
Drew Pomeranz, Ole Miss starting pitcher
On giving up a sixth-inning grand slam to Matt Cerione... "He had been struggling hitting the curve ball all game until that point. So when I threw him that curve ball, he just put a good swing on it. There was nothing else you could do about it."
Game 3: #8 Vanderbilt 4, #1 LSU 1
HOOVER, Ala. -- Mike Minor pitched his second complete game victory in three games to lead Vanderbilt to a 4-1 win over No. 2 LSU Wednesday night in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference tournament at Regions Park.
Minor (6-4), pitching on four days rest, scattered six hits over nine innings and allowed just one run while striking out five and walking three. It was his second complete game of the season and second in three games after achieving the feat against Georgia on May 9.
"Early in the game, I wasn't really pitching, I was just throwing the ball," said Mike Minor. "I got lucky with my defense backing me up and turning double plays. Later in the ballgame, I started feeling my stuff, and started throwing more off-speed, more curveballs and sliders. And then in the eighth and ninth inning, I clicked in and I felt like I was just starting the game - and it worked for us."
Vanderbilt improved to 32-24, while LSU fell to 41-16. It marks the fourth straight season the No. 8 seed has defeated the No. 1 seed in the tourney. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Dores as well.
"It was a very important game for us," said Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin. "We had a tough week-and-a-half in some regards with the tough losses we had all coming down to the ninth and 10th inning. We talked about it a lot coming into this tournament. It is a situation where we have to play well. We have to give a lot of credit to [pitcher] Mike Minor tonight. He has pitched a lot of great games at Vanderbilt, but this is probably the best he has pitched in my estimation. I thought Andrew Giobbi did a nice job in catching the game. We had timely hits in the middle of the order. I am just proud of what happened."
Giobbi's solo homer to left in the fourth gave the Commodores a 1-0 lead. VU added another run in the fifth on a bases loaded sacrifice fly RBI by Curt Casali to make it 2-0. Brian Harris walked with one out, Jonathan White doubled to left and Steven Liddle was intentionally walked to load the bases. Casali who grounded out to short his first two at bats, crushed Austin Ross' first pitch offering to deep center where Mikie Mahtook caught it at the base of the wall.
The Dores added two more runs in the seventh to extend the lead to 4-0. White led off with a single up the middle and then moved to third on Steven Liddle's RBI single to center. Daniel Bradshaw then came on in relief of Ross and gave up a double off the wall in left to score White. Aaron Westlake then hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Liddle to make it 4-0.
LSU's lone run came in the seventh on a RBI groundout to first by Austin Nola. Tyler Hanover doubled past Casali at first and down the right field line to lead off the frame. Minor struck out Jared Mitchell before Micah Gibbs singled to left to advance the runner. Nola then grounded to first to score Hanover.
Vanderbilt will face the winner of the No. 4 seed Alabama/ No. 5 seed South Carolina contest Thursday night at 8:30 p.m.
Vanderbilt Quotes
Vanderbilt Head Coach Tim Corbin
Opening statement... "It was a very important game for us. We had a tough week-and-a-half in some regards with the tough losses we had all coming down to the ninth and 10th inning. We talked about it a lot coming into this tournament. It is a situation where we have to play well. We have to give a lot of credit to [pitcher] Mike Minor tonight. He has pitched a lot of great games at Vanderbilt, but this is probably the best he has pitched in my estimation. I thought Andrew Giobbi did a nice job in catching the game. The credit goes to Minor - he did a great job. We had timely hits in the middle of the order. I am just proud of what happened."
On starting pitcher Mike Minor's complete-game victory ... "Certainly in a tournament situation it is great because you can play as few as four and as many as six [games] if you lose in the first game like we did in 2007. Having a guy complete a game obviously saves some arms. We have 12 guys, but Minor made the comment in the 7th inning because we were figuring out whether or not we were going to send him back out there, but he told [Assistant] Coach [Derek] Johnson this is what we train for. And he is right. These pitchers train hard and they train for situations like this, and he is very capable of doing something like this. He has four days of rest, and he was the right guy to take the ball. When we approached him with the subject of starting, there was no hesitation. He is just a tough, tough kid, and he has proved time and time.again why he is one of the top pitchers in the college game."
