NCAA Baseball Tournament review and preview: Offense leads to 8-1 day for SEC, all 9 teams still alive

It was a good day for the SEC. It was a particularly good day for SEC hitters. Not only did the league’s representatives go 8-1 on Saturday, but they did so by amassing 125 total runs. All 9 SEC teams are still alive heading into Sunday, and 4 of them managed 20+ runs on a Saturday to remember. Here’s the recap.

Georgia awakens: Georgia had just 1 run in Friday’s loss, and went through 2 scoreless innings Saturday before a 13-run 3rd inning outburst led to a 24-1 thumping. 7 UGA homers led the day, with shortstop Josh McAllister contributing a pair in a 4-hit, 5-RBI day. Liam Sullivan tossed 7 solid innings, so the Bulldogs’ pitching staff should be ready to roll.

Vandy does also: Likewise for a frustrating Vandy team that dropped a 3-2 game to San Diego, then steamrolled New Mexico State 21-1. Four Commodores had 3 or more hits, including 4 from Spencer Jones, in a 7-RBI game. Chris McElvain contributed 7 innings of 11-strikeout, 1-run pitching.

Florida stumbles: The Gators were the only SEC team that lost Saturday, dropping a 9-4 decision to No. 2 seed Oklahoma. UF had pitching troubles, with 7 Gators walks allowed helping the Sooners open up a comfortable lead early. UF’s Sterlin Thompson was the only Gator with more than 1 hit, thanks to 3 singles on the day. The Gators will have to win to stay alive.

Campbell gives UT some trouble: Tennessee moved to 2-0 and clinched a regional final spot, but had to work to do so in a 12-7 win over Campbell. In the 3rd inning, Campbell put up 4 runs to knock Chase Dollander. UT didn’t flinch, responding with 3 runs in the 4th and 4 runs in the 5th. Campbell drew to within 8-7 in the 8th, but a 4-run 9th kept UT safe. Jorel Ortega had 3 hits, including the 4th inning homer that seemed to spark the Vols.

Auburn goes football mode: Auburn crushed FSU 21-7 in what must have been a football game: Not quite, but the Auburn offense has certainly gotten back to form. A 7-run 4th inning put this one away early, with Sonny DiChiarra contributing 3 hits, including his 20th homer of the year. Brody Moore went 5-for-5 with 5 RBIs. On to the regional final for Auburn.

Texas A&M rallied late over Louisiana: The Ragin’ Cajuns gave the Aggies plenty of trouble in this one, leading 6-4 going into the 7th inning, before A&M rallied for a 9-6 victory. The big hit was Austin Bost’s 2-run homer in the 8th that put A&M back into the lead for the first time since the 3rd inning. The Aggies also get a regional final spot.

LSU hanging on somehow over Southern Miss: LSU is living dangerous in this postseason, going from a 7-run deficit to a 3-run lead in the 8th inning on Friday. Saturday’s game saw the Tigers head to the bottom of the 9th inning trailing 6-2 and having not scored since the 2nd inning. The Tigers were down to their final out trailing 6-3 with no one on base. A single, a homer, a hit batter, a stolen base, and another single later, the game was tied. Cade Doughty contributed the homer in that rally, and in the 10th, a Josh Pearson ground ball turned into a game-winning fielder’s choice for the Tigers, who have lived dangerously… but keep living, and now head to the regional finals themselves.

Arkansas slugs its way out of a hole: Arkansas also had to play from behind, trailing Oklahoma State 10-5 after 6 innings. But 3 runs in the 7th led to 8 more runs in the 8th, and the game eventually ended in another football score, 20-12 thanks in large part to 7 homers. Robert Moore had a pair of the homers, and the Arkansas 4-5-6-7 hitters each contributed 4 RBIs to the win. So much for a possible pitcher’s duel, with the OSU bullpen allowing 15 runs in 4 innings. On to their regional final for the Hogs.

Ole Miss, late starter, picks up a nice win: The Rebels, who were rained out on Friday, faced Arizona on Saturday and rallied from a 4-2 deficit to claim a 7-4 win, thanks to 2 runs in the 7th and 3 in the 8th. Peyton Chatagnier’s 2-run homer to tie the game in the 7th was the big blow and Dylan DeLucia fanned a dozen Arizona hitters for the Rebels.

Previewing Sunday’s slate

Much of the SEC’s Sunday schedule is TBA, with 5 teams awaiting a foe from the loser’s bracket of their particular region. The 5 regional finalists (Tennessee, Auburn, Texas A&M, LSU and Arkansas) will find themselves in the situation of having to win only 1 of a potential pair of games to move on to the Super Regionals. But their foes won’t be known until Sunday’s afternoon games are complete.

Games set on the schedule are Georgia facing a surprisingly defeated North Carolina team in an elimination game. The Tar Heels lost 4-3 to VCU despite rallying from a 4-1 deficit to get the winning run on base before the final out was recorded.

Florida will get Central Michigan in another elimination game. Central Michigan needed 12 innings to squeak past Liberty 3-2 and, of course, lost to Florida 7-3 on Friday.

Vanderbilt likewise gets a rematch, facing San Diego, which beat them 3-2 on Friday; USD then lost 12-3 to Oregon State on Saturday.

Finally, Ole Miss will face top seed Miami in Corral Gables after the Hurricanes got past Canisius 11-6 with 3 homers from Yohandy Morales. Because of the weather delays from Friday, that’s not an elimination game, but a chance for somebody to clinch a spot in the regional final.

Predictions

Of those 4 games, Florida should be in the best shape. The Gators will eliminate Central Michigan and then win a rematch with Oklahoma on Sunday might to force a decisive game Monday.

Ole Miss and Georgia are both likely to take losses, and Vandy’s game with San Diego could be the best one of the day. Slight edge to the Commodores to get their shot at the regional final out of the loser’s bracket.

Of the winners, all should be well-positioned. Granted, with no matchups, this really is guesswork, but let’s theorize that LSU finally runs out of comeback mojo and has to win the regional on Monday, with the other 4 teams punching their Super Regional tickets.

Joe Cox

Joe Cox is a columnist for Saturday Down South. He has also written or assisted in writing five books, and his most recent, Almost Perfect (a study of baseball pitchers’ near-miss attempts at perfect games), is available on Amazon or at many local bookstores.