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SEC Baseball Week Two Takeaways: Oklahoma makes statement, Alabama's gritty comeback and more

hunterby:Hunter Shelton•02/24/25•

HunterShelton_

Syndication: The Oklahoman
Oklahoma's Kyle Brach (6) celebrates a score with Trey Gambill (20) during the college baseball game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and Lehigh at L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman, Okla., Friday, Feb., 14, 2025.

Just 17 Division I college baseball teams remain undefeated following the second weekend of the 2025 season. Five reside in the SEC.

Alabama and Oklahoma remain perfect following eye-popping wins of the clutch variety on Sunday, while Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee continue to take care of business, too. As a conference, the SEC went 45-4 this weekend, with 12 teams sweeping the board.

For most, the first two weeks of the season have brought reason for confidence and excitement moving forward. Others won’t be gauging the prices of hotels in Omaha anytime soon.

Below is a look at the top storylines coming out of the league as teams settle in on the long trek to the postseason.

Oklahoma makes emphatic statement with pair of top-10 wins

The addition of Oklahoma to the SEC was met with plenty of conversations surrounding the football landscape, softball dominance, how the Sooners would fare in an emerging basketball league and many other scenarios.

Contending in the best baseball conference in the nation was likely not at the forefront of those talks. But maybe it should be after this weekend.

Skip Johnson’s team conquered the Round Rock Classic on Sunday night, outlasting No. 2 Virginia in 12 innings. With two on and no outs, Dawson Willis laid down a bunt to advance the runners. An off-target throw from UVA third baseman Luke Hanson got away, allowing pinch-runner Braydon Horton to race home for an electric 5-4 win.

The OU bullpen was outstanding in relief of left-hander Cameron Johnson. Six arms combined to allow just one hit and one run. The Cavaliers managed just six hits and hit .117 (2017) with runners on base.

Landing the one top-10 victory would’ve made for a fine-enough weekend for Oklahoma, but that triumph over UVA was its second landmark win in as many days. On Saturday, it mowed past No. 7 Oregon State, 8-4.

Facing impressive freshman righty Dax Whitney, Oklahoma was able to plate four runs in the fourth inning and get into the Beavers bullpen early. Home runs from catcher Scott Mudler and designated hitter Easton Carmichael helped separate things. It’s the first time that the Sooners have won consecutive games against top-10 teams since 2022.

Opening the weekend against Minnesota on Friday, ace right-hander Kyson Witherspoon was excellent, striking out 12 Golden Gophers across seven innings, allowing just one run on three hits. He managed 17 swing-and-misses as OU squeaked out a 3-2 victory, kicking off what turned out to be an emphatic weekend.

Oklahoma was picked to finish 11th in the SEC by the leagues coaches. While one good weekend doesn’t mean that it will run rampant through its conference foes later in the season, it does give Johnson’s group comfort that it can indeed hang with some of the big boys. The Sooners are 6-0 for the first time since 2019.

Walk-off HR lifts Alabama to perfect weekend in Jacksonville

Down 10-0 to Ohio State in the fourth inning on Sunday in Jacksonville, Alabama looked like it was going to leave the Jax Classic on a sour note, capping off a 2-1 weekend. Instead of punting away and being content with heading back to Tuscaloosa with a winning record, though, head coach Rob Vaughn’s group fought and was rewarded heavily.

Superstar shortstop Justin Lebron got Bama on the board in the bottom of the fourth, belting the first of two nearly-identical three-run home runs to right-center field. Despite Ohio State’s Matthew Graveline robbing Bama second baseman Brennen Norton of a grand slam later in the inning, the Tide continued to push the Buckeyes pitching staff.

Lebron’s second homer came with two outs in the seventh, cutting the deficit to 10-7. A two-run double from left fielder Kade Snell brought Bama within one run in the eighth. After drawing a pair of walks to begin the bottom of the ninth, senior first baseman Will Hodo stepped up to the dish and belted a no-doubt, walk-off three-run homer to complete the unreal 10-run comeback:

“We got down early and we kept fighting. I knew if I didn’t do it, my teammates would, so that makes it easy,” Hodo said after hitting his 18th career home run in an Alabama uniform.

Sunday’s magic sealed an electric weekend for the Tide. In a 9-2 win over usual mid-major power Coastal Carolina on Friday, Bama took advantage of 12 walks and needed just three hits to cruise to victory. In his second start of the year, sophomore left-hander Zane Adams struck out six and allowed just one run on two hits in four-and-a-third innings.

