HOOVER, Ala. — Tim Rowe’s single up the middle scored Thomas Dillard and capped a two-run rally that helped the No. 4 and second-seeded Ole Miss baseball team edge No. 8 and third-seeded Georgia 5-4 in 10 innings Thursday afternoon in the third round of the Southeastern Conference tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
With the win, Ole Miss (43-15) advances to face No. 23 and seventh-seeded Auburn (39-20), which lost to 11th-seeded Texas A&M 4-2 on Thursday, at 3 p.m. Friday (SEC Network) in an elimination game. The win helped the Rebels eliminate the Bulldogs (37-19) from the SEC tournament for the second time in the last three seasons.
Brady Feigl allowed one run and three hits in 6 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out three. Parker Caracci (4-2) matched his career high by striking out seven in 3 1/3 innings to get the victory despite a throwing error that allowed the Bulldogs to score two unearned runs in the top of the eighth inning.
But Ole Miss rallied after Georgia took a 4-3 lead on a home run by LJ Talley in the top of the 10th. The Rebels used three base hits in the bottom half of the inning to secure their 18th come-from-behind victory this season.
Nick Fortes led off the 10th with a single to left field and scored on a double to the right-field corner by Thomas Dillard. With two outs, Tim Rowe singled past a diving second baseman to score Dillard with the Rebels’ second walk-off win of the season.
Georgia opened the eighth with a double and pushed runners to second and third with two outs. Caracci struck out the following two batters and appeared to have escaped the jam after a comebacker, but his throw in attempt to get the third out at home sailed over Fortes’ head, allowing both runners to score.
Ole Miss struck first on a leadoff home run by Grae Kessinger to take a 1-0 lead. Feigl allowed one baserunner in his first four innings, striking out three in that span, including two in the fourth.
Ole Miss added another run in the fourth after a leadoff double by former New Hope High School standout Will Golsan (2-for-5). Rowe moved him to third on a groundout. Golsan scored on a single to center field by Chase Cockrell.
Talley doubled with two outs in the fifth to give Georgia its first runner in scoring position, but a soft comebacker allowed Feigl to keep the Bulldogs off the scoreboard.
Ole Miss threatened in the bottom half of the fifth after a leadoff single by Nick Fortes. The Rebel catcher attempted to wheel around from first on a Golsan double to left but was pegged on a play at the plate.
Georgia manufactured a run in the seventh after a leadoff double by Keegan McGovern and a sacrifice fly by Adam Sasser. Feigl was a strike away from the third out in the seventh, but the tarp was brought out on a 1-2 count with two down in the seventh, the beginning of a 1-hour, 54-minute rain delay. Caracci relieved Feigl when play resumed after the lengthy break and took two pitches to fan the final batter.
Kessinger led the bottom half off with a double into the right-field corner. After a Ryan Olenek sacrifice bunt, Kessinger scored when Dillard reached on a fielder’s choice.
Kessinger had his 19th multi-hit game of the season, while Cockrell had his 12th and Golsan had his 16th. It also was Golsan’s fourth game with multiple extra-base hits.
Tyler Keenan was scratched from the lineup after aggravating his wrist during batting practice.
n LSU 6, South Carolina 4, 12 innings: Sophomore right-hander Todd Peterson threw five innings in relief and helped his cause with a two-run double in his first collegiate at-bat to lift the eighth-seeded Tigers (35-24) past the No. 22 and fifth-seeded Gamecocks (33-24).
Peterson (1-3) limited South Carolina to two runs on four hits with no walks and three strikeouts. After LSU left fielder Daniel Cabrera gave the Tigers a 4-3 lead with an RBI single in the top of the 12th, Peterson delivered a two-out, two-run double to extend the advantage to 6-3.
South Carolina narrowed the gap to 6-4 in the bottom of the 12th on a two-out, run-scoring single by designated hitter Madison Stokes, but Peterson struck out third baseman Jonah Bride to end the game.
Peterson threw 72 pitches in the outing after firing 33 pitches on Tuesday night to earn a two-inning save against Mississippi State in LSU’s opening game of the tournament.
“I will never forget this,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “We have struggled through some really ugly games and tough days. We have also had some really special moments, and today was one of them. I am just so happy for the kids. They put so much into it. They get criticized, they keep fighting. They deserve to have moments like this.
“Todd Peterson deserves to have moments like this. The whole team does. They invest so much. For them to taste the fruit of victory, and for it to have such an impact on their lives is amazing. These are life lessons they learn through competition. I am just really happy for them.”
South Carolina reliever John Gilreath (0-1), the fifth of six Gamecock pitchers, was charged with the loss as he allowed three unearned runs on one hit with one walk and one strikeout.
Gilreath retired the first two LSU hitters in the top of the 12th before right fielder Antoine Duplantis reached on an error and first baseman Austin Bain walked. Cabrera singled up the middle to score Duplantis and give the Tigers the lead.
After Gilreath was replaced on the mound by right-hander TJ Shook, Peterson lined a 1-2 pitch down the left-field line to increase LSU’s lead to three runs.
LSU opened the scoring with two runs in the top of the second on center fielder Zach Watson’s RBI single and a bases-loaded balk by starting pitcher Adam Hill that scored shortstop Hal Hughes.
South Carolina narrowed the gap to 2-1 in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by catcher Hunter Taylor. The Gamecocks tied the game in the sixth on a solo homer by second baseman Justin Row, his sixth dinger of the season.
LSU regained the lead in the eighth on a sacrifice fly by catcher Hunter Feduccia that scored Duplantis, who avoided the tag by catcher Hunter Taylor.
The Tigers took the 3-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but the Gamecocks sent it into extra innings when shortstop LT Tolbert tripled and scored on a single by right fielder Jacob Olson.
LSU starting pitcher Caleb Gilbert limited South Carolina to one run on two hits in 3 1/3 innings, before giving way to Bain, who allowed one run in 2 2/3 innings.
Freshman right-hander Devin Fontenot pitched a scoreless seventh inning before Peterson began his relief stint in the eighth.
LSU will play the loser of the game between fourth-seeded Arkansas and top-seeded Florida at approximately 6:30 p.m. Friday (SEC Network).
n Texas A&M 4, Auburn 2: Starting pitcher John Doxakis (7-5) held the Tigers hitless through seven innings and struck out a career-high 10, the most of any pitcher in the tournament, to lift the 11th-seeded Aggies (39-19).
Texas A&M will play in the semifinals of the tournament for the third time in the last four seasons.
The Aggies built a 3-0 lead while facing Auburn ace Casey Mize. The right-hander struck out seven, but the Aggies built a lead thanks to an RBI single by Zach DeLoach in the third and a two-run double by Braden Shewmake in the sixth.
Auburn senior Jay Estes broke up the no-hitter with a leadoff single in the eighth. Conor Davis doubled to score Estes.
DeLoach added a sacrifice fly in the eighth. His three-hit performance made it the seventh game this season he has had three or more hits.
The Tigers looked to rally in the ninth when an RBI single from Estes cut into the Aggies’ lead. The game ended on a groundout with two Auburn runners left on base.
Texas A&M junior Nolan Hoffman earned his 14th save of the season, the most in the conference and tied for the most in a single season at Texas A&M.
“I thought (John) was really aggressive in the strike zone with all three of his pitches, and he knew he had to be at his very best facing Casey Mize,” Texas A&M coach Rob Childress said. “If you’re a baseball fan and you got a chance to be at the game tonight, you saw two pitchers going toe-to-toe and it was fun to watch those guys going at it.”
Texas A&M will play at noon Saturday (SEC Network) in the first semifinal game.
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