Mike Minor, Vanderbilt Starting Pitcher
On his complete-game win against LSU in the SEC Tournament First Round ... "Early in the game, I wasn't really pitching, I was just throwing the ball. I got lucky with my defense back there backing me up, turning double plays. Later in the ballgame, I started feeling my stuff, and started throwing more off-speed, more curveballs and sliders. The change-up was not too good tonight, so I just kept with the slider to keep them off balance and mixing it up with first-pitch curve ball and first-pitch slider. And then in the eighth and ninth inning, I clicked in and I felt like I was just starting the game - and it worked for us.
LSU Quotes
LSU Head Coach Paul Mainieri
On his team's 4-1 loss to Vanderbilt on Wednesday ... "Congratulations to Vanderbilt and their pitcher [Mike Minor] was really fantastic. We didn't really have the same magic in us that we had last year. In that ninth innin,g it seemed like deja vu, but we just couldn't get it done and couldn't get the big hits. I thought Austin Ross pitched well enough to win on most nights. Being matched up against Minor, it just wasn't good enough for us tonight. The whole story of the game was Minor. He pitched outstanding. I can see why everyone thinks so highly of him. It was a tough loss, but we just have to regroup and take it one day at a time. Hopefully we can get a win tomorrow and see what happens after that."
Micah Gibbs, LSU Catcher
On the pitching performance of Vanderbilt's Mike Minor ... "He mixes his pitches really well. I know his change-up is one of his better pitches. He pitched his fastball when he was behind in the count. He also pitched his cutter really effectively to both righties and lefties. It looks like it's going to be a four-seam fastball and then it just comes in on you."
Game 4: #5 South Carolina 9, #4 Alabama 5 (11 inn.)
HOOVER, Ala. -- South Carolina scored four runs in the top of the 11th inning on its way to a 9-5 extra inning victory over Alabama on the first day of the SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover, Ala. Bobby Haney scored the game- winning run on a wild pitch with Nick Ebert drawing a RBI bases loaded walk and Justin Dalles driving home a pair of runs on a two-out double as the Gamecocks broke a 5-5 tie to earn the victory. The Gamecocks are now 38-19 on the year and have won 11 of its last 12 games played. Alabama suffers the loss and is now 37-18 on the year. Carolina returns to action vs. No. 8 seed Vanderbilt with first pitch scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET at Regions Park. The game can be heard live on GamecocksOnline.com and on the Gamecock Radio Network.
The three hour and 57 minute game had several moments of truth before the Gamecocks broke the deadlock in the 11th inning. Haney jumpstarted the inning with a one-out double over the head of left fielder Kyle Moore and a bloop single by Scott Wingo and a hit by pitch against Whit Merrifield loaded the bases for Carolina. The go-ahead run would score then as reliever Jimmy Nelson threw low and past catcher Vin DeFazio allowing Haney to score. The Tide would then intentionally walk Carolina's batter, DeAngelo Mack, to load the bases for a second time for Nick Ebert. On a 3-2 pitch, Nelson threw low of the strike zone to walk Ebert and give Carolina a two-run cushion. With two outs and the bases still jammed, Justin Dalles gave Carolina some insurance with a two-run double off the left field wall putting Carolina ahead by four.
Alabama made things interesting in the bottom half of the frame, loading the bases with two outs and bringing the potential tying run to the plate in Jake Smith. On a 2-2 pitch from Gamecock reliever Alex Farotto, Smith hit a sharp laced ball off the glove of the Gamecocks' left-hander. Farotto was able to move quickly to retrieve the ball and threw to first base to record the out and seal the Gamecock victory. Farotto's throw just beat Smith to first base, who showed tremendous hustle and was hurt trying to keep the inning alive for the Crimson Tide.
Farotto earned the win after 1.1 scoreless innings of work out of the pen. He is now 4-2 on the year. Alabama reliever Nathan Kilcrease was tough in relief for Alabama despite the loss. He did not allow run from the sixth-10th before finally being touched in the 11th inning. His line finished at five innings, three runs on three hits with three strikeouts and one walk. He is now 4-4 on the year.
