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SEC Baseball Tournament 2021: Wednesday Scores, Updated Bracket and Schedule
May 26, 2021
After four teams were sent home in the opening round of the 2021 SEC baseball tournament, the top four teams in the conference during the regular season got in on the action.
Wednesday's quadruple-header from Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama, is headlined by defending national champion Vanderbilt playing Mississippi.
Arkansas, the SEC regular-season champions with a 42-10 record, can solidify its status as the potential No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament with a deep run this week.
Unlike the first round, games in the second and third round are double-elimination format.
SEC Tournament Results/Schedule—2nd Round
No. 6 Florida def. No. 3 Mississippi State, 13-1 (F/7)
No. 10 Alabama def. No. 2 Tennessee, 3-2 (F/11)
No. 1 Arkansas def. No. 8 Georgia, 11-2
No. 4 Vanderbilt def. No. 5 Mississippi, 5-4
No. 10 Alabama 3, No. 2 Tennessee 2 (F/11)
After a blowout in the first game on Wednesday's schedule, Alabama and Tennessee wasn't decided until the 11th inning when Owen Diodati drove in the go-ahead run in the top half of the frame to give the Crimson Tide a 3-2 win.
Neither offense had much success against the other team's pitching staff. The only run for either side in the first five innings was for Alabama on Jackson Tate's RBI groundout in the top of the second.
Tate also drove in the second run for the Crimson Tide on a bases-loaded walk in the top of the sixth.
Tennessee starter Will Heflin gave up two earned runs on four hits and two walks in 5.1 innings.
The Volunteers were finally able to breakthrough in the bottom of the seventh thanks to several defensive miscues by Alabama. The first two hitters of the inning reached base thanks to a throwing error and fielding error.
Connor Pavolony and Liam Spence drove in runs with back-to-back singles later in the inning to tie the score at two.
After a scoreless eighth, Tennessee briefly appeared to have won on a walk-off in the bottom of the ninth. Shawn Scott and Pavolony started the inning with singles.
Spence grounded out and Alabama intentionally walked Max Ferguson to load the bases with one out. The Crimson Tide got the double-play ball they were seeking from Jake Rucker, but the throw from Peyton Wilson pulled first baseman William Hamiter off the bag.
The umpires ruled that Ferguson interfered with Wilson's throw and called him out, keeping the score tied.
Following Diodati's go-ahead single in the top of the 11th, Chase Lee retired the Volunteers in order in the bottom half of the inning to end the game.
The Crimson Tide will take on Florida on the winner's half of the bracket tomorrow afternoon at 5:30 p.m. ET. Tennessee will look to keep its SEC tournament hopes alive against Mississippi State on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. ET.
No. 6 Florida 13, No. 3 Mississippi State 1 (F/7)
The Florida Gators became the first team in this year's SEC tournament to mercy rule an opponent with their 13-1 victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
After both teams traded single runs in the first inning, Florida blew things wide open with a three-run second and five-run third to take a 9-1 lead.
Jacob Young, Kris Armstrong and Sterlin Thompson combined to go 7-for-13 with three doubles and 10 RBI. Thompson also had a solo homer in the third inning.
The Gators scored six of their 13 runs with two outs and had 18 total hits.
While the offense was having no problems with Mississippi State's pitching staff, Hunter Barco shut down the Bulldogs lineup. The sophomore allowed one run on four hits and needed just 91 pitches in a complete game.
After two of Mississippi State's first four hitters reached base, Barco allowed just two hits over the final six innings. Tanner Allen's double in the bottom of the first was the Bulldogs' only extra-base hit.
The win puts Florida on the winner's side of the bracket on Thursday. Mississippi State will look to stave off elimination tomorrow afternoon.
No. 1 Arkansas 11, No. 8 Georgia 2
Arkansas starting pitcher Lael Lockhart retired his first 20 batters to lead the Razorbacks to an 11-2 win over the Georgia Bulldogs.
Lockhart nearly slammed the door on seven perfect innings en route to a 10-0 Arkansas mercy-rule win, but a Joshua McAllister infield single and a Corey Collins two-run homer kept Georgia alive in the seventh.
However, it was too little and too late for the Bulldogs, who fell into a 10-0 hole after five innings.
Arkansas broke the game open with six second-inning runs. The Razorbacks added one in the fourth, three more in the fifth and the final one in the eighth.
Arkansas won despite the top six in the batting order hitting just 1-for-17. That's in part because Georgia pitchers walked 14 Razorback batters. Three Razorback runs were courtesy of bases-loaded walks.
Cullen Smith delivered the biggest Arkansas blow, smacking a solo homer in the fifth.
Smith also had a double, two runs and two RBI.
Arkansas will play the winner of the Ole Miss vs. Vanderbilt matchup Thursday. Georgia will play the loser of that game.
No. 4 Vanderbilt 5, No. 5 Ole Miss 4
Vanderbilt struck first after Tate Kolwyck's fourth-inning RBI single plated Spencer Jones for an early 1-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Commodores starting pitcher Christian Little was dealing, starting his night with five shutout innings, striking out seven. Ole Miss starter Derek Diamond had a good outing himself, striking out eight over 5.1 innings while allowing two earned runs.
The Rebels offense came to life in the sixth starting with Jacob Gonzalez's one-out single.
Hugh Fisher came on in relief of Little, but a Kevin Graham walk proceeded a three-run homer from Tim Elko, who is playing on a torn ACL.
Undeterred, Vanderbilt tied the game in the bottom of the sixth thanks to another Kolwyck RBI single that scored Jones, plus a CJ Rodriguez fielder's choice that got Troy LaNeve home.
The game would remain tied until the top of the eighth inning, when Elko once again came through in the clutch for his team:
Unfortunately for the Rebels, the drama would not end there.
Two of the first three batters reached base in the bottom of the ninth for the Commodores, setting the stage for junior Isaiah Thomas to deliver the game-tying run:
After a wild pitch allowed the potential game-winning run to advance to third, Dominic Keegan sent the Commodores into celebration mode:
Vanderbilt will now face top-seeded Arkansas on Thursday, while Ole Miss will take on Georgia in a win-or-go-home showdown.