Sunday, May 27, 2012

SEC Baseball Tournament Championship Game

Before the seventh largest crowd in championship game history the Mississippi State Bulldogs defeated the Vanderbilt Commodores by a score of 3-0. Led by tournament MVP Adam Fraizer the Bulldogs claimed their first SEC Tournament Championship since 2005. Frazier who finished the SEC Tournament with 12 hits scored the first run in the third inning on a wild pitch from Vanderbilt starter Tyler Beede. Frazier would also account for the second run of the game when he would walk with the bases loaded in the fourth.  Mississippi State Head Coach John Cohen becomes the first coach to win a SEC Tournament title as a player and a coach. He won it as a player in 1989.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

SEC Baseball Tournament Day 5


Game 15 #4 Kentucky vs. #7 Mississippi State

The run for SEC Tournament Championship number seven continues for Mississippi State as they advanced to the championship game on Sunday with a 2-1 win over the Kentucky Wildcats. Adam Fraizer continues to lead the Bulldogs on offense picking up another two hits today to extend his tournament lead to 11. Frazier who singled in the third inning would score the go ahead run on a RBI single from Trey Porter. Mississippi State used four pitchers to hold the Wildcats to one run on nine hits with John Holder closing the door in the ninth for his second save of the Tournament. Mississippi State will play the winner of Florida-Vanderbilt on Sunday afternoon at 2:30. 

Game 16 #3 Florida vs. #5 Vanderbilt

The Vanderbilt Commodores trailing 4-3 going into the top of the ninth inning literally stole the game from the Florida Gators on Saturday evening. Vanderbilt won the game 8-6 scoring five runs in the top of the ninth. The Commodores tied a SEC Tournament record with 6 stolen bases in the top of the ninth including a triple steal with a steal of home.  Vanderbilt also had five hits to go with the six stolen bases.  The Gators would not go quietly scoring three times in the bottom of the ninth before Drew VerHagen would come in and get the one out save with the bases loaded to preserve the comeback win for the Commodores. Not to be lost in the Vanderbilt comeback was Florida’s Friday night pitching hero Brian Johnson. Johnson was 4-5 at the plate today with four runs batted in.

Championship Game Preview

The 2012 SEC Baseball Tournament Championship game will see two of the hottest teams in the nation playing for the title as the Mississippi State Bulldogs will play the Vanderbilt Commodores. The Bulldogs come in winners of seven of their last eight games while the Commodores are on an eight game winning streak. Vanderbilt will be looking for their second title in six years while Mississippi State will be looking for their first in 11 seasons.

Friday, May 25, 2012

SEC Baseball Tournament Day 4


Game 13 #1 LSU vs. #7 Mississippi State (Elimination Game 5)
For the second time in three days the Mississippi State Bulldogs defeated the top seeded LSU Tigers this time by a score of 4-3 in 10 innings. The Tigers started the scoring in this game in the top of the first inning when Ty Ross would single off the pitcher scoring two runs and giving LSU a 2-0 lead after one inning. The Tigers would add a third run in the top of the second inning when JaCoby Jones would score on a RBI ground out from Austin Nola. LSU would remain in control of the game until the eighth inning when the Bulldogs would start working on a comeback. A pair of walks to start the inning would prove costly for the Tigers as Mississippi State would finally get on the board when Hunter Renfroe would single up the middle scoring Adam Frazier. Adam Fraizer wasn’t done with his heroics as he would single in the bottom of the ninth scoring Matthew Britton who was pinch-running for Wes Rea who led off the inning with a double. A sacrifice fly from Luis Pollorena would tie the game at three sending the game into extra innings. The Bulldogs would complete their comeback in the tenth as Mitch Slaughter would double to with one out and score on a game winning single from Matthew Britton. The Bulldogs will play Kentucky on Saturday for a berth in the championship game on Sunday. LSU will go back to Baton Rouge to begin preparations for the NCAA tournament that will begin next weekend. 

Game 14 #2 South Carolina vs. #3 Florida (Elimination Game 6)
The Florida Gators would claim the final spot in the semi-finals with a convincing 7-2 win over the South Carolina Gamecocks. Gators starting pitcher Brian Johnson would go the distance allowing only five hits while striking out five. Mike Zunino led way on offense for Florida going 1-3 at the plate with that one hit being a two run home run down the left field line.  Chase Vergason was the lone bright spot for the Gamecocks going 2-3 with a pair of singles. The Gators will take a shot at payback against the Vanderbilt Commodores for the right to play for the SEC tournament championship. South Carolina will head back to Columbia to prepare for a shot at a third straight National Championship.

