SEC ROUNDUP

Sunday, April 20, 2014

LSU 2, OLE MISS 0

OXFORD, Miss. - Four LSU pitchers combined for the Tigers’ 12th shutout of the season Saturday, as the seventh-ranked Tigers blanked No. 10 Ole Miss in front of 9,741 fans at Swayze Field.

LSU (30-10-1, 10-7-1) has won three consecutive SEC series and 10 of its past 12 games. Ole Miss (30-11, 10-8) was shut out for the first time this season.

LSU pitchers Alden Cartwright, Hunter Devall, Parker Bugg and Kurt McCune combined to limit Ole Miss, the SEC’s top-hitting team entering the series, to no runs on six hits. Devall (1-0) got the victory as he entered the game to start the fifth and pitched 2 2/3 innings, limiting the Rebels to two hits with no walks and two strikeouts.

LSU opened the scoring in the second inning on an RBI single by center fielder Andrew Stevenson, scoring Conner Hale, who led off the inning with a single. Hale had five hits in the series and scored five of the seven runs LSU scored in the three games.

AUBURN 4-2, SOUTH CAROLINA 2-3

AUBURN, Ala. - Blake Austin hit a three-run home run and Dillon Ortmon pitched a complete game to lead Auburn to a 4-2 victory in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday. In the second game, South Carolina scored all three of its runs in the final three innings.

Austin’s home run in the first game came in the first inning, when Auburn (22-18, 7-10) scored all four of its runs. Ortman (7-2) held South Carolina (29-10, 9-8) to 2 runs on 7 hits and struck out 2 .

In the second game, South Carolina’s Gene Cone hit an RBI single the seventh to get within 2-1, then hit an RBI double to tie the game at 2-2 in the ninth before Jordan Gore’s bases-loaded single served as the game-winner.

FLORIDA 3, GEORGIA 2

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Florida third baseman John Sternagel hit his first career home run in the fifth to snap a 2-2 tie and the No. 18 Gators held on to take Game 1 over Georgia at McKethan Stadium.

Freshman right-hander Logan Shore (4-2) earned the victory after scattering2 runs on 6 hits in 5 innings for Florida (25-13, 10-6). Left-hander Bobby Poyner pitched four shutout innings of relief for his third save. Georgia starter Ryan Lawlor (3-3) took a complete-game loss after holding the Gators to three runs on five hits.

Georgia (21-16-1, 7-8-1) scored the game’s first run in the third on a two out RBI single by Hunter Cole. Georgia increased its lead to 2-0 with an RBI single in the fourth by Skyler Weber.

In the bottom of the fourth, catcher Taylor Gushue led off with a double and moved to third on Braden Mattson’s bunt single. Peter Alonso then scored Gushue with a RBI ground out to the right side and left fielder Justin Shafer scored Mattson with an RBI single to center.

Sternagel led off the fifth with his first home run, giving the Gators the 3-2 lead. Poyner replaced Shore to start the sixth and fired four consecutive scoreless innings in relief. Poyner allowed two runners to reach base and struck out seven of 14 batters.

MISSISSIPPI STATE 6, MISSOURI 2

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mississippi State junior left-hander Ross Mitchell threw his third complete game in six career starts and the Bulldogs clinched the weekend series at Taylor Stadium.

Cody Brown had a career-high four hits with two RBI for Mississippi State (25-15, 9-8), including a double and a triple. Missouri fell to 17-20 and 6-11 in the SEC.

ALABAMA 7, TENNESSEE 6

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Alabama scored the final six runs to rally from a five-run deficit at Nelson Stadium.

Alabama (28-11, 12-5) scored in the top of the first before Tennessee took a 6-1 lead after five innings. Alabama then responded with two runs in the sixth and three runs in the seventh to tie the game at 6-6, before scoring Tennessee’s Josh Peterson hit Chance Vincent with two outs and the bases loaded in the ninth.

Wade Wass and Kyle Overstreet accounted for half of the Tide’s hits in the game.

Wade Wass was 3 for 5 with a home run and two runs scored and Kyle Overstreet was 3 for 3 with 2 RBI and a run scored for Alabama.

Pierce Bily went 2 for 4 with a home run and three RBI for Tennessee (24-13, 6-11).

KENTUCKY 11, TEXAS A&M 4

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Max Kuhn and A.J. Reed each had four hits, including a home run, and Dylan Dwyer held Texas A&M (23-17, 7-10) to one run 6 2/3 innings for Kentucky (26-13, 9-8) at Blue Bell Park.

Reed hit his NCAA-leading 15th home run and Kuhn hit his fifth home run for Kentucky. Reed also doubled and had 4 RBI in going 4 for 6.

FRIDAY’S GAMES All times Central Alabama 8, Tennessee 5 Mississippi St. 3, Missouri 2 Auburn, South Carolina, ppd. rain Kentucky 6, Texas A&M 3 Georgia at Florida, ppd, rain Ole Miss 5, LSU 1 Arkansas 6, Vanderbilt 2

SATURDAY’S GAMES Vanderbilt 2, Arkansas 1 LSU 2, Ole Miss 0Mississippi St. 6, Missouri 2 Kentucky 11, Texas A&M 4 Alabama 7, Tennessee 6 Auburn 4-2, South Carolina 2-3 Florida 3-8, Georgia 2-1

TODAY’S GAMES All times Central Georgia at Florida, 11 a.m.

Vanderbilt at Arkansas, noon Kentucky at Texas A&M, 12:05 p.m. Alabama at Tennessee, 1 p.m.

Mississippi St. at Missouri, 1 p.m.

South Carolina at Auburn, 1 p.m.

Sports, Pages 25 on 04/20/2014