Each day this week, we’ll take a look around the country at some of the biggest games from conference tournament week.
It’s going to be a long wait for Florida.
The Gators, who entered the SEC Tournament as the 11 seed, fell to Texas A&M 8-7 in 10 innings when Jonathan Ducoff singled in Cam Blake on an 0-2 pitch for the game-winner. Earlier, Ducoff ripped a three-run homer to give the Aggies (37-19-1) a 7-5 lead in the eighth inning.
Florida (33-24) fought back for two in the ninth but couldn’t pick up what would have been a key win for its at-large hopes.
Instead, the Gators were eliminated and now have to play the waiting game.
In their favor is an RPI of 28 per WarrenNolan.com as of Thursday night and the third-toughest schedule in the country. Four series wins in the SEC will be compared to three series in which they were swept. A series win over Miami and three wins vs. Florida State help, but will it be enough?
Elsewhere of note…
- Florida State (RPI 55) dropped its opener to Wake Forest (RPI 54) in the ACC Tournament despite 13 strikeouts from Drew Parrish. That clouds the picture for FSU, which has been to the NCAA Tournament in each of legendary coach Mike Martin’s 39 seasons. And the aforementioned 0-3 against Florida could pit the Gators against the Seminoles for one of the final at-large bids for the Field of 64.
- Eighth-seeded Wichita State surprised top-seeded East Carolina 6-2 in the American Tournament, getting 6.1 strong innings from Clayton McGinness and a late three-run homer from Brady Slavens. McGinness tossed a complete game against the Pirates in a 3-1 Shockers win on May 11. ECU (42-14), with an RPI of 5, has an eye on a national seed and could need a win over Houston.
- Also in the American, David Langer delivered a walkoff single to score pinch-runner Thad Phillips to give Connecticut (RPI 25) a 4-3 win over Houston (RPI 42). The Huskies are looking like a dangerous 2-seed in the NCAA tourney, and the Cougars could use a win over East Carolina to solidify its at-large resume. And Cincinnati, which finished second in the regular season, earned its first postseason win since 2008 as AJ Bumpass went 4 for 4 with three runs and two RBI. With an RPI of 110, the Bearcats need a tourney win to reach the NCAAs.
- Harrison Smith and Grey Lyttle combined on a five-hit shutout as No. 6 High Point edged No. 9 UNC Asheville in the Big South Tournament. It was the Panthers’ first shutout of the season.
- Auburn (RPI 17) got three RBI from Judd Ward, including a two-run homer, to slip past Tennessee (RPI 11) 5-3 in the SEC tourney. The Volunteers are eliminated from the SEC tourney but are still looking good for their first NCAA tourney appearance since 2005.
- And Ole Miss (RPI 27) slipped past Missouri (RPI 30) 2-1 as Will Ethridge allowed one earned run in seven innings. The Tigers, who won series with Ole Miss, LSU and Tennessee (and went 1-1-1 against Texas A&M) but were swept by Florida), join the Gators in the waiting game.