Tournament roundup: Ole Miss advances, Mississippi State run ruled again

An SEC logo is shown on the field during the SEC Tournament on Thursday, May 27, 2021, in Hoover, Ala. (SEC pool photo)

HOOVER, Ala. — Drew McDaniel struck out a career-high 11 in 6 2/3 innings to lead fifth-seeded Ole Miss past No. 8 seed Georgia 4-0 on Thursday in the SEC Tournament.

Ole Miss (40-18) advances to the fourth round on Friday to play either Arkansas or Vanderbilt. Georgia (31-25) has been eliminated.

McDaniel (5-1) gave up just four hits and set another career high for innings. Brandon Johnson and Taylor Broadway combined for three strikeouts as Ole Miss totaled 14 with just two walks.

Kevin Graham hit his 13th home run to give Ole Miss the lead in the second, and Jacob Gonzalez and Peyton Chatagnier each had RBI singles.

Justin Bench was hit by a pitch, for the 25th time this season, in the fifth and later scored on an error to make it 3-0.

Georgia starter Liam Sullivan (1-2) had six strikeouts in three innings. All five Georgia hits were singles.

Tennessee 12, Mississippi State 2

Max Ferguson and Pete Derkay each collected 3 RBI and No. 2 seed Tennessee beat third-seeded Mississippi State 12-2 in eight innings Thursday for its first victory in the SEC Tournament since 2007.

Tennessee (44-15) advances to the fourth round on Friday. Mississippi State (40-16) was eliminated after being outscored 25-3 in two games.

Chad Dallas (10-1) became the first Tennessee pitcher since 2005 to reach 10 wins in a season. He went 6 2/3 innings, allowing just one run on six hits.

Derkay started the scoring with a three-run homer in a four-run second. Ferguson hit a two-run double in the eighth and two batters later, Drew Gilbert ended it on the 10-run rule with an RBI single down the right-field line.

Liam Spence was 3 for 4, with 3 singles and 2 RBI for Tennessee. Gilbert also drove in two runs.

Christian MacLeod (5-4) allowed five runs in four innings for Mississippi State.

Florida 7, Alabama 2

Franco Aleman allowed five hits in seven scoreless innings and sixth-seeded Florida beat No. 10 seed Alabama 7-2 in the SEC Tournament on Thursday.

Aleman (2-4) struck out four and forced 12 groundouts for the Gators (38-19), who advanced to the single-elimination semifinals on Saturday. Florida awaits the winner of Friday’s fourth-round matchup between Alabama and No. 2 seed Tennessee.

Nathan Hickey gave the Gators a 1-0 lead with a home run to center field to lead off the sixth inning. Jacob Young added a solo home run in the seventh and Cory Acton had an RBI double in the seventh and a two-run single in the eighth.

Florida outscored its opponents 24-4 in its first three games of the tournament.

Alabama starter Dylan Smith (1-8) gave up four runs in seven innings. The Crimson Tide (31-23) was 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position.