SEC Baseball Tournament 2015: Friday Scores, Bracket Results and Day 5 Picks
In any sort of seeded tournament, the top four teams are ideally supposed to advance to the semifinals. So far at the 2015 SEC baseball tournament, everything has gone according to plan with the Nos. 1 through 4 teams playing Saturday.
David Brandt of the Associated Press feels that the baseball gods have been just with the SEC this year considering the four teams still alive were the class of the conference during the regular season:
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Below is a look at how the semifinals took shape during Friday's action and a brief look ahead to the two games scheduled for today.
Friday Scores
| 13 | No. 2 Vanderbilt 16, No. 11 Alabama 1 |
| 14 | No. 4 Florida, 10, No. 5 Arkansas 0 |
Friday Recap
Through three innings, Vanderbilt and Alabama were locked in a tight 2-1 affair. Then the Commodores dropped eight runs in the top of the fourth and six more across the fifth and sixth innings. By the time it was all said and done, Vandy dispatched the Crimson Tide 16-1 after just seven innings.
Zander Wiel went 3-for-5 in the victory, driving in four runs and scoring another. His teammate, Jason Delay, added three RBI of his own and touched home plate three times himself.
The Tide didn't stand much of a chance after the Commodores' offensive outburst in the fourth, and Philip Pfeifer ensured Alabama suffered an ignominious exit. The junior left-hander went the full seven, allowing one earned run on four hits and striking out nine.
"I feel like when I started the game today, I had pitches in the zone," said Pfeifer, per Ben Weinrib of the Vanderbilt Hustler. "But finding the right combinations of pitches to their hitters is kind of the trick. I started working in some of the other off-speeds instead of just pounding the fastball."
Vanderbilt will play Texas A&M in Saturday's first semifinal game.
The Florida Gators only had marginally more trouble getting revenge against the Arkansas Razorbacks. Florida needed seven innings to knock out Arkansas following a 10-0 victory.
A.J. Puk was extremely dominant on the mound. According to Baseball America's Michael Lananna, the sophomore left-hander was hitting nearly triple digits with his fastball:
Puk allowed just four hits over seven innings and struck out 11 batters. He didn't need much help, but his hitters spotted him 10 runs just to be safe.
The Gators were exceptional at taking advantage with runners on base. They had just 11 hits and five walks.
Florida's offensive effort also boasted a ton of balance. Only two players failed to drive in a run. Harrison Bader led the way with two RBIs. Dalton Guthrie and Buddy Reed provided some pop at the top of the order, going a combined 5-for-7 with three runs scored.
Saturday Schedule
| 15 | No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. No. 3 Texas A&M | 12 p.m. | SEC Network | Watch ESPN | TAMU, 4-2 |
| 16 | No. 1 LSU vs. No. 4 Florida | TBD | SEC Network | Watch ESPN | LSU, 5-1 |
Saturday Preview
Since dropping two out of three to the Florida Gators earlier in the month, Vanderbilt has won five of its last seven games. One of the two teams to defeat the Commodores during that stretch is Texas A&M.
The Aggies earned a 6-1 win over Vandy on Thursday. Texas A&M got a lot of production out of its first two hitters in the lineup, who combined to go 4-for-9 with four runs batted in and four runs scored. Matt Kent was also brilliant, going nine innings of four-hit ball.
Pitching has been one of the Aggies' greatest strengths this year. They rank second in the SEC in earned run average (3.03) and strikeouts (485). Plus, as SB Nation's Good Bull Hunting joked, Vandy's hitters might be fatigued after today's offensive onslaught.
Texas A&M got the better of the Commodores earlier in the week, and it will do so again this weekend.
Florida was certainly one of the best teams in the SEC, but LSU was the best. The Tigers boast a balance nobody in the conference can combat.
LSU rank first in batting average (.321) and second in slugging (.470) but also have a pitching staff that posted the lowest ERA (2.96) and second-lowest opponent batting average (.230).
In Alex Bregman, the Tigers have one of the best players in the country, period. The junior shortstop is hitting .330 with nine home runs and 47 runs batted in. He has also stolen 32 bases in 41 chances and is pretty talented with the glove, via the SEC Network:
One player alone can't win a game, but Bregman merely accentuates what are some of LSU's greatest strengths.
Don't count out Florida, especially after Friday's 10-0 drubbing of the Razorbacks. But the Tigers are the better team, and they should advance to the championship game.
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