SEC Baseball Tournament 2023: Thursday Scores, Updated Bracket and Schedule | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
The 2023 SEC baseball tournament continued Thursday with the double-elimination third round at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex in Hoover, Alabama.
Two teams ranked within the top five of D1Baseball.com's Top 25 were in action on Thursday in the No. 1 seed Florida Gators and No. 2 seed Arkansas Razorbacks.
The No. 10 seed Texas A&M Aggies kicked off Thursday's slate with a 5-0 win over the No. 6 seed South Carolina Gamecocks.
No. 9 Alabama, No. 2 Arkansas and No. 1 Florida also earned wins.
With the tournament nearing the championship round, here's a recap of how Thursday's third round went down.
Thursday Results
- No. 10 Texas A&M def. No. 6 South Carolina, 5-0
- No. 9 Alabama def. No. 5 Auburn, 7-4
- No. 2 Arkansas def. No. 3 LSU, 5-4
- No. 1 Florida def. No. 4 Vanderbilt, 6-3
Texas A&M 5, South Carolina 0
The first game of Thursday's slate got out to a slow start between Texas A&M and South Carolina. However, the Aggies broke things open in the bottom of the third inning on an RBI triple from third baseman Trevor Werner.
Texas A&M added three more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning on RBI from second baseman Austin Bost, designated hitter Brett Minnich and catcher Max Kaufer.
Texas A&M Baseball @AggieBaseballBost Post 🫧 <a href="">
Outfielder Jordan Thompson added another run in the bottom of the fifth inning on an RBI flyout to right field, extending Texas A&M's lead to 5-0.
Texas A&M Baseball @AggieBaseballAdded a fifth in the fifth.<br><br>📺 SEC Network<br>🔗 <a href=""> <a href="">
Aggies starting pitcher Justin Lamkin was brilliant on the mound in Thursday's win, allowing only one hit and striking out nine batters in seven innings. It was one of his best starts of the season.
Texas A&M Baseball @AggieBaseballJustin LamKKKKKKKꓘin <a href="">
Texas A&M Baseball @AggieBaseballHow about JustHIM Lamkin's morning?<br><br>7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 9 K<br><br>Longest outing of the season.<br>Tied strikeouts season high.<br><br>🔥<a href="">@LamkinJustin</a> <a href="">
South Carolina's lone hit came from second baseman Will Tippett in the top of the fifth inning on a single to shortstop.
The Aggies will move on to face the loser of No. 2 Arkansas and No. 3 LSU on Friday in an elimination game.
Alabama 7, Auburn 4
Alabama's win over Auburn might look like an upset, but the Crimson Tide have been pretty dominant against the Tigers all season.
In three meetings between the two teams last month, Alabama defeated Auburn in two of three games, the most recent being a 6-1 win on April 16.
The Crimson Tide jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on Thursday in the bottom of the first inning on a home run from left fielder Tommy Seidl.
Alabama Baseball @AlabamaBSBB1 | 💣⏰ 🪖! Seidl stays hot and gets us on the board with a solo shot!<br><br>1-0 Alabama<a href="">#RollTide</a> || 📺 SEC Network <a href="">
Alabama tacked on another run in the bottom of the third inning to take a 2-1 lead over Auburn before a three-run bottom of the fourth helped them take a commanding 5-1 lead.
While the Tigers cut into the Crimson Tide's lead with a two-run top of the sixth, Alabama responded by tacking on two runs in the bottom half of the inning to extend their lead to 7-3 and put the game out of reach.
Seidl was one of the Alabama's most impressive players on Thursday, recording three hits, two RBI and two runs in three at-bats.
The Crimson Tide will now move on to face the loser of No. 1 Florida and No. 4 Vanderbilt.
Arkansas 5, LSU 4
Although Arkansas got out to a slow start against LSU on Thursday, a five-run bottom of the fourth inning helped power the Razorbacks to a 5-4 win over the Tigers.
Third baseman Caleb Cali and second baseman Peyton Holt each drove in a run while right fielder Jace Bohrofen drove in two runs in the bottom of the fifth to help the Razorbacks come back from down 2-0.
Arkansas Baseball @RazorbackBSBHOGS ON THE BOARD! <a href="">
Arkansas Baseball @RazorbackBSBThere is no pitcher on the entire planet that can stop Peyton Holt <a href="">
Starting pitcher Hagen Smith allowed just two runs on five hits while striking out nine in 3.2 innings. Hunter Hollen pitched 5.1 innings in relief, allowing two runs on six hits while striking out eight.
Arkansas Baseball @RazorbackBSB🔥 <a href="">
Arkansas Baseball @RazorbackBSBA walk in the park <a href="">
Arkansas Baseball @RazorbackBSBThat's NINE strikeouts <a href="">
LSU nearly made a late-innings comeback with an RBI from shortstop Jordan Thompson in the top of the eighth and a solo home run from outfielder Dylan Crews in the top of the ninth, but it was too late for the Tigers as Hollen shut things down to post the win.
The Razorbacks are now into the semifinals for the second time in three seasons. They won the tournament in 2021.
Florida 6, Vanderbilt 3
It seemed like the day's final game was heading toward extra innings with a 2-2 tie in the seventh.
But Florida's BT Riopelle had other ideas.
Riopelle launched a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh to give the Gators the lead for good in their 6-3 victory over Vanderbilt. The two-out blast was one of just four hits for Florida throughout the contest, but two walks and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases before the decisive long ball.
Florida Gators Baseball @GatorsBBBT STANDS FOR BIG TIME ⌚<a href="">#GoGators</a> // 📺 SEC Network <a href="">
That wasn't Riopelle's only memorable moment. He and Luke Heyman each hit solo home runs earlier in the game for the Gators' other runs, which was enough support for a strong showing from the victors' pitching staff.
Starter Brandon Sproat gave up two runs and struck out six in six innings of work, while the bullpen allowed just a single run in the final three innings. Philip Abner struck out the side in the ninth to close the door on the Commodores.
