Saturday rewind: Vandy sweeps doubleheader at Oklahoma State, while Arkansas remains unbeaten

Jack Leiter photo courtesy of Vanderbilt athletics

SATURDAY REWIND

The SEC posted a 15-2 record on Saturday with plenty of action, including four walk-off wins, four shutouts and lots of offense.

Alabama, LSU, Mississippi State and Ole Miss all posted walk-off wins. The Tigers, Bulldogs and Rebels all won with walk-off home runs. 

Auburn, Georgia, Florida and Vanderbilt all tossed shutouts on Saturday. The Tigers and Bulldogs have not allowed a run this weekend. Auburn has outscored Little Rock 13-0 in two games, while Georgia had outscored Lipscomb 17-0. Georgia has also hit six home runs in the series.

 Texas A&M and Vanderbilt scored a combined 49 runs in double header sweeps. The Aggies scored 21 runs in the win over Samford in game one, while Vanderbilt tallied 18 runs in the nightcap at Oklahoma State. Texas A&M hit six home runs in the opener.

Arkansas remained the lone undefeated SEC with an 8-1 win over Louisiana Tech. The Razorbacks are 12-0 for the first time in the Dave Van Horn era.

VANDERBILT SMACKS COWBOYS IN DOUBLEHEADER SWEEP

No. 13 Oklahoma State had given up 22 runs in 11 games coming into Saturday's doubleheader with Vanderbilt, going 10-0-1 in its start.

Vanderbilt wrecked those numbers in a hurry, winning the doubleheader by scores of 5-0 and 18-4.

Unsurprisingly, Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker were both brilliant. Rocker went eight innings and struck out nine, allowing just three runners, while Leiter went five shutout innings in Game Two while fanning seven.

Second baseman Tate Kolwyck's grand slam started the scoring in the second game. Kolwyck had a big RBI double in Game One, too. 

The Commodores (12-1) are now the SEC's lone one-loss team. 

ARKANSAS REMAINS UNDEFEATED:

Arkansas remained the lone undefeated SEC team with an 8-1 win at Louisiana Tech. After a dramatic comeback win in the opener, the Razorbacks were never threatened on Saturday.

The Razorbacks are 12-0 for the first time under head coach Dave Van Horn. Dating back to last season, Arkansas has won 16 straight games, the third-longest active winning streak in the nation behind Southern Illinois (19) and Navy (18).

First baseman Brady Slavens had two doubles and three RBIs, and right-hander Zebulon Vermillion tossed eight innings for his first win of the season. 

Slavens stroked a two-run double in the first inning to set the tone early for the Razorbacks. Right fielder Cayden Wallace added a solo home run in the fourth innings as the Hogs took a 4-0 lead. Catcher Casey Opitz and centerfielder Christian Franklin both had two hits. 

AGGIES EXTEND WINNING STREAK TO 10 GAMES:

Texas A&M ran its winning streak to 10 games with a double header sweep of preseason Southern Conference favorite Samford. The Aggies have won 13 of their last 14 games since starting the season 1-3.

Texas A&M has outscored the opposition 91-15 during the 10-game winning streak. 

The Aggies belted eight home runs in the double header sweep of the Bulldogs.

Texas A&M scored in every inning in the opener and scored 20 runs in game for the second time this week. 

The Aggies had 10 extra base hits, including six home runs.

First baseman Hunter Coleman and catcher Taylor Smith both hit two home runs. Coleman was 2-for-2 with two runs scored, two homers and four RBIs off the bench. Smith went 4-for-5 with four runs scored, one home run and four RBIs. 

First baseman Will Frizzell and backup centerfielder Jordan Thompson also homered. Frizzell is second in the SEC with seven home runs this year.

Chandler Jozwiak tossed three scoreless with five strikeouts out of the pen for the win.

Texas A&M won the nightcap 5-2.

Freshman Jonathan Childress recorded 13 strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings in the win. He allowed one run on three hits and did not issue a walk.

Catcher Mikey Hoehner and centerfielder Ray Alejo both homered in the nightcap.

WALK-OFF HOMER CAPS WILD NIGHT IN BATON ROUGE:

There are a number of adjectives to describe what happened in Baton Rouge on Saturday.

Wild, unbelievable, zany and improbable come to mind.

Shortstop Jordan Thompson belted a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 12^th inning to lead the Tigers to a 10-9 win over Texas-San Antonio. Thompson was hitless in his first five at-bats before depositing a pitch into the left field bleachers for the game-winner.

LSU led 4-0 after seven innings on the strength of Cade Doughty’s three-run home run in the four-run second inning. LSU starter Landon Marceaux fired six scoreless innings with a career-high 11 strikeouts and three walks, his first free passes of the season. He has not allowed an earned run in 23 innings in his four starts. He has 32 strikeouts and only three walks. 

The LSU bullpen imploded in the late-innings as UTSA forced extra innings with three runs in the eighth and one in the ninth. The Roadrunners took their first lead 7-4 on a two-run homer in the 10^th inning. However, LSU answered when Doughty stroked his second three-run homer of the game in the bottom of the frame.

