MISSISSIPPI STATE 3, GEORGIA 0
Konnor Pilkington led No. 5 seed Mississippi State (35-22) to a first-round victory over No. 12 seed Georgia (25-32) at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala.
Pilkington (7-5) allowed 5 hits with 6 strikeouts over 8 innings, retiring 15 consecutive batters at one point. Freshman right-hander Riley Self earned his fifth save on the season.
Pilkington has now held Georgia scoreless in 16 innings this season. It was the seventh time Georgia has been shut out in the tournament, tying South Carolina for the most of any team.
SEC Player of the Year Brent Rooker gave Mississippi State a 2-0 lead in the first with his 21st home run of the season. Rooker's home run scored leadoff batter Ryan Gridley, who reached base after being hit by a pitch.
Rooker's 21 home runs are the most by a Mississippi State player since 1989.
Rooker leads the SEC in all three Triple Crown categories and is poised to become just the second SEC player to win the Triple Crown. Former Mississippi State great Rafael Palmeiro is the only other player to accomplish that feat.
Mississippi State scored again in the third, extending its lead to 3-0. The Bulldogs loaded the bases with singles from Rooker, Jake Mangum and Hunter Stovall. Hunter Vansau's fly out brought Rooker home.
KENTUCKY 7, SOUTH CAROLINA 2
Kentucky's Kole Cottam went 2 for 3, including the go-ahead home run in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Kentucky (39-18) defeated South Carolina (33-24).
"I was trying to keep my approach and stay right center, and he threw a fastball, kind of middle up, and I just hit it well," Cottam said.
Kentucky snapped a three-game SEC Tournament losing streak, winning its tournament opener for the first time since 2014.
The Wildcats have now outscored the Gamecocks 36-12 over four games this season.
Kentucky and South Carolina both scored twice in the third inning, tying the game at 2-2. The Gamecocks' two runs came after left-hander Brad Schaenzer walked TJ Hopkins and Carlos Cortes. Freshman Riley Hogan loaded the bases with a single to left center before Alex Destino flied out to center field, bringing Hopkins home. Jonah Bride followed that up with an RBI double to put the Gamecocks up 2-0.
Kentucky responded with singles by leadoff batter Connor Heady and Tristan Pompey. Evan White brought Heady home with a groundout. The Wildcats tied the game when Pompey scored an unearned run as Luke Becker reached on a fielding error.
Cottam's home run in the bottom of the fourth inning gave the Wildcats a 3-2 lead. Evan White put the game out of reach with a three-run double to right-center field in the sixth that gave Kentucky a 6-2 lead.
"I was just really not trying to do too much," White said. "In my previous at-bats, I felt like I was yanking off the ball a little bit. I try to do too much with RBI situations. That's something we talked about before the game, not try to do too much and stay within myself."
South Carolina will play Missouri today in an elimination game, while Kentucky will play LSU.
LSU 10, MISSOURI 3
Senior Cole Freeman went 4 for 4, including a three-run home run in the eighth inning, to lead LSU (40-17) over Missouri (36-22).
Both teams entered the game with seven-game winning streaks, tied for the longest active streak in the SEC. LSU is now 12-0 all-time against Missouri in earning its sixth consecutive 40-victory season.
LSU started building its lead in the bottom of the third inning. A double from Zach Watson scored Michael Papierski, tying the game at 1-1. LSU took the lead on a sacrifice fly by Freeman, and Antoine Duplantis' single scored Kramer Robertson to take a 3-1 lead. An RBI single from Nick Coomes made it a 4-1 lead.
Duplantis dropped a bunt single to score Robertson to give LSU a 5-1 lead before a 1:21 rain delay. Nolan Gromacki relieved Missouri starter T.J. Sikkema after the delay and promptly gave up an RBI groundout to Coomes for a 6-1 lead. After Beau Jordan was hit by a pitch, Robertson hit an RBI double to give LSU a 7-1 lead. Freeman's eighth-inning home run pushed the lead to 10-2.
Kameron Misner hit a home run in the top of the second for Missouri, his seventh of the season, but the Tigers didn't score again until an RBI single in the eighth and another home run in the ninth.
At a glance
SEC BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
at Hoover (Ala.) Metropolitan Stadium
WEDNESDAY'S GAMES
Mississippi State 3, Georgia 0
Kentucky 7, South Carolina 2
LSU vs. Missouri, (n)
Florida vs. Auburn, (n)
TODAY'S GAMES
All times Central
Arkansas vs. Mississippi State, 9:30 a.m.
South Carolina vs. LSU/Missouri loser, 12:30 p.m.
Florida/Auburn loser vs. Arkansas/Miss. State loser, 4:30 p.m.
Kentucky vs. LSU/Missouri winner, 7:30 p.m.
Sports on 05/25/2017