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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

UAB vs Houston, The Baseball Weekend

This past weekend I had the opportunity to do something I have not done in a few years. Attend all three games of a college baseball series. If you have read my post in the past you should know that I am a huge college baseball fan, and attend games as often as I can. So the following will be my weekend recap of the series.

Friday April 27
On Friday night the game got off to a quick start as the Houston Cougars took an early lead when designated hitter Jonathan Davis doubled to left center to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. UAB starting pitcher Dylan Munger would load the bases up with a walk and a hit batter before recording his third strikeout to end the inning. UAB would start the inning off with three consecutive singles cutting the lead in half when Jeff Schalk singled scoring Ryan Prinzing. UAB would tie the game up three batters later when Ryan Ussery would ground into a fielder’s choice  to end the first inning tied 2-2.
Neither team would score in the second inning, but in the top of the third Houston would retake the lead when they would start the inning with three straight singles of their own to take a 3-2 lead on the single by Jacob Lueneburg. Houston would add another run when Michael Pyeatt singled with 2 outs before Munger would end the inning with his sixth strike out of the game.
In the top of the 4th inning Houston would chase Munger from the game when Jake Runte would reach on an error to lead off the inning. The pitching change would not benefit UAB as Chase Jensen would double to left field to greet new pitcher Alex Luna. After a strike out by Codey Morehouse, Jonathan Davis would get his third RBI of the game when he would single up the middle scoring Runte. Jacob Lueneburg would deliver the big blow of the inning with a two run home run to right field giving the Cougars an 8-2 lead.  UAB would add a run in the bottom of the inning when Ryan Ussery would triple with one out and then score on a ground out.
UAB would cut the lead to 8-4 in the bottom of the 6th inning when Ussery would score on a sacrifice fly from pinch hitter Ivan DeJesus.
In the bottom of the 7th Houston would take out starting pitcher Austin Pruitt to start the inning but that would turn out to be a decision regretted as the Blazers hitters would take a liking to the new pitcher. John Frost, Jeff Schalk and Patrick Palmerio would all single to start the inning before relief pitcher Chase Wellbrock would strike out pinch hitter Michael Busby for the first out of the inning. For the third time in four innings Ryan Ussery reached base, this time with a 2 run single to left field to cut the Cougar lead to 8-6. A sacrifice bunt and walk would knock Wellbrock out of the game but the change in pitchers would not slow the Blazers down. The Cougars would bring in closing pitcher Mo Wiley to try and end the Blazer rally, but the Blazers had other ideas. Ivan DeJesus would reach on an error by the shortstop allowing the Blazers to score two more runs in the inning to tie the game at 8-8. Ryan Prinzing would give the Blazers the lead with his third hit of the game scoring Harry Clark who had walked earlier in the inning. Wiley would finally end the Blazer rally by striking out John Frost to end the inning.
In the top of the eighth inning the Blazers would bring in closer Ryan Nance to try and hold their new one run lead, but the Cougars had other plans. Jonathan Davis would get his fourth hit of the game with one out driving in Chase Jensen who had walked to lead off the inning. Nance would prevent the Cougars from retaking the lead with a strike out of pinch hitter Casey Grayson and getting a ground out from Michael Pyeatt to end the inning. The Blazers would retake the lead in the bottom of the eighth when with two outs Tanner Bryant would hit a pop out in front of home, but in one of the strangest things I have ever seen the pop up was dropped by Mo Wiley allowing Tyler Mims and Patrick Palmerio to score giving the Blazers an 11-9 lead. Bryant would be thrown out stealing for the final out of the inning.
In the top of the ninth inning Ryan Nance took care of business getting the Cougars out in order to give the series opening win to the UAB Blazers by a final score of 11-9.

Saturday April 28
Game two of the weekend wouldn’t be as crazy as the first game, but still as high scoring. The UAB Blazers jumped out to an 8-0 lead after 3 innings highlighted by a two run home run from Jeff Schalk in the first, a two run double by John Frost in the second and RBI doubles from Jacob German and Keith DePew and a RBI single from Ryan Prinzing in the third inning. As we saw in the Friday night game the game is never over till the last out is recorded. Houston would score a single run in the top of the 6th inning on an error from the Blazers second baseman. Another run in the 7th on an RBI single from Houston’s Landon Appling and 4 more runs in the 8th off a 3 run double from John Cannon and a RBI single from Taylor White. The Blazers would respond in the bottom of the 8th with 4 runs of their own. Jeff Schalk and Patrick Palmerio would score on wild pitches and pinch hitter Matt Morse and Keith DePew would have RBI singles in the inning. The Cougars were not going to go quietly as with two outs in the inning the Cougars would score twice off an RBI double from Jacob Lueneburg and an RBI single from John Cannon. Blazers reliever Chase Mallard would strike out Zach Gibson looking to end the ballgame giving the Blazers the win by a score of 12-8.

Sunday April 29
Game three of the weekend would be about as far an opposite from the first two games of the weekend as possible. Starting pitchers Jordan Lewis of Houston and Michael Busby of UAB would keep the two teams bats in check with the only run coming in bottom of the 5th inning when Tanner Bryant would lead the inning off with a triple then scoring one batter later on a RBI ground out from Jacob German.  The only similarities two the first two games this one would show would be in the later innings. Houston would lead off the 8th inning with a single from Taylor White but he wouldn’t make it past second base. In the top of the 9th Houston would try one more time as a two out walk to pinch hitter Casey Grayson and a single from Zack Gibson would put the tying and go ahead runs on base for the Cougars. Michael Busby however would not give up the lead as he was able to get Cory Kay to fly out deep to left field to end the ballgame giving the Blazers a 1-0 win and series sweep over the Houston Cougars.
As I have done in the past when writing about baseball I believe in giving the respect that is due to the players who had great games and or weekends. My players of the series are as followed;
Houston Cougars
Jonathan Davis: Davis hit .429 with 6 hits, 4 runs and 3 RBI’s.
Jacob Lueneburg:  Lueneburg hit .364 with 4 hits, 4 RBI’s, 3 runs and a home run.
Landon Appling: Appling hit .357 with 5 hits, 1 run scored and 1 RBI.

UAB Blazers
Ryan Prinzing: Prinzing hit .556 with 5 hits, 2 runs and 2 RBI’s.
Jeff Schalk: Schalk hit .417 with 5 hits, 3 runs, 3 RBI’s and a home run.
Ivan DeJesus: DeJesus hit .400 with 4 hits, 1 RBI, and a run scored.
Michael Busby: Busby threw 9 innings no runs, 5 hits, 5 strikes outs and 1 walk.