NC State, the No. 12 team in the nation, proved not to be much of an issue on Saturday, either. Five Tide pitchers combined to allow just three hits and struck out eight, while eight different players collected a hit in the 4-0 win.

While the pitching wasn’t pretty early on Sunday against Ohio State, two big relief outings from right-hander Aidan Moza and lefty Tate Robertson steadied the ship as the bats eventually came around. Robertson picked up the win after firing three scoreless innings, striking out four while allowing just one hit.

Alabama is now 8-0 and has as much early momentum as any team in the conference. Upon returning home, it won’t leave the state again until it begins SEC play at Texas A&M on March 14. Behind a bonafide star in Lebron — who’s now driven in a team-high 16 RBIs — and five other players who have already notched 10-plus hits, the Tide are rolling early on in 2025.

Arkansas’ Aloy brothers pull off special feat

Behind stellar frontline pitching and some timely hitting, No. 5 Arkansas battled its way to a 2-1 weekend at the College Baseball Series in Arlington. Putting runs on the board was difficult the first two nights for Dave Van Horn’s group, but Wehiwa and Kuhio Aloy did something special at the plate on Friday.

Down 2-0 in the sixth inning to Kansas State, shortstop Wehiwa Aloy led off the bottom half of the inning with a solo home run to chop the lead in half. Two batters later, designated hitter Kuhio Aloy followed suit with a 435-foot solo shot of his own to tie things up in an electric moment at Globe Life Field:

The Hogs went on to lose 3-2 in the opening game of the weekend, but the Aloy brothers’ big inning was a special one. As mentioned by Razorback Communications, seven pairs of brothers have both hit a home run in the same inning at the MLB level since 1900, according to Elias Sports Bureau. The Aloys may still be in college, but they showed off their big-league ability in a big-league ballpark all weekend.

On Saturday against No. 22 TCU, Kuhio ripped a pinch-hit double in the top of the seventh inning that drove in both of Arkansas’ runs in another tight matchup. The Hogs hung on to a 2-1 win, thanks to the younger Aloy. The elder Aloy turned up the heat on Sunday.

In an 8-6 win over Michigan, Wehiwa went 4-4, driving in a pair of runs. Following an RBI single in the third inning, he hit his second home run of the weekend, going off the foul pole in right field. Both Wehiwa and Kuhio are hitting .417 with three home runs after Sunday.

While the brothers brought some juice at the dish for Arkansas, its pitching continues to look dominant. Friday-night ace Gabe Gaeckle allowed five hits and walked four against K-State, but still wrangled five-and-two-thirds innings of two-run ball. Junior left-hander Zach Root dominated TCU, fanning 10 and allowing one run in five innings. Van Horn opted to use eight arms on Sunday’s win over Michigan, and while the Wolverines tallied six runs, just three were earned.

The Hogs are now 6-1 and will gear up for 10 consecutive home games ahead of SEC play.

South Carolina enjoying the Paul Mainieri era

South Carolina won’t receive any medals for sweeping Sacred Heart to open the season, winning a pair of midweek games, then sweeping Milwaukee, and nor should it, but the Gamecocks are flying high at 8-0.

The stunning hire of former longtime LSU coach Paul Mainieri brought a boatload of excitement to Columbia, as the program looks to return to Omaha for the first time since 2012, when it made its third consecutive College World Series championship trip. The Gamecocks haven’t looked like world-beaters so far, but they’ve won games, which already puts Mainieri in rarified air.

As noted by Cade Crenshaw, Mainieri is just the third head coach in South Carolina baseball history to win his first six games at the helm, joining Dick Weldon (1966) and the legendary Ray Tanner (1997), whom South Carolina officially named its field after last weekend.

The star of the show thus far for South Carolina has been the pitching staff, which now has a team ERA of 2.09. Senior left-hander Matthew Becker is 2-0 with 17 strikeouts and just two earned runs in 11-and-a-third innings. Lefty Jake McCoy has also fanned 17 through two starts. Four relievers have delivered multiple scoreless outings early on. As a staff, USC has struck out 99 batters and walked just 21.

