SEC baseball tournament roundups

FLORIDA 12, MISSISSIPPI STATE 3

HOOVER, Ala. -- Top-seeded Florida beat fifth-seeded Mississippi State after an 11-run rally in the eighth inning despite losing Ryan Larson and Nick Horvath to injuries Friday at the SEC Tournament.

Larson was hit in the head by a pitch from Mississippi State's Cole Gordon in the first inning. Horvath, who had replaced Larson, got hit in the face while diving to catch a fly ball in the fifth inning.

"Nick's just got some stitches and I think he'll be OK," Florida Coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. "I just really hope Ryan is OK. It's just kind of a freakish thing. The ball just got away from Cole Gordon just a little bit and looking at Ryan when it happened, he seemed to be OK. But then when he came off the field after running the bases, he didn't look quite the same."

The Gators advanced to today's tournament semifinals, where they will play Arkansas or Mississippi State.

The 11 eighth-inning runs were the most runs in an inning in the SEC this season for Florida and ties the record for the most ever in an SEC Tournament game. Nine of the 11 runs came with two outs.

"The whole game, we didn't hit," Florida third baseman Jonathan India said. "We were just falling apart. To come together like that in the eighth inning ... it was just awesome."

Gordon threw a career-high 7 innings with 7 strikeouts, holding Florida scoreless on 4 hits while the Bulldogs scored single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to take a 3-0 lead. After giving up a single to Christian Hicks to start the eighth inning, Gordon was replaced by Spencer Price, who walked his only batter before being relieved by Riley Self. Self took eight pitches to strike out Garrett Milchin before giving up a single to Blake Reese to load the bases.

Florida second baseman Deacon Liput's RBI single scored Hicks from third to cut the lead to 3-1. Self's next pitch went over the catcher's head, allowing a run to score and cutting the lead to 3-2. J.J. Schwarz drew an intentional walk to reload the bases and Nelson Maldonado struck out. Jonathan India drew a walk to tie the game, then Austin Langworthy's two-run double gave the Gators a 5-3 lead.

Self was replaced by Trey Jolly, who gave up consecutive walks to Hicks and Rivera to score India and extend the lead to 6-3. Bulldogs Coach Andy Cannizaro then called on right-hander Jacob Barton, who gave up a two-run single to Milchin to give the Gators an 8-3 lead. Reese walked to load the bases again before Liput's three-run double to left-center field for an 11-3 lead.

The Bulldogs attempted to rally, but left four runners on base in the final two innings.

SOUTH CAROLINA 3, KENTUCKY 1

No. 3 seed Kentucky held 11th-seeded South Carolina to one hit before pinch hitter T.J. Hopkins' three-run home run in the seventh inning gave the Gamecocks a victory and a spot in today's first semifinal game against LSU.

"He's got a really good slider," Hopkins said of Kentucky reliever Austin Salow, who took the loss after giving up the home run. "He was very effective against us when we played them in the regular season at home. I just kept that in the back of my mind and I just tried to hit the ball the other way. It was 2-0 and he hung one and I just got the bat head out front."

It is the first time South Carolina has won three games in the same SEC Tournament since 2004. The Gamecocks are 2-0 against the Wildcats in SEC Tournament elimination games.

South Carolina starter Adam Hill got the victory after allowing 1 run on 3 hits over 6 innings. Right-hander Tyler Johnson earned his 10th save of the season after getting some motivation from shortstop L.T. Tolbert.

"L.T. is my roommate, so he knows me pretty well and he thinks I pitch better when I'm [angry]," Johnson said. "I can't exactly say what he said, but he told me I should put the ball in the zone and they ain't really going to be able to hit it. That really kind of fired me up."

Sports on 05/27/2017