Ethan Frey celebrating a home run with Daniel Dickinson Jake Crandall/ Montgomery Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK]

SEC Tournament Day Four: LSU Takes Over Hoover Met

Hunter DeLauder May 24, 2025 Baseball, College Baseball, NCAA, SEC 109 Views

It was quarterfinal Friday at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. The final two semifinal spots were up for grabs between four teams. Check out all the action you missed from day four of the SEC Tournament.

No.7 Ole Miss and No.2 Arkansas

The Ole Miss Rebels defeated two-seed Arkansas 5-2 with the help of a first-round TKO from Ole Miss on Friday, scoring five runs right out of the gate and setting the tone for the rest of the game. 

It started with sloppy defense from SEC Player of the Year Wehiwa Aloy, who committed a throwing error on the play, setting the Rebels up with runners at second and third. 

The next batter, Judd Utermark, lined a RBI single to left, giving the Rebels a 1-0 lead. The Rebels tacked on another run before an errant throw extended the inning, allowing Austin Fawley to come up with a three-run home run that pushed the lead out to 5-0.

https://twitter.com/SECUnfiltered/status/1926010314643894561

The five runs would be plenty for Ole Miss on Thursday because the pitching showed up again. Similar to Hunter Elliot shutting down a hot Gators lineup on Wednesday, Riley Maddox did the same against Arkansas. 

“Probably more to do with where he was locating his fastball. He’s got a lot of runs on his fastball, arm-side run. We had one hitter, had a 2-0 count, got jammed and that’s not a good thing, really jammed,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. 

“But this is what he had, and then he threw that little spinner away and he located. He did a great job, he really pitched today. Best I’ve seen him when we’ve played him.”

Maddox finished the day throwing 5.2 innings, gave up two runs on three hits, walked 2, and struck out seven. Cam Kozeal hit an inside-the-park home run for one of the two runs given up.

The more significant part of that play was the scary collision in the outfield between centerfielder Isaac Humphrey and rightfielder Ryan Moerman. 

Both men were down for a few minutes, but luckily, both got up on their own. Humphrey stayed in the game, but Moerman left the game.

Arkansas created a couple of scoring chances late in the game but failed to come through with the big hit when needed.

Ole Miss will take on LSU at 2:30 p.m. in the second semifinal game on Saturday.

No.3 LSU and No.14 Texas A&M

First and foremost, what an unbelievable showing from Tiger Nation on Friday night. The Bayou Bengals and its fans have waited all week to get on the field and did not disappoint. It was a sea of purple and gold all day long and only grew larger as the night went on.

LSU survived a late push from Texas A&M on Friday night, holding on to beat the Aggies 4-3. With the loss, Texas A&M’s season is likely over barring a miracle on Selection Monday. As for the No.1 team in the country, it felt like business as usual at Hoover Met, or Alex Box East for the night.

The Tigers made an opening statement on the mound and at the plate – it started on the mound with Kade Anderson striking out the side and turning the ball over to his offense to go to work.

Derick Curiel got it started with a leadoff double and Jared Jones followed with a walk to put two runners on. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners over, Ethan Frey hit an RBI double to make it 1-0. Jones would also come into score on an RBI groundout. 

With two outs in the fourth, Daniel Dickinson reached on an error to keep the inning alive and bring Frey back to the plate to blast a two-run homer that made it 4-0.

Fighting for their postseason lives, A&M battled back with a two-run fourth. Jace LaViolette singled to get the Aggies on the board and watched them plate one more to make it 4-2 before the end of the inning. 

The biggest story of the game might have been the fact that LaViolette was even playing. In Wednesday’s 3-2 win over Auburn, LaViolette was hit by a pitch, fractured his fourth metacarpal shaft or knuckle, and underwent surgery on it at 7:50 p.m. Wednesday, and was shockingly in the lineup for the game.

LaViolette talked about the whirlwind of the last 24 hours. And what went into his decision to play in this game?

“Got hit in the hand yesterday, broke a bone in there, got surgery, and played today,” LaViolette said. “ I think it’s pretty clear, I said in an interview, I’d run through a brick wall for [coach Michael Earley] and I want to win. That’s just about it, I just want to win.”

But with no surprise, LaViolette led the Aggies offense in their valiant comeback. He went 1-for-3 with two RBIs and a sacrifice fly in what is probably his last collegiate game ever. 

“It’s hard to fathom that three years ago I came into college and I’m leaving now a totally different person. I can’t express enough of what this university can do for you and what these coaches can do for you. And just to the 12th Man, I just want to say thank you. I can’t imagine baseball without it, that’s it,” said LaViolette.

Meanwhile, Anderson continued to deal on the mound and would go a full six innings, giving up three runs, on four hits, walking one, and striking out 12. 

“He’s amazing,” said LSU head coach Jay Johnson, talking about Anderson’s outing. 

When Anderson was done, LSU brought in typical Saturday starter Anthony Eyanson to finish the game out for the Tigers. It was the first time all season Eyanson was coming out of the bullpen. But was the plan all along, according to Johnson? 

“Yeah, it was the plan. I decided last Saturday that this is what we were going to do if the game dictated that. There’s a number of reasons for that. He will not be available for the rest of the weekend,” Johnson said postgame.

Things could have started better for Eyanson, who gave up a leadoff triple to the first batter in the seventh.  A&M tied the game, but the umpire called Ben Royo for baserunner interference and sent the tying run back to third.

He regrouped and retired the next two hitters, ending the inning and keeping the Tigers lead at one.  

Eyanson was able to close out the final three innings and clinch LSU a berth in the semifinals on Saturday versus Ole Miss.

Semifinal Saturday

The action starts with an in-state rivalry between Tennessee and Vanderbilt at 11 a.m. Eastern, and wraps up with LSU facing Ole Miss at 2:30 p.m. Eastern.

Tags

About Hunter DeLauder

Check Also

SEC Baseball Tournament: Day 2 Recap

It was another action-packed day in Hoover, AL, as day two of the SEC Tournament …

© 2025 WRUF / Division of Multimedia Properties