Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello exchanges words with the home-plate umpire John Brammer before being ejected during an NCAA baseball game between Tennessee and Auburn on May 4, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn. [The Knoxville News-Sentinel]

SEC Weekly Roundup: Bad Weather Could Not Slow Down Action

Hunter DeLauder May 6, 2025 Baseball, College Baseball, Gators Baseball, NCAA, SEC 19 Views

Bad weather across the Southeast could not slow down the action in the SEC this past week. Heavy rain and thunderstorms delayed or postponed five games, but that led to more games to watch on Saturday and Sunday.

Weather impacted the Florida Gators during their road series against South Carolina. They got half an inning into Friday’s game before a delay of more than three hours pushed the restart to 10:15 p.m. Luckily for Florida, the Gators got the late-night win thanks to a Ty Evans grand slam.

Heavy rain overwhelmed Founders Park on Saturday, forcing the postponement of Game 2 between the Gators and Gamecocks until Sunday. Fortunately for Florida, not even the rain could slow down this offense as the Gators poured it on the Gamecocks in games 2 and 3 – outscoring South Carolina 39-8 in the series. Florida got its first series win in Columbia, SC, since 2018.

Weather also disrupted the Auburn–Tennessee series, postponing Game 1 until Saturday and turning it into a doubleheader. After Auburn won the first one, it looked like they were on their way to winning the series. Tennessee junior Dalton Bargo tied Game 2 with a clutch home run in the ninth inning, but rain forced another postponement, pushing the finish to Sunday.

Tennessee wrapped up game two on Sunday before the Tigers bounced back with an impressive 8-1 victory to win the series.

Texas A&M and LSU had game one postponed until Saturday for a doubleheader where both teams split to force a game three rubber match. The Aggies trailed 4-3 in the eighth before sophomore outfielder Caden Sorell hit an opposite-field three-run homer to give A&M a 6-4 lead. A&M shut LSU down in the ninth to get a solid home series win.

Plenty of other exciting moments unfolded in the SEC this week. Texas looked vulnerable for the first time all season, as Arkansas swept the Longhorns in a statement series. Vanderbilt was down 7-3 in the eighth against Alabama before hitting three home runs in the final two frames to take the series. Georgia gets a road sweep against Missouri, and the Tigers move to 0-24 in conference play.

SEC Top 5

  1. Texas (38-8, 19-5)
  2. Arkansas (40-9, 17-7)
  3. LSU (38-11, 15-9)
  4. Georgia (39-11, 15-9)
  5. Vanderbilt (34-14, 14-10)

Despite the sweep by Arkansas, Texas holds on to the No. 1 spot in the rankings. For the first time all season, Texas played a ranked SEC opponent on the road, and unfortunately for the Vols, it did not go over so well. Arkansas came into the series having lost its last three SEC series and controlled the Longhorns in all three games.

It was a get-right weekend for Arkansas starting pitching, which had a disappointing weekend last series against Florida. It started on Thursday with junior left-handed pitcher Zach Root throwing eight shutout innings, allowing only two hits, and striking out 11.

On Saturday, junior right-handed pitcher Gage Wood gave up one run on two hits and struck out nine. In contrast, Saturday starter Landon Beidelschies, a junior left-handed pitcher, only went four innings but kept the game in check for the bullpen to finish the off.

Texas had no answers for any Razorback pitching, striking out a season-high 38 times in three games and scoring nine runs on 16 hits – both season-lows. On the other side, Arkansas was unstoppable at the plate, overwhelming Texas with their offense. The Hogs scored 28 runs, hit seven homers, and did not allow a Texas starting pitcher to go more than four innings.

While all the bats were hot all weekend, nobody had a better day at the plate than redshirt sophomore Reese Robinett on Saturday. Robinett went 2-for-5 with two home runs and six RBIs. Robinett hit a mammoth shot off the scoreboard to give Arkansas a 9-7 lead in the fifth inning. He had not hit a home run in two-years before hit two in the series finale.

The sweep reached its peak when sophomore outfielder Charles Davalan launched a three-run homer onto the player’s complex off freshman left-hander Dylan Volantis. It marked the first home run Volantis had surrendered since April 12 against Kentucky—and the most runs he had allowed in a single outing all season.

Even though LSU dropped its series against Texas A&M, the Tigers still come in at No.3. All three games were close, and LSU was  a three-run homer away from stealing the series, so they won’t be penalized in the rankings.

The starting pitching for games 1 and 2 was excellent. In game 1, sophomore left-handed pitcher Kade Anderson had another strong outing for the Tigers – going six innings, giving up one run on three hits, and striking out 12. Both games were on Saturday due to bad weather, so game two of the doubleheader, junior right-handed pitcher Anthony Eyanson threw a gem. Eyanson went the full nine innings, giving up one run on three hits and struck out 14 Aggies.

Georgia headed to Missouri this past weekend – took care of business and avoided being the first team to lose a game to the Tigers. Missouri entered the series 0-21 in conference play and left 0-24 after the Bulldogs swept Missouri. As good as Georgia has been this season, their road struggles are not something to gloss over.

Georgia entered the series losing their last seven true road games, so picking up a road series sweep should definitely be celebrated.

The Georgia starting pitching was the best it’s been all year over a three-game span. It started on Friday night when junior right-hander Brian Curley threw seven scoreless innings, striking out six. Curley has now gone seven straight appearances where he’s thrown at least five innings, which is something Georgia lacked earlier in the year.

On Saturday, junior right-handed pitcher Kolten Smith gave up two runs via a home run in the first inning but settled in after going five innings and striking out seven. With Georgia looking for the sweep, junior right-handed pitcher Leighton Finley took the mound and had his best outing of the year. Finley went 7.1 innings, gave up two runs but only one earned run, and struck out eight.

With how good he was throwing, the Bulldogs’ offense struggled to get anything going, which left the door open for Missouri. The Tigers tied the game late in the eighth at 2-2 and had the go-ahead run at third base with two outs, but Georgia got out of it. Then, in the top of the ninth, senior infielder Slate Alford hit a two-run shot off the scoreboard to make it 4-2 and get the win.

Vanderbilt was staring down a 7-2 deficit in the eighth inning against Alabama and in danger of dropping the series. But then the rally started with a solo home run from sophomore infielder Braden Holcomb to cut the lead to 7-3. Later in the inning, sophomore catcher Colin Barczi blasted a two-run home run to make it a 7-5 game heading to the ninth.

After putting up a zero in the top half on the ninth, Vanderbilt got the first two on and tied the game on Brodie Johnston’s two-run double. Holcomb stepped up to bat and hit a walk-0ff two-run home run to beat the Crimson Tide 9-7 and take the series.

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