SEC Friday Night Roundup
The Last Friday Night Before SEC Baseball
Friday night across the SEC looked much more like what we expected heading into the weekend.
After a strange week of midweek losses around the conference — including LSU dropping two games — most teams got back on track in their final weekend before SEC play begins. Several Friday night starters delivered strong outings, a few offenses broke out in a big way, and weather began to play a role in shaping the rest of the weekend schedule.
Here’s how things unfolded around the league.
Arkansas 7, Stetson 1
Arkansas took care of business behind a strong bounce-back performance from Gabe Gaeckle.
Gaeckle went six innings, allowing five hits, no runs, one walk, and striking out six, settling in nicely after last weekend’s tough outing. The Razorbacks controlled the game from the start and looked like the team we’ve expected them to be heading into conference play.
A solid Friday night win for Arkansas.
LSU 15, Sacramento State 4 (7 innings)
LSU delivered one of the most impressive offensive performances of the night, run-ruling Sacramento State 15–4.
Jake Brown stole the show, launching three home runs, while Steven Milam added his first homer of the season as the Tigers’ offense finally broke out in a big way.
On the mound, Casan Evans looked sharp as the Friday night starter, retiring 15 consecutive hitters at one point and continuing to trend in the right direction. After a tough midweek stretch for LSU, this was exactly the type of win Jay Johnson’s team needed heading into the weekend and SEC play.
Georgia 12, Queens 2
Georgia handled Queens comfortably behind Joey Volchko, who went six innings allowing four hits, two earned runs, three walks, and six strikeouts.
The Bulldogs offense did the rest, putting up 12 runs and cruising to an easy victory.
Texas A&M Sweeps Doubleheader vs Oakland
Game 1: Texas A&M 6, Oakland 3
Game 2: Texas A&M 10, Oakland 2
Texas A&M picked up two wins on Friday, sweeping a doubleheader against Oakland.
In the opener, Shane Sdao delivered another strong performance, throwing seven innings with four hits allowed, three earned runs, one walk, and eight strikeouts, but the Aggies came from behind after starting out down 3-0.
In the second game, Weston Moss continued the Aggies’ strong pitching with six innings, three hits, one earned run, no walks, and four strikeouts.
A&M continues to look very steady on the mound heading toward SEC play.
Kentucky 10, The Citadel 5
Kentucky had to work for this one.
Jaxon Jelkin struggled more than we’ve seen this season, giving up five earned runs on eight hits over five innings, with just one strikeout and one walk. It was an uncharacteristic outing for the Wildcats’ ace.
But Kentucky’s offense came alive late, scoring six runs in the seventh inning to turn the game around and pull away for the win.
Ole Miss Sweeps Doubleheader vs Evansville
Weather forced Ole Miss into a Friday doubleheader, and the Rebels handled both games comfortably.
Ole Miss took the opener 7–2, with Hunter Elliott going five innings, allowing two earned runs with seven strikeouts, though command remains an issue as he also walked four and hit a batter.
In the second game, Ole Miss rolled 14–2, and Cade Townsend continued to look the part.
Townsend went five innings, allowing just one hit with two walks and seven strikeouts, needing only 67 pitches to get through those five innings. He continues to look extremely impressive, and it will be very interesting to see how his role evolves once SEC play begins.
Vanderbilt 14, North Dakota State 2
Vanderbilt bounced back with a dominant performance against North Dakota State.
Connor Fennell delivered one of his best outings of the season, throwing six innings with two earned runs, 11 strikeouts, and no walks.
That’s exactly the type of start Vanderbilt needed after a difficult stretch earlier in the week.
Tennessee 4, Wright State 3
Tennessee needed late-inning heroics, walking it off in the bottom of the ninth to beat Wright State 4–3.
Tegan Kuhns once again looked electric from a stuff standpoint. He finished with five innings pitched, eight hits allowed, three earned runs, no walks, and seven strikeouts.
Even though Wright State created some traffic early, Kuhns settled in nicely and continues to look like a legitimate Friday night arm for Tennessee.
High Point 7, Florida 2
One of the bigger surprises of the night came in Gainesville, where Florida fell 7–2 to High Point.
Despite the loss, Liam Peterson again flashed elite stuff. Peterson went five innings, allowing just one hit while striking out 11, though command issues once again limited his outing. He allowed two earned runs and walked four.
The stuff is undeniable, but improving efficiency will be key for Peterson as SEC play approaches.
Auburn 10, Winthrop 0 (7 innings)
Auburn rolled past a very solid Winthrop team, run-ruling them 10–0.
Jake Marciano continues to look like a true Friday night ace, throwing six shutout innings with six strikeouts.
He walked his first batter of the season and hit four hitters, but as discussed on Friday Night Spikes, that’s often intentional. Marciano aggressively works inside to right-handed hitters to open up the outer half of the plate, and that approach continues to generate results.
Mississippi State 9, Lipscomb 4
Mississippi State picked up another win behind Tomas Valincius, who threw four innings allowing four hits, two earned runs, two walks, and six strikeouts.
It appears the Bulldogs may have been monitoring his pitch count heading into SEC play, but overall it was another solid outing.
Texas 14, South Carolina Upstate 2
Texas continues to roll behind the dominance of Ruger Riojas.
Riojas threw six innings with one earned run (solo homer), four hits, 12 strikeouts, and no walks.
At this point, the way Riojas is throwing the baseball is just absurd. He continues to overpower hitters and looks every bit like one of the best arms in the country.
Alabama 7, North Florida 2
Alabama picked up a strong win against a solid North Florida lineup.
Tyler Fay delivered a very impressive start, throwing seven innings with two earned runs and 11 strikeouts. That’s a quality outing against a team that can swing the bat.
Missouri vs UIC Suspended
Missouri’s game against UIC was interrupted by weather.
The Tigers are currently trailing 12–4 in the top of the fifth inning, and the game is scheduled to resume today.
Friday night starter Javyn Pimentel struggled, allowing six earned runs before the delay. Missouri will try to regroup when the game resumes.
Weather Notes Around the League
Weather has begun affecting several SEC series this weekend.
South Carolina and Princeton are scheduled to play a Saturday doubleheader, and Oklahoma’s Friday game was rained out. The Sooners currently have one game scheduled for Saturday, but depending on conditions, they could also be looking at a doubleheader either today or Sunday.
Final Thoughts
Friday night was largely a nice night for the SEC.
Several teams handled business the way they were expected to, and multiple Friday night starters delivered strong performances heading into conference play.
With SEC play beginning next week, the focus now shifts to finishing this weekend strong and building momentum for what should be another brutal conference schedule.