Semi-Final Games Preview
On Saturday for the first time the 2012 SEC Baseball Tournament semi-finals bracket will go from double-elimination to single-elimination. Game one of the day will have tournament Cinderella, the Mississippi State playing the Kentucky Wildcats. The Wildcats defeated the Bulldogs on Thursday by a score 5-1. Game two will also see a rematch as the Florida Gators will play the Vanderbilt Commodores. With a win on Saturday the Gators can advance to their second straight SEC tournament championship game, while the Commodores will be looking to advance to the championship game for the first time since 2009.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

SEC Baseball Tournament Day 3


Game 9: #1 LSU vs. #9 Ole Miss (Elimination Game 3)
Behind the strong pitching of Kevin Gausman, the LSU Tigers avoided being the latest top seed to go two games and done at the SEC Tournament with a lopsided 11-2 win over the Ole Miss Rebels. The Tigers pounded out a tournament high 17 hits including seven in the eighth inning. Leading 4-2 going into the eighth inning the Tigers blew the game wide open scoring seven runs over the next two innings.  Austin Bousfield was the lone bright spot for the Rebels offense going 3-4 with two doubles. The LSU Tigers will play the loser of Kentucky-Mississippi State while Ole Miss will begin preparations for the NCAA Tournament next week.

Game 10: #4 Kentucky vs. #7 Mississippi State
The Kentucky Wildcats are the first team to advance to the SEC Tournament semi-finals with a 5-1 win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs.  Wildcats starting pitcher Jerad Grundy held the Bulldogs offense in check allowing one run on four hits while striking out nine in six innings pitched. Kentucky was led on offense by third baseman Thomas McCarthy who was 4-5 on the day with three runs scored. The win was a bit of revenge for the Wildcats who were swept last weekend by Mississippi State preventing them from winning the SEC regular season. The Bulldogs scored the first run of the game when Adam Fraizer scored on a RBI single from Trey Porter. Kentucky would take the lead in the third inning when Luke Maile scored on a sacrifice fly from J.T. Riddle. Kentucky will await the winner of the elimination game between LSU and Mississippi State on Friday. 

Game 11: #2 South Carolina vs. #10 Auburn (Elimination Game 4)
In the first game of the Thursday evening session the South Carolina Gamecocks eliminated the Auburn Tigers by a score of 5-3. The Gamecocks would pound out 13 hits in route to the win lead by Adam Matthews who was 3-4 with 2 RBI’s and a run scored. South Carolina starting pitcher Michael Roth would keep the Tigers in check allowing only two runs on seven hits while striking out five. The Gamecocks will play the loser of Florida-Vanderbilt while the Auburn heads home to wait on the selection show on Monday. 

Game 12: #3 Florida vs. #5 Vanderbilt
The Vanderbilt Commodores claimed the second spot in the SEC Baseball Tournament semi-finals with a 2-1 win over the Florida Gators. The Commodores were led by starting pitcher Sam Selman who held the Gators too only two hits in six innings while striking out seven. Vanderbilt would score first, when designated hitter Riley Reynolds would triple to right centerfield scoring a pair of Commodore’s. Florida would cut the lead in half on a sacrifice fly from Preston Tucker in the top of the seventh inning.  Vanderbilt will await the winner of the Florida-South Carolina game tomorrow afternoon. 

Day 4 Preview
Day four of the SEC Tournament will see a pair of elimination games, as the teams try to advance to semi-finals on Saturday. Game one will have a pair of Western Division teams playing as the LSU Tigers will try to avenge an earlier tournament loss to the hands of Mississippi State. The final game of the day will see Eastern Division rivals the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Florida Gators play for the final spot in the semi-finals.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

SEC Baseball Tournament Day 2


Game 5: #6 Arkansas vs. #9 Ole Miss (Elimination Game 1)
Led by the dominate pitching of starter Mike Mayers, the Ole Miss Rebels eliminated the Arkansas Razorbacks today by a score of 2-0. Mayers went seven innings allowing five hits while striking out eight. The Rebels scored their first run of the tournament on a RBI ground out from Sikes Orvis. The Rebels will face the loser of the LSU-Mississippi State game, while the Razorbacks will return home to Fayetteville to await selection Monday.