Doughty was 2-for-6 with two home runs and six RBIs in the win. He has six home runs in his last seven games, including three home runs in the UTSA series. He ranks third in the league with six home runs this season.

Both teams scored two runs in the 12^th inning. LSU left fielder Gavin Dugas hit a game-tying, two-run homer in the bottom of the frame.

LSU used nine relief pitchers in the game and they allowed all nine runs on nine hits and seven walks. 

MSU SCORELESS STREAK ENDS; DOGS GET WALK-OFF HOMER:

Mississippi State had its 39-inning scoreless streak snapped on Saturday afternoon when Eastern Michigan shortstop Taylor Hopkins hit a solo home run off Eric Cerantola. The Bulldogs entered the game with a school-record four straight shutouts.

EMU starter Justin Meis no-hit MSU for a 5 2/3 innings and took a one-hit shutout into the eighth inning before the Bulldogs rallied for four runs and another walk-off win.

MSU right fielder Tanner Allen, who broke up the no-hitter in the sixth inning, led off the ninth inning with a single to left. Third baseman Karmen James was hit by pitch to put runners at first and second. Catcher Luke Hancock followed with an RBI single to score Allen with the tying run. Tanner Logan capped the inning with a dramatic three-run, walk-off home run.

The four-run ninth inning was the third walk-off win of the season for the Bulldogs. Hancock had a walk-off grand slam in a 9-5 win over Tulane on Feb. 27 and Allen had a walk-off, two-run single in the 5-4 win over Tulane on Feb. 28.

GEORGIA, AUBURN POST BACK-TO-BACK SHUTOUTS:

Georgia and Auburn have posted back-to-back shutouts this weekend. Georgia has outscored Lipscomb 17-0 in two games, while Auburn had outscored Little Rock 13-0. 

Georgia right-hander Ryan Webb threw six no-hit innings and four Bulldogs combined on a three-hit shutout in a 7-0 win over Lipscomb. Georgia hadn’t had back-to-back shutouts since 2019 when the Bulldogs blanked South Carolina and Charleston Southern. 

Webb struck out seven and walked three for the win. Darryn Pasqua, Will Pearson and Michael Polk all tossed one scoreless inning. Corey Collins and Parks Harber both smashed three-run homers. Georgia has hit six home runs in the series. 

Auburn has back-to-back shutouts to open the weekend following its 7-0 win over Little Rock. 

The Tigers pitching staff has allowed only seven hits over 18 scoreless innings with 24 strikeouts and three walks. 

Mason Bennett struck out nine over seven scoreless innings for the win. Blake Burkhalter added four strikeouts in two innings. 

Ryan Bliss had two hits and two RBIs. Cam Hill had two RBIs and Josh Hall added two hits. 

AROUND THE SEC:

Alabama first baseman Drew Willamson scored on a throwing error in the bottom of the 12^th inning to give the Crimson Tide a 4-3 walk-off win over Stetson. It was Alabama’s fourth walk-off win of the season and second extra-inning win of the season. UA left fielder William Hamiter led the offense with three hits. Right-hander Chase Lee worked four hitless innings for his fourth win of the year. He retired 12 of the 14 batters he faced with four strikeouts.

Florida got a combined two-hitter in a 9-0 win over Jacksonville. Jack Leftwich, Jordan Carrion and Brandon Sproat recorded 10 strikeouts in the win. Leftwich fired six scoreless innings and allowed two hits and struck out seven. Carrion added two scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Sproat worked a scoreless ninth inning with one strikeout. Florida catcher Nathan Hickey went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, one double, one home run and two RBIs. Third baseman Kirby McMullen and shortstop Josh Rivera also homered.

Kentucky left-hander Mason Hazelwood struck out a career-high 12 batters over six scoreless innings in the Wildcats 6-1 win over Georgia State. The UK pitching staff racked up 19 strikeouts in the game. UK struck out 11 different GSU hitters on Saturday. Designated TJ Collett and Trae Harmon both homered for the Wildcats. 

Ole Miss first baseman Kevin Graham belted a walk-off, two-run homer to lead the Rebels to a 6-5 win over ULM. It was Graham’s second game-winning home run this season. Graham went 4-for-5 with two runs scored, one home run and four RBIs in the win. He had a two-run single in the third inning. 

South Carolina dropped its second straight game with a 3-0 loss at Texas. South Carolina out-hit Texas 7-4 but a pair of home runs lifted the Longhorns to the win. Texas is now 5-0 all-time against South Carolina, with two wins coming in the national championship game (1975, 2002) at the College World Series.

Tennessee outslugged UNC Greensboro 14-9 to clinch the series in Knoxville. The Volunteers rallied from a three-run and four-run deficit early in the game for the win. UT scored six runs in the sixth inning to take the lead and iced the game with a three-run seventh inning. Nine players had at least one hit and seven players had at least one RBI. Senior DH Pete Derkay tied a career-high with four hits. He also scored three runs and added two RBIs. Shortstop Liam Spence, third baseman Jake Rucker and first baseman Luc Lipcius all had three hits, tying their career high. The trio combined to score seven runs.