SEC Baseball Tournament 2018: Friday Scores, Updated Bracket and Schedule

SEC baseball tournament action continued Friday at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama, with third-round and quarterfinal play.

The opener of Friday's three-game set pitted No. 4 Arkansas against top-seeded Florida with a spot in Saturday's semifinals on the line.

That is followed by a pair of quarterfinal elimination games. No. 2 Ole Miss takes on No. 7 Auburn, and No. 8 LSU squares off with Florida in its second game of the day.

Here is a look at Friday's results, complete with full recaps of each game.

Friday Scores/Schedule

(4) Arkansas def. (1) Florida, 8-2

(2) Ole Miss def. (7) Auburn, 7-0

(8) LSU def. (1) Florida, 11-0

Bracket

View the updated SEC baseball tournament bracket at SECSports.com.

Arkansas 8, Florida 2

The Arkansas Razorbacks pulled off an upset over the No. 1-seeded Florida Gators on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the SEC baseball tournament.

Arkansas took a 4-0 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth inning. Although Florida cut the deficit to 4-2 entering the ninth inning, the Razorbacks put it away with a grand slam from Hunter Wilson, who entered the game in the eighth as a pinch runner.

The Razorbacks jumped out to an early advantage when third baseman Casey Martin crushed a two-run home run in the second inning, as seen in this video courtesy of SEC Network:  

Florida had a chance to close the gap in the third, but some defensive excellence from Arkansas center fielder Dominic Fletcher kept the Razorbacks on top.  

Fletcher made a diving catch on a sinking liner off the bat of Florida designated hitter Nelson Maldonado and then doubled up catcher Jonah Girand with a great throw to third:

Arkansas added two runs in the sixth off Florida starting pitcher Jackson Kowar, who allowed four runs in six frames.  

Razorbacks starting pitcher Blaine Knight's only blemish came in the bottom of the sixth when he allowed a solo home run to Florida third baseman Jonathan India.  

The Gators scored another run in the eighth before reliever Andrew Baker ran into trouble in the ninth and got touched up by Wilson for a grand slam.  

Arkansas shut the door in the ninth, as closer Matt Cronin went two innings, allowed no hits and struck out five.  

The win earned Arkansas a berth in the semifinals, while Florida was forced to play LSU later in the day.

Florida beat LSU in a tight, 4-3 game Wednesday.  

Ole Miss 7, Auburn 0

The Ole Miss Rebels got their revenge on the Auburn Tigers.

It was just Wednesday that Auburn upset second-seeded Ole Miss, 9-3, in the second round of the SEC tournament. That was a game in which Rebels pitcher Ryan Rolison appeared to be in complete control, helping his team take a 2-0 lead into the seventh. However, the Tigers exploded for nine runs over the final three frames to send the Rebels to the loser's bracket.

This game was a completely different story.

Ole Miss grabbed a lead in the fourth inning, thanks to a Thomas Dillard home run, and never looked back:

That was just the start of a big day at the plate for the Rebels offense.

They would tack on a pair of runs in the sixth to double their lead. First baseman Cole Zabowski drove in a run with a one-out double off Tigers southpaw Andrew Mitchell, and he would come around to score on an RBI groundout by outfielder Tim Rowe.

And while the offense was lighting up the scoreboard, right-hander James McArthur was dealing on the mound:

Final line: 5.1 innings, five hits, zero runs, one walk and six strikeouts. 

A 4-0 lead was more than enough for Ole Miss on this day, but the bats kept going to add some insurance runs, one in the seventh and two in the ninth.

Every Rebel reached base in the game, with shortstop Grae Kessinger—who had two walks—the only player in the lineup not to record a base hit. And as if facing McArthur wasn't challenging enough for Auburn, freshman Max Cioffi relieved the starter and threw three innings of hitless baseball.

It's a disappointing end to the SEC tournament for the Tigers. It was just one night ago that they were being no-hit into the eighth inning, and while they eventually got on the board in that loss, they were unable to cross the plate in this one.

Ole Miss advances to the semifinals to face 11-seed Texas A&M, while Auburn is eliminated.

LSU 11, Florida 0

The Tigers had to wait until Saturday morning to finish their shutout victory over the Gators after dense fog caused an overnight suspension, but LSU avoided any let dramatics upon the resumption of play in the sixth inning to reach the tournament semifinals.

LSU, which led 10-0 when the game was forced into delay, another another run in the bottom of the sixth. Florida couldn't score in the seventh, clinching the Tigers' win via the run rule.

Matthew Beck, Cam Sanders and Devin Fontenot combined to allow just five hits while striking out 10 in seven scoreless innings.

Antoine Duplantis led the offensive charge for LSU with a pair of hits and three RBI. Daniel Cabrera knocked in two.

The Florida defense made three errors in the contest, leading to five unearned runs. But the lack of success at the plate dating back to their earlier clash with Arkansas is the main reason the top-seeded Gators are eliminated from title contention.