Game 6: #1 LSU vs. #7 Mississippi State
The Mississippi State Bulldogs stepped forward as the 2012 SEC Tournament Cinderella in game two of the morning session defeating top seeded LSU by a score of 3-2. Mississippi State would start the scoring in the third inning scoring twice off LSU reliever Brent Bonvillain who came in to relieve LSU starter Aaron Nola to start the inning. LSU would tie the game on a Mason Katz two run single in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Bulldogs would take the lead again in the top of the sixth inning on a RBI single from DeMarcus Henderson.  Mississippi State relievers Caleb Reed and Jonathan Stratton would keep the Tigers in check the rest of the way. Mississippi State will play Kentucky on Thursday for the right to advance to Saturday for single elimination part of the tournament. LSU will play Ole Miss in the early game on Thursday in hopes to not become the latest number one seed to go 0-2 in the SEC Tournament. 
Game 7: #8 Georgia vs. #10 Auburn (Elimination Game 2)                                        
The Auburn Tigers avoided being the second team to go home from the SEC Tournament with a 3-2 win over rival Georgia. Auburn took the lead in the top of the first inning on a RBI single by Patrick Savage giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead. The Tigers would add to their lead in the top of the third inning scoring on a RBI ground out by Creede Simpson and a solo home run from Justin Bryant. Georgia would not go home quietly however as they would score twice in the bottom of the eighth inning on a pair of two out RBI base hits from pinch hitter Nelson Ward and Connor Welton. The Bulldogs would rally one more time in the bottom of the ninth loading the bases off Tigers reliever Justin Bryant, but were unable to score. The Auburn Tigers will face the loser of the Vanderbilt-South Carolina game at 4:30 on Thursday afternoon while the Georgia Bulldogs will await the fate of the NCAA Selection Committee.  
Game 8 #2 South Carolina vs. #5 Vanderbilt
The Vanderbilt Commodores sent the second seeded South Carolina Gamecocks into the loser’s bracket tonight with a 3-2 win. Trailing 2-0 after two innings the Commodores scored single runs in the fifth, sixth and eighth innings. Mike Yastrzemski gave the Commodores the lead in the eight with a RBI squeeze bunt scoring Vince Conde. The Gamecocks were lead on offense by Tanner English who finished the game 2-4 with 2 RBI’s. The Commodores will play Florida on Thursday evening while South Carolina will play the Auburn Tigers in a win or go home game on Thursday afternoon.

SEC Tournament Day 3 Preview:
Day 3 of the 2012 SEC tournament will see the top two seed both playing for their tournament lives. The top seeded LSU Tigers will start the day against the Ole Miss Rebels. The second seeded South Carolina Gamecocks will try and stave off elimination when they play home state team the Auburn Tigers in the first game of the evening session. Seventh seeded Mississippi State will look to continue their run of upsets as they will play fourth seeded Kentucky in the first winner’s bracket game. The last game of the day will see the Vanderbilt Commodores play Eastern division foe Florida for the right to advance to the tournament semi-finals on Saturday.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

SEC Baseball Tournament Day 1

Game 1: #4 Kentucky vs. #9 Ole Miss
In the opening game of the 2012 SEC baseball tournament the Kentucky Wildcats defeated the Ole Miss Rebels by a score of 2-0. The Wildcats were lead at the plate and on the mound by A.J. Reed. Reed struck out 3 over five and two-thirds innings and hit a solo home run in the 4th inning. Reed would finish the game going 4-4 at the plate. Ole Miss pitcher Bobby Wahl did all he could do to keep the Rebels in the game and despite getting 7 hits including a 4-4 day by Matt Snyder the Rebels were unable to score. The Wildcats will play tomorrow afternoon, while the Rebels will play the early game again tomorrow for their tournament lives. 

Game 2: #6 Arkansas vs. #7 Mississippi State
Game 2 of the tournament saw the seventh seeded Mississippi State Bulldogs upset the sixth seeded Arkansas Razorbacks by a final score of 9-1. The Bulldogs took the lead early in the game when Wes Rea hit a three run home run over the left field wall. Arkansas would get on the board in the sixth inning when Matt Vinson would single in Bo Bigham. Mississippi State would put the game away in the top of the ninth inning scoring six runs on only 3 hits in the inning. Mississippi State will face tournament top seed LSU on Wednesday afternoon. Arkansas will play Ole Miss on Wednesday morning in the first elimination game of the tournament.

Game 3: #3 Florida vs. #10 Auburn
The first game of the evening session saw Auburn and Florida playing their fourth straight game after finish the regular season against each other. Just like over the weekend the Gators were too much for the Tigers winning by a final score of 6-1. The Gators were led by on offense by Justin Shafer who was 2-4 in the game with 3 RBI’s. Gators starting pitcher Jonathon Crawford kept the Tigers offense in check allowing only one unearned run in five and two-thirds inning while striking out a career high nine batters. The Gators will await the winner of the Wednesday’s winners bracket game between South Carolina and either Vanderbilt or Georgia. Auburn will play Wednesday afternoon in the second elimination game against the loser of the Vanderbilt-Georgia game. 

