A doubleheader, a walk-off in extra innings, and a couple of openers that went sideways in a hurry.
Thursday and Friday gave us a full slate of drama across the SEC, and by the time everything settled, there were some results that nobody really saw coming. Here’s how it all went down.
Tennessee 10, #13 Alabama 0 — Game 1
Tennessee got a huge break with the weather and turned a doubleheader into a statement.
Teagan Kuhns was the story in game one. Eight innings. Complete game shutout. Nine strikeouts. This is back-to-back really strong starts for him now, and he’s settling into what looks like a legitimate arm to anchor this staff.
Alabama’s Zane Adams struggled as he walked four guys, gave up four or five runs, and Tennessee jumped on him early and never looked back. Once Kuhns was dealing and the offense was rolling, this one was over early.
Tennessee 11, #13 Alabama 4 — Game 2
Tennessee carried every bit of that momentum into game two.
Evan Blanco went six innings, allowed three earned, and punched out nine. Trent Grindlinger was the offensive standout — three for five with three RBIs and a home run. Tennessee controlled this one wire to wire.
Alabama just couldn’t find an answer in either game once things started rolling against them.
Big weekend win for Tennessee, and a series result that was a little surprising for me. But when you play a doubleheader and one team is riding that kind of momentum, you see what happened. Tennessee takes the series.
#15 Mississippi State 12, LSU 10
This one had everything.
Casan Evans was a late scratch for LSU, and Jay Johnson went bullpen by committee in game one with Tomas Valincius going for Mississippi State. LSU actually had the lead in the ninth inning. Mississippi State was down to their last strike — two outs, two strikes — before a base hit tied the game with a runner on second.
The only reason that runner was on second and not a double play that ends the inning is because Steven Milam missed second base on what should have been a double play. Instead, the game continued, and Mississippi tied it a few pitches later.
Then in the bottom of the eleventh, Mississippi State walked it off with a two-run home run.
Wild game. The kind that swings series. And LSU has to be sick about how it ended given the circumstances.
#11 Auburn 6, #14 Oklahoma 4
Auburn did exactly what they needed to do.
Andreas Alvarez went six and two thirds innings, allowed three earned, and struck out six. Another strong outing for him — this kid continues to look the part. They went straight to Jackson Sanders out of the bullpen, which is becoming their signature move, and he finished it out. Two and a third innings, one run, four hits and now the bullpen is rested heading into the rest of the weekend.
On the Oklahoma side, LJ Mercurius was up and down again. Three innings, five hits, four earned, three walks, two strikeouts. The command issues showed up again.
And now Jake Marciano gets the ball for Oklahoma in game two today, so OU has their work cut out for them today.
#21 Florida 9, #7 Texas A&M 2
Aiden King was absolutely dominant.
He went eight innings allowed two earned runs and had six strikeouts. He set the tone from the jump and shut down one of the most electric offenses in the conference. The game was close for a while, but Florida broke it open with four runs in the bottom of the eighth and took a commanding series opener.
Now A&M has to turn around and face Liam Peterson in game two, so the task doesn’t get any easier for the best offense in the league. But King gave the Gators everything they could have asked for, and Florida heads into today with serious momentum.
South Carolina 10, Kentucky 9
A wild one in Columbia.
South Carolina got to Jaxon Jelkin early and never let Kentucky fully settle in. Jelkin went five innings but gave up eight runs, seven earned, on six hits. That’s not the version of him that gives Kentucky a chance to win.
On the other side, Amp Phillips only lasted one and a third innings. Four hits, five earned, four walks. He struck out all four of his outs, but obviously didn’t do his thing. The command wasn’t there.
Cooper Parks came in and bailed South Carolina out — three and two thirds shutout innings. That was the difference.
It was a 10–9 final in a game that was chaotic throughout, but South Carolina gets the series opener and sets up an interesting rest of the weekend.
#4 Texas 11, Vanderbilt 4
Texas came out and took care of business in a hurry.
They jumped out to an 11–0 lead after five and a half innings and never looked back. Dylan Volantis was the story on the mound — he went six innings, allowed one earned run, and had 11 strikeouts. Dominant performance.
The other big headline for Texas was Adrian Rodriguez returning from injury and going three for four with a home run and three RBIs. Getting him back healthy is huge for this lineup.
On the Vanderbilt side, Connor Fennell gave up twelve hits in five innings. That’s not the version of him Vandy needs to see, and it made for a very long night in Nashville. Texas looked really good, and they’re in great shape heading into the rest of the series.
#24 Arkansas 6, Missouri 0
Arkansas took care of business and has now clinched the series after taking both games.
Cole Gibler started and went six shutout innings, striking out five. Missouri managed just two hits on the night — a completely dominant pitching performance.
Maika Niu went two for four with an RBI to pace the Arkansas offense. This is a team that’s been building momentum, and they backed it up again here.
Two series are now officially decided — Tennessee wins their series over Alabama, and Arkansas wins their series over Missouri. Both wrapped things up early and won’t have to sweat the rubber game.
Georgia/Ole Miss Postponed
Worth noting before you get into Saturday’s action — Georgia and Ole Miss had their Friday night opener postponed due to weather.
They’ll play a doubleheader today instead, so that series is going to be one of the more interesting ones to track on Saturday. Keep an eye on it.
Final Thoughts
A lot to digest from Thursday and Friday.
Tennessee sweeping Alabama in a doubleheader is the headline. The Mississippi State walk-off in extras is the gut-punch play of the weekend so far. Aiden King continuing to be one of the most reliable arms in the SEC is a storyline worth following. And Texas looked as good as anyone this weekend in a dominant game one win.
Saturday is loaded. Two series already decided, a full card of game twos, and a Georgia/Ole Miss doubleheader that could tell us a lot about both of those teams in a compressed window.
Should be a great one.