Texas A&M's offense went 12 of 38 with 10 RBI, 3 doubles and 1 home run against 4 Mississippi pitchers while scoring 7 runs in the final 2 innings as the Aggies (44-14) defeated the Rebels 12-8 in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala.
Pinch-hitter Walker Pennington hit a go-ahead, three-run home run for Texas A&M in the top of the eighth to put the game out of reach.
At a glance
SEC TOURNAMENT
at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium
Hoover, Ala.
SATURDAY’S SEMIFINALS
Texas A&M 12, Mississippi 8
Florida 1, LSU 0
TODAY’S CHAMPIONSHIP
All times Central
Florida vs. Texas A&M, 2 p.m.
Mississippi pitcher Dallas Wollfolk retired one batter in the eighth and gave up a double to Boomer White before being replaced by Wyatt Short. Ryne Birk walked, then Michael Barash hit an RBI single to cut the lead to 8-6. Birk and Barash advanced to second and third on a passed ball, then Jonathan Moroney added an RBI single to trail 8-7.
That set the stage for Pennington, who hit Short's first pitch over the left-field wall to take a 10-8 lead. The Aggies added two runs in the ninth on an RBI double by Nick Banks and a sacrifice fly from Barash.
The Rebels (43-17) used a two-out rally in the third to take the lead. J.B. Woodman grounded out and Henri Lartigue struck out to start the inning before Ryan Olenek singled through the left side to score Tate Blackman. Holt Perdzock loaded the bases with a single, followed by a two-run single from Kyle Watson. Perdzock stole home on the next play when Barash tried to throw out Watson, who was stealing second, giving the Rebels a 6-3 lead. Errol Robinson had RBI singles in the fifth and seventh innings to give the Rebels an 8-5 lead before the Aggies rallied for the victory.
The game lasted 4 hours and 21 minutes, the longest nine-inning game in tournament history and sent Texas A&M to the championship game for the first time since joining the conference in 2012.
FLORIDA 1, LSU 0
Defending tournament champion Florida (47-12) squeezed by LSU (42-18) on Saturday to advance to the championship game for the third consecutive year and 14th time in program history. This was just the fifth 1-0 game in SEC Tournament history.
Florida scored the lone run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Dalton Guthrie hit a single and advanced to second on a Mike Rivera groundout. Guthrie scored on Jonathan India's RBI double.
LSU tried to rally in the top of the ninth off Florida reliever Shaun Anderson, who gave up a leadoff single to Kramer Robertson. He advanced to second on a wild pitch. Anderson struck out Bryce Jordan, then Robertson advanced to third on a Brody Wofford groundout. Beau Jordan flied out to end the rally and the game.
Sports on 05/29/2016