HOOVER, Ala. — SEC overall champion Georgia had a short stay at the SEC Tournament.

Austin Hyatt made sure of that.

Hyatt retired 20 consecutive batters Thursday afternoon, turning in a complete-game four-hitter while leading No. 5 seed Alabama to a 5-2 victory over Georgia that eliminated the Bulldogs in the second round of the tournament.

Alabama (33-25 ) bounced back nicely after Wednesday night’s 9-3 loss to Kentucky. That game was originally scheduled to start at 8 p.m. but didn’t actually start until 10: 45 p.m. It lasted 3 hours and 4 minutes, so it was almost 2 a.m. Thursday before that game was completed. Alabama’s second-round game began at 1: 45 p.m.

“I’m very proud of this team,” said Alabama Coach Jim Wells, whose team faces Kentucky or Ole Miss tonight. “I thought they bounced back after last night with the time the game ended and the outcome of the game. “ It really shows the character that this team has, and I just thought they were tremendous. I thought that it was outstanding and it was just what we needed, not just for this tournament but future tournaments.” Georgia (35-21-1 ), which lost 4-1 to No. 8 seed Ole Miss on Wednesday, was knocked out of the double-elimination tournament without winning a game for the first time since 2002. Thursday’s loss also marked only the second time in SEC Tournament history that a No. 1 seed has gone 0-2. Georgia also went 0-2 as the No. 1 seed in 1987.

“This has been a tough couple of games down here,” Georgia Coach David Perno said. “On the bright side, our pitching is where it was a month ago, and that is what we needed to see. We just have to get our lineup in order and start hitting the ball the way we were a couple of weeks ago and we will be all right.

“ We are looking forward to playing in the NCAA Tournament next week.” Hyatt (4-4 ) gave up an RBI double to Bryce Massanari in the first inning, then retired the Bulldogs in order from the second inning through the seventh inning.

Georgia finally got another base runner when Jake Crane singled through the left side of the infield with one out in the eighth. SOUTH CAROLINA 11, FLORIDA 3 A day after blowing a four-run lead in the ninth inning, South Carolina scored five runs in the second inning and made it stand as the Gamecocks (38-20 ) eliminated Florida (34-22 ) in the second round. The Gamecocks, who lost 5-4 to LSU in Wednesday’s opening-round after leading 4-0 in the ninth, jumped out to an early lead Thursday when they sent 11 batters to the plate in the second inning and scored 5 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks.

Parker Bangs, Harley Lail and Resse Havens each had an RBI hit to chase Florida starter Billy Bullock (4-4 ) after only 1 1 / 3 innings. LSU 8, VANDERBILT 2 Derek Helenihi hit a three-run home run and Blake Martin allowed 4 hits and 1 earned run in 7 innings as LSU (41-16-1 ) defeated Vanderbilt (38-19 ).

The Tigers have won 18 consecutive games, the longest winning streak in college baseball. They have not lost since April 19.

Martin (5-3 ) was in control for much of the game. His only serious trouble came in the seventh, when Vanderbilt loaded the bases with one out. But Martin got out of the inning with only one run allowed, on a sacrifice fly by Parker Hanks.

A sloppy fourth inning by Vanderbilt enabled the Tigers to take a 4-1 lead. After starter Caleb Cotham (7-5 ) opened the inning by hitting Helenihi with a pitch, LSU reeled off four consecutive hits. The Commodores also committed two throwing errors at third base, allowing a runner to score each time. SEC Tournament glance At Regions Park in Hoover, Ala. WEDNESDAY’S GAMES LSU 5, South Carolina 4 (10 innings ) Vanderbilt 7, Florida 3 Ole Miss 4, Georgia 1 Kentucky 9, Alabama 3 THURSDAY’S GAMES South Carolina 11, Florida 3 Alabama 5, Georgia 2 LSU 8, Vanderbilt 2 Game 8 Ole Miss vs. Kentucky, (n ) TODAY’S GAMES Game 9 South Carolina vs. Vanderbilt, 3 p.m. Game 10 Alabama vs. Loser Game 8, 6: 30 p. m