Bernal's Game-Winner Ends Thrilling Day 1 in Hoover

By John Whittle

Special to CollegeBaseballInsider.com

 

HOOVER, Ala. - Skies were dark, fans were sparse and the clock wasn’t far from midnight but Arkansas shortstop Michael Bernal’s walk-off triple brought everyone left to their feet in his team’s 2-1 victory over Tennessee on Tuesday night to conclude the first day of SEC Tournament play at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.

 

The Volunteers (24-26), the 12th seed in the tournament that pulled off some final weekend magic just to get into the field, were a game opponent to the fifth-seeded Razorbacks (34-20). With nothing to lose and a lot to gain, Tennessee showed fight and pushed Arkansas to the brink in the single-elimination contest.

 

In the end though, Bernal was able to come up with the big hit, and Arkansas left the victors.

 

“We are playing for it all,” said Bernal, who notched his 14th career two-out RBI. “For us to win in the last inning, maybe it was a little later than we wanted to, but we are happy. We’re excited to keep going.”

 

The walk-off win was the second of the year for Arkansas, while Tennessee dropped to 4-7 in one-run games.

 

“Tennessee played as hard as they could play,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. “They battled and battled, couldn’t get the big hit but finally got it. All of a sudden, the momentum was in that dugout. We didn’t panic, but said, ‘Our time will come.’ We had the last at-bat, and it did. I was proud of our guys for hanging in there.”

 

Through the first five innings, the teams combined for only four hits, three going to Arkansas. The Razorbacks had plenty of scoring chances, including the first inning loading the bases on walks by Volunteers starter Andy Cox, who lasted just three innings.

 

He was able to get out of the jam striking out three hitters in the inning but he put on six base runners while only registering nine outs in his start. Arkansas loaded the bases again in the fourth inning off of reliever Kyle Serrano, but he got out of the inning unscathed as well.

 

While his offense struggled, Arkansas starting pitcher Trey Killian was masterful. He didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning, a two-out bloop single off the bat of Jordan Rodgers. He allowed only one run on four hits on the night, didn’t walk a hitter and struck out five.

 

“I don’t feel like I have had that fire that I had last year, and tonight I was trying to bring that back out,” Killian said. “Unfortunately I couldn’t come out of there with no runs but we got the win, and that is all that matters.”

 

Arkansas missed a golden opportunity in the sixth inning when newly-crowned SEC Player of the Year Andrew Benintendi, who was 0 for 3 with three strikeouts in the game ahead of the at-bat, dug in with runners on the corners and two down. The scoreboard still read zeroes after he grounded out on the first pitch.

 

But the Razorbacks were able to strike in the next frame.

 

Right-fielder Tyler Spoon, who was 3 for 5, led off the seventh inning with a double splitting the gap in right centerfield. There were runners on the corners with one out and it looked as though Vols reliever Drake Owenby may get out of the inning.

 

Owenby coaxed a potential double play ball off the bat of Rick Nomura but shortstop A.J. Simcox mishandled the one-hopper and it threw off the timing of the double-play turn at the bag. Second baseman Nick Senzel had to scramble to the base just to get one out as Spoon touched home plate for the game’s first run.

 

Tennessee leveled the score in the eighth inning on an RBI double to left centerfield by Benito Santiago, who finished the season hitting .139 with his team’s loss.

 

“This time of year, guys do special things. Benito got his first RBI of the year to tie it up, but we couldn’t tack anymore on,” Tennessee coach Dave Serrano said. “You have to credit their pitching staff. I do walk away from here with a little better feeling because I think these guys fought for us. That was a good baseball game and a tough baseball game to lose, especially when your season is over with.”

 

The level score gave the Vols hope but the Hogs were able to snatch a victory exactly 20 minutes shy of midnight.

 

Bernal drove a 3-1 fastball to left field and was able to sneak it into the corner. Christin Stewart’s throw from the 335 sign on the outfield wall was errant of the cutoff men allowing Nomura, who singled with two outs, to score all the way from first base.

 

“I was going to make [Bernal] do something special,” Serrano said. “The guy just found a seam down the left-field line to win the game for them. We had the same opportunities and didn’t do the same thing. You have to tip your hat to where it’s deserved.”

 

Bernal, a veteran, had a feeling he knew the pitch location and what to expect before it was even thrown.

 

“The shortstop was playing him way over in the six-hole so the pitcher was coming in,” Van Horn said. “He was looking for a fastball in, got it, and hammered it down the line. He’s an experienced player, got what he was looking for and it worked.”

 

With the loss, Tennessee was eliminated from the SEC Tournament and ends its season. Arkansas will face Florida in the final of four games on Wednesday with the projected start time approximately 9:30 p.m. EST.

 

GAME 1: No. 11 ALABAMA 6 - No. 6 OLE MISS 1

 

Alabama starting pitcher Geoffrey Bramblett threw his second career complete game, shutting down Ole Miss in a 6-1 victory in the first game of the SEC Tournament. The Crimson Tide (31-26) was clutch at the plate as well with every run and eight of the team’s 11 hits coming with two outs in an inning.

