Saturday's action in the 2007 SEC Tournament set the stage for Sunday's championship game between regular season SEC West champ Arkansas and regular SEC East champ Vanderbilt. The Razorbacks took on South Carolina in game one of the day, easing past the Gamecocks by one run and avoiding a second matchup with USC in the process. Game two of the day was no real contest, as Vandy jumped out on Mississippi early and never looked back, winning the game 13-1 after it was called following the 8th inning. Game two saw the Commodores force extra innings with a run in the 9th, then outscore the Rebels 4-3 in the extra inning to take home the dramatic championship game clinching victory.
Arkansas Defeats Gamecocks 3-2 to Advance to SEC Championship
After receiving two great starts from Nick Schmidt and Jess Todd to open the
SEC Tourney, Duke Welker turned in another gem. The righthander threw 7
innings of 1 run ball with 8 strikeouts to earn his 6th win of the season.
The Arkansas offense recorded less hits than South Carolina, but got the
timely hits they needed.
For South Carolina, they will be heading back to
Columbia after the offense did not produce like expected. The Gamecocks will
more than likely not receive a national seed now but will still host a
regional at Sarge Frye Field. Arkansas will play Vandy for the SEC
Tournament Championship. If they were to win, a national seed for the Hogs
would be likely.
Vandy Sweeps Mississippi with Walkoff 2-Run Single in 10th Inning
In the first game, Vandy absolutely dominated the Rebels. The Commodores 10 run
ruled UM due to a 13-1 score after the 8th inning. Pedro Alvarez,
Dominic de la Osa, and Parker Hanks each hit homeruns in the first two
innings in the game. Tim Corbin's squad received a very strong start from
junior lefty Cody Crowell, who allowed only 1 run in 8 innings. With the
win, Vandy advanced to play Mississippi again.
The second game of the Vandy/UM doubleheader might do down as one of
the best games of all time in Hoover. The Rebels led 3-2 going into the bottom
of the 9th inning before David Macias hit a sacrifice fly to deep foul
territory in left field to score Shea Robin and tie the game 3-3. In the top
of the 10th, Mississippi scored 3 runs off Vandy closer Casey Weathers after a
key error by Robin allowed 2 Rebel runs to cross the plate.
Showing their
toughness and "magic", Vandy would rally. They would do it off UM
closer Cody Satterwhite, who would let 4 Commodore runs score in the bottom
of the 10th to end the game. De la Osa began the inning with a solo HR and
after back-to-back singles by Alvarez and Ryan Flaherty, Matt Meingasner's
bunt would be fielded to only be thrown over the first baseman's head. This
would put men on 2nd and 3rd, setting the stage for Robin to make up for his
error. He would deliver a 2-run single to right field to score the tying and
winning runs of the ballgame. Robin was then mauled by every Vandy teammate,
while Rebel players watching in astonishment.
#1 Vandy will play Arkansas
for the SEC Tournament Championship Sunday afternoon here in Hoover.
