HOOVER, Ala. — Day 1 of the Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament got kicked off in a big way.In front of a packed house the No. 7 seed Alabama Crimson Tide upset No. 2 seed Auburn 7-1.
Former Rebel David Kindred helped Alabama put the game away with a two-RBI single to left field in the ninth inning.
Alabama ace Jimmy Nelson had an impressive outing, allowing just one run in the complete-game effort on five hits while striking out six. The picture (right) is of the Tide players mobbing Nelson after he struck out slugger Keven Patterson to end the game.
- Alabama mobs ace Jimmy Nelson after striking out Kevin Patterson to claim 7-1 win.
Auburn starter Cory Luckie was tagged with the loss, surrendering three runs (one earned) in 6.2 innings.
Nelson was named the game’s Top Performer.
Maybe the new clock is working? The Alabama-Auburn game was completed in two hours, 12 minutes!
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE: Here’s a link to the SEC’s tournament page, which will be updated as the games end with stats, photos, etc.
DAY 1 SCHEDULE:
GAME 1: Alabama 7, Auburn 1
GAME 2: Ole Miss 3, South Carolina 0
GAME 3: No. 8 LSU vs. No. 1 Florida, 4:30 p.m.
Game 4: No. 5 Vanderbilt vs. No. 4 Arkansas, 8 p.m.
STARTING LINEUPS:
OLE MISS (36-20)
CF Tim Ferguson
3B Zach Miller
RF Matt Smith
DH Matt Snyder
LF Taylor Hashman
2B Alex Yarbrough
1B Mike Snyder
SS Kevin Mort
C Miles Hamblin
LHP Drew Pomeranz
SOUTH CAROLINA (43-13)
RF Whit Merrifield
CF Jackie Bradley Jr.
LF Adam Matthews
1B Christian Walker
DH Nick Ebert
3B Adrian Morales
C Kyle Enders
SS Bobby Haney
2B Scott Wingo
LHP Nolan Belcher (3-0, 2.03 ERA
WANT TO WATCH THE GAME? The USC-Ole Miss game is being televised on SportsSouth as well as ESPN3.com.
GAME SUMMARY:
Ole Miss 2-0: Miles Hamblin put Ole Miss ahead 2-0 in the top of the third with a shot over the RF wall, scoring Kevin Mort who had reached base via a groundout.
Ole Miss 3-0: In the top of the seventh Ole Miss left fielder Taylor Hashman singled to left field, easily scoring Matt Smith from third base.
Drew Pomeranz improved to 8-2 on the year, striking out seven and walking just one in 7.0 innings.
Freshman closer Brett Huber earned his 11th save of the season, allowing one hit and one walk in 2.0 innings.
South Carolina starter Nolan Belcher fell to 3-1 on the year, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks in 3.0 innings. He also struck out three batters.
Ole Miss will return to the diamond on Thursday, playing Alabama at 4:30 p.m.
The Crimson Tide, fresh off their 7-1 victory over Auburn, will start Nathan Kilcrease (who earned the win for Alabama on Sunday in Tuscaloosa, Ala.).
Ole Miss will start Aaron Barrett. (May 26, 2010)