"We just hung in there," said South Carolina head coach Ray Tanner. "They had some opportunities and we had some opportunities. We mixed and matched in the bullpen. It was anybody's game and we were just very fortunate to win.
The Crimson Tide held the advantage early and broke ahead 3-0 on Carolina starting pitcher Blake Cooper in the first inning. Alabama caught a couple of breaks as Josh Rutledge and Kent Matthes both hit infield singles sandwiched in between by another base hit by Ross Wilson that loaded the bases. Designated hitter Brandon May then put Alabama on the scoreboard with a two-run double to right center scoring both Rutledge and Wilson. The Tide would score their third run on a sacrifice fly to center field off the bat of Jake Smith.
Alabama added a single run in the bottom of the fourth to increase the lead to 4-0. Alex Kubal led off with a double to left field and after advancing to third on a fly ball would score on Josh Rutledge's RBI ground out to shortstop.
Carolina cut Alabama's lead in half with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth inning. The Gamecocks put together a couple key two-out hits as Whit Merrifield doubled to advance Scott Wingo to third base and both would then score as DeAngelo Mack ripped a base hit to left center to cut the deficit to 4-2. The single extended Mack's hitting streak to 18 games.
The Gamecocks chased Alabama starter Del Howell in the sixth inning and went ahead 5-4 on the back of a three- run homer by Adam Matthews. Jackie Bradley, Jr. got things started with a leadoff single and advanced to third on Andrew Crisp's one-out base hit to right field. That set the stage for Matthews, who crushed a 1-1 pitch from Howell over the left centerfield wall to put the Gamecocks ahead for the first time on the evening. Matthews' home run was his third of the year.
It remained 5-4 until Kent Matthes knocked a one-out solo home run to center field to tie the game. Matthes' homer was his league-leading 28th home run of the season.
"We were able to get on the board and then Adam Matthews hit a big home run," said Tanner. "It looked like he got a change up and it is hard to hit one out of here but he got every bit of it. Then Kent Matthes tied it up with a monster mash."
Both starting pitchers, Cooper and Howell, allowed five runs on seven hits and struck out seven batters with two walks. Cooper went 6.2 innings with Howell finishing the night with 5.1 innings of work.
South Carolina totaled 11 this to Alabama's eight on the night. Bradley was 3-for-6 to lead the Gamecocks at the plate. Wingo also had two hits. Matthews' three RBI were a career-high.
With Carolina's victory, all four lower seeds won on Opening Day at the SEC Tournament (No. 5 South Carolina, No. 6 Georgia, No. 7 Arkansas & No. 8 Vanderbilt).
"With the lower seeds all winning, that really is the SEC," said Tanner. "In this conference, there is not much difference from the top to the bottom and that was evident today with all the lower seeds getting the win."
South Carolina Quotes
South Carolina Head Coach Ray Tanner
On coming back from four runs down to defeat Alabama 9-5 ... "We were able to get on the board, and then Adam Matthews hit a big home run. It looked like he got a change up, and it is hard to hit one out of here, but he got every bit of it. Then [Alabama's] Kent Matthes tied it up with a monster mash. We just hung in there. They had some opportunities and we had some opportunities. We mixed and matched in the bullpen. It was anybody's game, and we were just very fortunate to win."
On the strength of the SEC ... "With the lower seeds all winning, that really is the SEC. In this conference, there is not much difference from the top to the bottom, and that was evident today with all the lower seeds getting the win."
Parker Bangs, South Carolina Pitcher
On his approach to the game ... "I am just trying to relax and have fun. That is the main thing, just trying not to do too much. It is a game, and I just try to have a good time doing what I love to do."
Alabama Quotes
Kent Matthes, Alabama Right Fielder
On his team's 9-5 loss to South Carolina... "Obviously, it's tough to lose a game like this, especially in 11 innings. In the SEC, five runs will win ballgames, but it couldn't do it tonight.
On the 3-hour and 57-minute game that ended close to 2 a.m. CT ... "The time of day didn't really affect us. We were all in the game until the end, staying very focused. We'll just have to get as much rest as possible before tomorrow's game against LSU."