Game 4: #5 Vanderbilt vs. #8 Georgia
In the last game of day one the Vanderbilt Commodores defeated the Georgia Bulldogs by a score of 4-1. The Commodores where led offensively by Spencer Navin who had two hits on the evening including a two run single in the third inning that gave the Commodores the lead. The Bulldogs were first on the board when Levin Hyams scored on a RBI ground out by Colby May in the second inning. That would be all the Bulldogs would score as Commodores starting pitcher Drew VerHagen and the Vanderbilt bullpen would keep Georgia off the scoreboard. Vanderbilt will play Wednesday night against South Carolina in the winner’s bracket game, while Georgia will face rival Auburn in an elimination game.

Day 2 Preview:
Day two of the tournament will start with the first elimination game as the Arkansas Razorbacks will look to eliminate divisional foe the Ole Miss Rebels. Game two the day will see the top seeded LSU Tigers playing Mississippi State for the right to play the Kentucky Wildcats on Thursday. The evening session will start off with Georgia and Auburn playing for the right to stay alive in the tournament. The final game of day two will have second seeding South Carolina looking to get regular season revenge against the Vanderbilt Commodores.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Welcome Back to Birmingham

At the end of the 2012 season the Birmingham Barons will be leaving a place that had been home for the last 25 seasons. Regions Park formerly known as Hoover Metropolitan Stadium AKA The Met, became the home to the Barons in 1988 when then owner Art Clarkson relocated the team. Now the Barons will be moving back into the city limits of Birmingham into a new state of the art stadium that will be named Regions Field. The stadium will be located close to downtown Birmingham in an area call Railroad Park. Railroad Park is a recent edition to the city built as part of the urban revitalization efforts in Birmingham.

Well this season I have made the attempt to attend at least one Barons home game in each home stand this season. During each game I have taken the time to ask fellow "fans" if they are excited about or will they attend games at the new stadium next season. The responses I have received have been somewhat shocking, but after thinking about it not really. I would say that the majority of the fans I have spoken to have said they will quit attending Barons games after this season. I say that shocks me because as a baseball fan I love attending games, especially if it is my hometown team. The reason it doesn't shock me is that there has been a divide in the Metro Birmingham area for the last 20 years or so between "Over the Mountain" residents and those that live elsewhere. Some of the residents that reside "Over the Mountain" seem to feel they have a sense of entitlement and that going to downtown Birmingham is beneath them.

The final thing that set me off about this topic was a post on a social media site about the new stadium when a person said "I'm going to miss going to Barons games...I was spoiled by having them convenient to home." That is an example of the "Over the Mountain" mentality that I have referred to. If it's not convenient for me, I'm not going to do it. I replied to that statement, with this "Fans that are saying they won't go to Barons games cause of the move, need to think about the 100,000+ fans over the last 25 years who have had to drive a little for a baseball game." A true fan will support their team no matter the drive. I am one of those fans that have had to make the 30+ minute drive to Hoover to attend games just based on the reason that I love baseball. 


In closing, for the people that will refuse to attend games next season because they will now have to drive a little further to get to a game. Enjoy your nights at home watching TV or going to the movies, or shopping or whatever you decide to do, Myself and the true fans of baseball and the Birmingham Barons will be enjoying the luxury of a beautiful new stadium in the real home of the Barons, Birmingham, Alabama. 


Till next time....
 

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Happy Mothers Day

What is a Mother, Webster’s dictionary defines a mother as;
“a female parent”.

Another dictionary defines it as;

a term of address for a female parent or a woman having or regarded as having the status, function, or authority of a female parent.

While both of this are technically correct I think the latter of the two is a better definition. Let me take this time to tell you about just who my mother is.

Her name is Betsy Ann Hagood, she is the daughter of Joseph and Jewel Ray, Widow of Ronald Eugene Hagood Sr, and mother to myself Ronald Eugene Hagood Jr. Those titles however don’t even begin to scratch the surface of who she is.

For the last twenty-two years my Mother has gone to the Jefferson County Nursing Home at Keytona and has sung for the residence there. She started this ministry when my grandmother and grandfather were both still residence there. Both of them have gone on to their Heavenly homes now, but she still takes the time every Sunday to go sing for the residents that are still there, often saying “Even though my mother and father are no longer here, God has blessed me with all these other mothers and fathers to love.”

She has also started within the last two years of speaking to anyone who will listen and just simply greeting them by saying “Jesus loves you and I do too, hope you have a great day.”

What makes her a mother though is dealing with myself. Anyone who knows me can say that will all that my Mother has had to do, I am probably one of her greatest challenges. She has always been there to support me in no matter what I do, whether it is shooting video for a hockey team, or mud racing, or traveling for a summer following an Arena football team, she has always been there to help me when I need the help.

In closing my Mother is one of the most Godliest, loving, beautiful people I know and I am blessed to say that she is my Mother and my friend.

To steal a line from her, Just remember that Jesus loves you and I do to, have a blessed and wonderful Mothers day.