SEC Baseball Tournament: Day One Recap

LSU comeback capped by Dean walk-off home run

LSU was down 4-0 heading into the bottom of the ninth against South Carolina and showing little signs of life.

However, the Tigers managed to get a big three-run homer from Matt Clark in the bottom of the ninth and eventually tied the game with a game-tying double by Ryan Schimpf. Three of the four Tiger runs in the ninth inning got on base virtue of a walk. 

A scoreless South Carolina top of the tenth game LSU the chance to win the game, and Tigers designated hitter Blake Dean took full advantage, blasting a shot to right center in the large Regions Park. 

The dimensions of Regions Park in Hoover, AL, the site of the tournament, are 340-385-405-385-340. 

The comeback ruined a great game pitched by Gamecocks pitcher Sam Dyson.  Dyson allowed only two hits over six and two-thirds innings, giving up no runs with six strikeouts and three walks.

Vanderbilt offense too much for streaking Gators

Florida managed to garner the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament this year via a final weekend sweep of the Commodores. However, Vanderbilt won when it counted the most. 

The 'Dores pounded out 14 hits against Gator pitching, recording a hit in every inning but the seventh, en route to a 7-3 win. 

Vandy was led by David Macias' two RBI in the game and overcame four Florida double plays to still come out on top. 

The Gators managed eight hits off of Vanderbilt pitching, but couldn't capitalize on their base runners, leaving 14 men on base. 

Ole Miss jumps out, hangs on to beat top seed Georgia

Ole Miss was coming into Wednesday's game hoping to recapture some of their early season success as the lowest seed in the tournament. 

The Rebels did just that, posting two runs before Georgia had an at-bat and held on to be the SEC Champion Bulldogs 4-1. 

The two early runs were plenty for Ole Miss starter Lance Lynn, who went six and two-thirds, allowing one earned run and striking out 12. 

Kentucky offense, Alabama errors allow Cats to cruise

Kentucky starter Aaron Lovett allowed three runs in the first four outs of the game. After that, he was near perfect for the Wildcats.

Lovett pitched a complete game against Alabama in the final game on Wednesday night/Thursday morning to lead the 'Cats to a 9-3 victory. 

Lovett received support from his offense, especially from third baseman Chris McClendon, whose three RBI led the charge for Kentucky. 

Alabama managed to score two runs after the first four batters of the game, but couldn't do much else on offense the rest of the night. The Tide's defense was bad as well, committing two errors which cost the Tide a total of four runs. 

SEC Tournament Good and Bad: Day One

Good: Home Runs for a cause.

This year, the SEC Tournament has teamed up with the Special Olympics group of Alabama to raise money. For every home run hit in this year's tournament, AT&T will donate $250. After Wednesday's game, the total is already up to $1,250.

Bad: Wasting, Wasting, Wasting Time

Its hard enough to try and squeeze four games in in one day. It's a lot worse when only one game goes into one extra inning and the final game is starting when it should be ending.

Wednesday's games flooding over into Thursday morning, with Kentucky finally putting Alabama away at 1:52 AM CST. The average game time was 3:15, but clean up and warm ups caused each game to take up a four hour slot. 

Thursday's Rundown

Loser's Bracket Games

South Carolina vs. Florida, 10 AM, CSS

Georgia vs. Alabama, 1 PM, CSS

Winner's Bracket Games

LSU vs. Vanderbilt, 5 PM, CSS

Ole Miss vs. Kentucky, 8 PM, CSS