 

While the hits were timely, Bramblett was the story for 11th-seeded Alabama, which needs to make a run deep in the SEC Tournament to have a chance at making it into the NCAA Tournament. The right-hander allowed one run, scattering nine hits and no walks. He struck out a career high 10 hitters in his 115-pitch performance.

 

“Geoffrey did a tremendous job,” Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard said. “He was efficient with his pitches and just gave us a great start on the mound. Offensively, we did a good job in those two innings. We strung together good at-bats, particularly with two outs.”

 

Alabama scored two runs in the fifth inning and four runs in the seventh put the game away. With two away in the inning, the Crimson Tide had six straight runners reach base, which included three RBI singles and an RBI double. Sophomore Casey Hughston was 2 for 5 with a run and two RBI.

 

With the loss, the Rebels (30-27) were eliminated from the SEC Tournament. Alabama will face Texas A&M on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. EST on the SEC Network.

 

GAME 2: No. 7 MISSOURI 5 - No. 10 SOUTH CAROLINA 1

 

Two bubble teams were playing for their NCAA Tournament lives and after nine innings, South Carolina’s season likely was over while Missouri will fight on. Missouri starting pitcher Reggie McClain dominated the Gamecocks over seven-plus innings, pitching the Tigers (30-26) into the double elimination round of the SEC Tournament with a 5-1 victory on Tuesday afternoon at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.

 

The second game of the day featured the two worst offensive teams in the conference, but it was Missouri that was able to find enough offense to move on. South Carolina used ace Jack Wynkoop on four days’ rest and the southpaw did all he could to keep his team in the game. He allowed four runs on nine hits over seven-plus innings but didn’t get any help from his offense, which posted the worst team batting average in a season of any Gamecocks squad since 1973.

 

McClain stifled South Carolina for the better part of seven innings, and when he gave up a single and double to lead off the eighth, SEC saves leader Breckin Williams bailed him out of a jam. Facing the heart of the South Carolina order, Williams got two strikeouts and a lineout to end the threat in what was a 3-1 game at the time.

 

“It was a critical game, and I was fired up for it,” said McClain, who was also pitching on four days’ rest. “I tried to approach it mentally like any other game just knowing that if I did my part and tried to stay myself, we would be in a good position.”

 

Seven of the nine Tigers had at least one hit in the game but each RBI came from the bottom half of the order. Right fielder Trey Harris paced Missouri with a 3-for-4 performance with a run and an RBI.

 

“The guys get better as the situation gets tougher,” Missouri coach Tim Jamieson said. “That’s the way they have been the whole year. When you play your best in this type of environment, it says a lot about your character and competitiveness.”

 

With the loss, the Gamecocks were eliminated from the SEC Tournament and likely NCAA Tournament contention. Missouri advances to face No. 2 seed Vanderbilt on Wednesday with first pitch at approximately 2 p.m. EST.

 

GAME 3: No. 9 AUBURN 6 - No. 8 KENTUCKY 3

 

Auburn scored five runs in the middle innings and was able to withstand a late charge from Kentucky to win its first opening round game of the SEC Tournament since 2003 with a 6-3 victory over the Wildcats.

 

Tigers starting pitcher Cole Lipscomb - who threw 107 pitches last Thursday in a start against Florida - allowed just two runs on four hits without walking a hitter. The right-hander struck out nine to move his record to 8-2 on the season.

 

Auburn coach Sunny Golloway, with his team also on the NCAA Tournament bubble, assured his players before the game that they were safe. He wanted to keep his team loose and the strategy appeared to work.

 

“I told our guys we had to stay the course,” Golloway said. “I told our guys just to go play. I didn’t want them to get too tight.”

 

The Tigers (35-22) jumped out to an early lead scoring a run in the third inning before upping that edge in the fourth. Nine-hole hitter Jackson Burgreen, who was 3 for 4, drove a two-run triple into the right field corner in the top of the fourth inning to put his team on top 3-0.

 

Melvin Gray had a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning to add a run to the total for the Tigers while Daniel Robert, who was 3 for 5 on the day with two RBI, drove a run-scoring single to centerfield.

 

Kentucky scored a run in the seventh inning on a solo blast from Ka’ai Tom, who was 3 for 4 with two RBI. He also had an RBI single in the eighth inning to cut the deficit to 5-3, but Auburn answered with a run in the ninth before the Wildcats (30-25) went down with a whimper in the bottom half of the inning.

 

“I felt good, not necessarily at how we played, but how efficient we’ve been,” Kentucky coach Gary Henderson said. “We came back in the seventh and the eighth innings and gave ourselves the chance to get the tying or go-ahead run. That was a positive for us.”

 

With the loss, Kentucky was eliminated from SEC Tournament play. Auburn moves on to play No. 1 seed LSU on Wednesday afternoon at 5:30 p.m. on the SEC Network.