With day 2 of the SEC tournament in the books, we are set for another exciting day of baseball on day 3. Day 2 was full of surprises as #3 Mississippi State was mercy ruled by #6 Florida in a 13-1 affair, and #10 Alabama upset #2 Tennessee 3-2 in an 11 inning nailbiter. Although there was some controversy in the bottom of the ninth inning, as Alabama was given a double play to end the inning due to interference between Tennessee’s baserunner and Alabama’s 2nd baseman. While the call seemed accurate, it was definitely debatable and took away what would have been the walk off fielder’s choice for the Volunteers. Finally, #5 Ole Miss and #4 Vanderbilt had an intense game to cap off the day, as the Commodores came back to win 5-4 by scoring two runs in the bottom of the ninth. With an intriguing set of games lined up for day 3, here are my picks for the next four games.
(Loser’s Bracket) Game 1: #3 Mississippi State Bulldogs vs #2 Tennessee Volunteers
Seeing both of these teams in the loser’s bracket this early in the tournament has left me flabbergasted. As unbelievable as it is, one of these two teams will be eliminated from the tournament without a single win! Despite one of these teams going 0-2, I think they are still guaranteed a spot in the College World Series; although it will definitely hurt their seeding. Upon witnessing an absolute slaughter of Mississippi State less than 24 hours ago, I’m going to have to pick Tennessee to eliminate the Bulldogs in the opening game tomorrow. While I do believe Mississippi State will show up more prepared to play against the Volunteers, it isn’t easy to shake off a mercy rule loss so quickly. Their pitching was abysmal as they gave up 18 hits, and their bats were held to just four hits through seven innings. Now that they have gotten a game under their belt for the tournament, I expect them to give the Volunteers a run for their money. However, Tennessee showed a lot of positives in their loss to Alabama, and they were one literal hand away from beating the Crimson Tide in nine innings. Tennessee had great pitching for the most part, and they were able to get plenty of runners on base. I think they’ll be able to convert those runners into actual runs against the Bulldogs and take the win 6-4.
(Loser’s Bracket) Game 2: #8 Georgia Bulldogs vs #5 Ole Miss Rebels
Ole Miss is facing elimination, but I don’t think their fans have much to worry about in this matchup. The Rebels were a half inning away from defeating #4 Vanderbilt and advancing to the winner’s bracket of the tournament. Meanwhile, Georgia got demolished by Arkansas 11-2 to find their way into the loser’s bracket. Overall, Ole Miss is simply the better team over Georgia and the Rebels are primed to make a decent run in the tournament. They have an excellent hitter in Tim Elko, who drove in all four of their runs versus Vanderbilt; three of which came from a home run that gave Ole Miss their first lead of the game. Additionally, Georgia’s pitching looked like it couldn’t throw a strike, as they walked a total of 14 batters. Unless Georgia’s pitching AND hitting have a complete turnaround, I don’t see a reality where Ole Miss falters in this game. I’ll take the Rebels winning this one handedly 10-2.
(Winner’s Bracket) Game 3: #6 Florida Gators vs #10 Alabama Crimson Tide
This is a surprising game to see in the winner’s bracket, as both teams upset their 2nd round opponent to get here. Although Alabama has looked great the past couple days with wins against South Carolina and Tennessee, Florida is coming off a blowout victory against a really good Mississippi State team. Alabama might have solidified themselves a spot in the College World Series (CWS) with their victory against the #2 seeded Volunteers, but they could make an even deeper run in this tournament. Both teams had great pitching in their previous game, but right now Florida’s bats are red hot and don’t look like they’re cooling off anytime soon. I think Alabama has a real shot to pull off another upset in the loser’s bracket, but I’ll take Florida in a close one 6-5.
(Winner’s Bracket) Game 4: #4 Vanderbilt Commodores vs #1 Arkansas Razorbacks
This game might be the best contest of the day as both teams are ranked as two of the three best teams in the country. Arkansas had a very easy time against Georgia for their first game, although they didn’t even need many hits to take the blowout win. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt had to comeback against a resilient Ole Miss team and pull out a clutch victory in the bottom of the ninth. While this game could definitely go either way, I think that Arkansas will put out a nailbiter against the commodores. I expect this game to be fairly low scoring, but it will still have some fireworks every once in a while to keep the contest exciting. The Commodores usually have a deep run into the tournament, and I can see them upsetting Arkansas tonight. However, Arkansas has looked too solid throughout the season to pick against them, so Vanderbilt’s run will have to be from the loser’s bracket. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a rematch between these two teams later in the tournament. I’ll take the Razorbacks winning this matchup 4-3. .
