LITTLE ROCK — VANDERBILT 5, GEORGIA 3
NASHVILLE - Vanderbilt scored four runs with two outs in the eighth on a two-run triple and three wild pitches to take a conference series at home.
Vince Cone’s two-run triple in the eighth sailed over the head of Georgia’s Conor Welton to give Vanderbilt (9-15, 2-4) a 4-2 lead and Bryan Benzor’s third wild pitch of the inning later allowed Conde to score to make it 5-2.
Kyle Farmer, who went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI on Sunday, drove in Welton with a single in the ninth, but the No. 18 Bulldogs (17-8, 3-3) could draw no closer.
Drew VerHagen improved to 3-2 after giving up 1 run on 4 hits in 2 2/3 innings for Vanderbilt, which beat Georgia 5-4 on Saturday and won the series 2-1. Benzor (3-1), who gave up the four runs in the eighth, got his first loss in 2/3 of an inning.
Conde finished 2 for 4 with 3 RBI and 1 run scored for Vanderbilt, which had eight hits.
Farmer gave Georgia a 1-0 lead with his home run in the fourth, his third of the season, while Colby May and Welton each had two hits for the Bulldogs.
KENTUCKY 6, TENNESSEE 0
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - J.T. Riddle’s RBI double broke a scoreless tie in the sixth inning and Corey Littrell pitched six shutout innings to lead No. 16 Kentucky to a victory over Tennessee in a seven-inning game Sunday.
Kentucky (24-1, 5-1), which lost for the first time this season Friday night to end a school-record 22-game winning streak, had to finish a pair of victories Sunday after Saturday’s game was postponed in the fifth inning because of inclement weather. The Wildcats finished that victory 6-2 before winning the finale and taking the series.
After Riddle’s double gave Kentucky a 1-0 lead in the finale, Kentucky scored five runs in the seventh and Trevor Gott used only 10 pitches to get through a scoreless seventh.
Austin Cousino led off the seventh with a home run to right field, his second of the season, to make it 2-0. Thomas Bernal scored on a wild pitch, A.J. Reed scored on an error and Michael Williams hit a two-run single to cap the scoring.
Littrell improved to 3-0 after scattering 4 hits over 6 innings and striking out 6.
Drew Steckenrider (1-2) got the loss for Tennessee (13-10, 2-4) after giving up Riddle’s RBI double in the sixth.
LSU 4, AUBURN 3
AUBURN, Ala. - JaCoby Jones’ ninth-inning single scored Jared Foster to break a 3-3 tie and give No. 11 LSU a victory over Auburn on Sunday at Plainsman Park.
Foster led off the ninth with a walk and advanced to second on a bunt by Tyler Hanover. Jones’ single off Trey Cochran-Gill went into center field and gave LSU (18-6, 3-3) a 4-3 lead. Kurt McCune then pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his first career save. He struck out Garrett Cooper and got Justin Bryant to ground out. After walking Dan Glevenyak, he got Kody Ortman to fly out to end the game.
Chris Cotton (2-0) got the victory after he retired the final two Auburn batters in the eighth in relief of starter Aaron Nola, who allowed 3 runs on 8 hits with 2 strike outs over 7 1/3 innings.
Cochran-Gill was charged with the loss after giving up 1 run on 2 hits in11/3 innings in relief of starter Daniel Koger, who gave up 3 unearned runs on 7 hits in 7 innings.
LSU scored three runs in the fourth to break a scoreless tie, when Raph Rhymes hit an RBI single and Ty Ross drove in two runs with another single.
Auburn’s Ryan Tella hit a two-run home run in the sixth to cut LSU’s lead to 3-2, and Auburn (15-9, 4-2) tied the game in the seventh when Caleb Bowen tripled and later scored on Zach Alvord’s single.
OLE MISS 8, ALABAMA 4
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Zach Kirksey’s sacrifice fly scored two runs and was part of a four-run eighth inning to help Ole Miss to a road victory Sunday over Alabama. The victory gave Ole Miss a 2-1 series victory, marking the first time it won a series in Tuscaloosa since 2004.
Ole Miss trailed 4-2 heading to the eighth when Auston Bousfield drove in Matt Snyder to make it 4-3. Then, with the bases loaded, Kirksey’s fly out to center field scored Bousfield and Will Jamison and gave Ole Miss a 5-4 lead it wouldn’t give up.
The Rebels added two more runs in the ninth on Snyder’s home run to right field, his third of the season.
Dylan Chavez improved to 3-0 for Ole Miss after giving up no runs and no hits and striking out two in 2 1/3 innings in relief of starter Mike Mayers, who gave up 4 runs on 5 hits in 6 2/3 innings.
Spencer Turnbull (0-2) got the loss for Alabama, after giving up 4 runs on 4 hits in 2/3 of an inning.
Alabama took a 2-0 lead in the third when Austen Smith scored on an error and AJ Cole scored on a ground out. The Crimson Tide made it 4-2 in the fifth on Jared Reaves’ two-run single, before Ole Miss’ four-run eighth.
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Arkansas 8, Mississippi State 0
Florida 5, South Carolina 4
Alabama 3, Mississippi 2
Vanderbilt 5, Georgia 4
Auburn 3, LSU 2, 10 innings
Kentucky at Tennessee, susp., rain
SUNDAY’S GAMES -All times Central
Arkansas 8, Mississippi State 5
Vanderbilt 5, Georgia 3
Kentucky 6-6, Tennessee 2-0
LSU 4, Auburn 3
Mississippi 8, Alabama 4
Sports, Pages 18 on 03/26/2012