Star outfielder Ethan Petry is mashing, per usual. The junior is leading the way for the Gamecocks bats, slashing .444/.559/.852. Half of his hits thus far have been for extra bases, including a pair of homers. Nathan Hall has been another eye-catcher, hitting .423 with four extra-base hits and just three strikeouts.

Next weekend will be the first real test of the season for South Carolina as it gears up for a three-game set against No. 14 Clemson. The in-state foes will play one game in Clemson, a neutral game in Greenville and one game at Founders Park in Columbia.

No. 1 Texas A&M drops game to Cal Poly in vapid weekend

Offense was not easy to come by in College Station this weekend.

A lackluster Sunday for No. 1 Texas A&M culminated with a ninth-inning malfunction that saw Cal Poly scrape across three runs to swipe a 3-2 win and avoid a sweep at Blue Bell Park. Right-hander Clayton Freshcorn allowed a two-run home run to Cal Poly catcher Jack Collins before an error, sac bunt, wild pitch and fielder’s choice pushed across what became the game-winning run for the Mustangs.

It was the first non-conference loss for A&M in 629 days, dating back to the 2023 season. That defeat followed another tight game on Saturday that saw the Aggies win 4-3 after scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh.

Across the three-game series, A&M hit .222 (6-27) with runners in scoring position and .225 (7-31) with two outs. Preseason Player of the Year Jace LaViolette was held to one hit and four walks in the series and struck out four times. Six games won’t define a team, but A&M is hitting .266 and has not looked like the magnificent beast of an offense fit for a No. 1 ranking.

Pitching, of course, is another story. Ace lefty Ryan Prager delivered five scoreless innings in Friday’s 6-1 win, though he did allow four hits, two walks and struck out just two Cal Poly batters. Lefty Justin Lamkin allowed three earned in his first start of the year against Elon, but delivered six innings of two-hit, one-run (unearned) ball on Saturday. Lefty Myles Patton continued his hot start on Sunday, firing seven scoreless innings, allowing four knocks and striking out eight. The Aggies have a team ERA of 2.65 through six games.

A&M will take part in the Astros Foundation College Classic at Daikin Park in Houston next weekend, where it’ll face Arizona, Oklahoma State and Rice once each in a spotlight event. Getting the bats going will help ease any early-season worries for Michael Earley’s squad.

Around the league

–LSU also dropped a game this weekend, losing 5-4 in the first game of a doubleheader against Omaha on Saturday. The Tigers were down 5-0 heading into the bottom of the ninth, plated four runs and had the tying run 90 feet away but were unable to bring him in. Outside of one bad inning in the loss, LSU’s pitching was rock-solid over the weekend, but the bats were subpar in the first two games of the series.

–Texas managed to sweep Dartmouth, but nothing came easy, as it won 4-3, 3-2 and 4-1. Max Belyeu (.522) and Adrian Rodriguez (.417) are off to fast starts at the plate, but a cold weekend in Austin made for some gritty baseball. Longhorns pitching allowed just 15 hits across the three games. Another challenge awaits Jim Schlossnagle’s group this weekend as they head West to play in the Las Vegas Classic.

–Tennessee has already had 11 different players hit a home run this season. The Vols swept Samford over the weekend and are now averaging 14 runs per game. As a team, Tennessee is slashing .362/.526/.718. Freshman Levi Clark hit a pair of homers in the sweep, including a late-inning grand slam on Saturday that gave the Vols the lead.

–Georgia scored 51 runs in a four-game sweep of UIC at renovated Foley Field. Third baseman Slate Alford, second baseman Robbie Burnett and UTL Ryland Zaborowski combined for 13 extra-base hits and 24 RBIs in the series. Burnett hit three home runs, while Zaborowski hit a pair, including a grand slam.

–Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt also picked up sweeps over the weekend. The Wildcats went on the road and took all three at Belmont in Nashville. The Commodores plated 34 runs in their sweep of Saint Mary’s.

SEC littered throughout Top 25

In the updated D1Baseball Top 25, 11 teams from the SEC are now ranked:

No. 1 Texas A&M
No. 2 LSU (+1)
No. 3 Tennessee (+1)
No. 4 Arkansas (+1)
No. 6 Georgia (+2)
No. 8 Florida (+2)
No. 14 Vanderbilt (+1)
No. 15 Texas (+1)
No. 16 Oklahoma (NR)
No. 18 Mississippi State
No. 24 Ole Miss (NR)