Florida Gators can win SEC title on final day of the season

The Southeastern Conference baseball crown has gone unclaimed through 10 weekends and 29 games. The Florida Gators can stake a claim as co-SEC Champions on the final day of the regular season.

Florida’s chances looked grim, if not over. The Gators lost 6-4 to Kentucky. A Razorback win over Vanderbilt would clinch the league. The Hogs roared out to an 8-2 lead but Vanderbilt did its SEC East rival a favor. Vandy scores eight runs in the eighth inning to take a 10-8 lead. Center fielder Enrique Bradfield kept it there with this unreal catch.

Florida still doesn’t control its fate. The Gators are a game back at 19-10 in conference play. Arkansas sits at 20-9. A win on Saturday in Lexington and a Razorback loss would give the two teams identical 20-10 records. However, LSU would also need to lose. The Tigers had a game rained out at South Carolina. They currently have a 19-9 record at the moment. An LSU win would give them a 20-9 record and a .690 winning percentage, which would trump Florida and Arkansas’ .667 winning percentage. Florida will need LSU and Arkansas to lose in order to share the title of SEC Champion.

SEC Scenarios

Florida

• Shares SEC Championship
  • UF wins, Arkansas and LSU lose (UF 20-10, Arkansas 20-10, LSU 19-10)

Arkansas

• Wins SEC Championship Outright
  • Beats Vanderbilt (Arkansas 21-9)
  • Loses to Vanderbilt and UF and LSU lose (20-10, LSU 19-10, UF 19-11)
• Shares SEC Championship
  • UF wins, Arkansas and LSU lose (UF 20-10, Arkansas 20-10, LSU 19-10)

LSU

• Wins SEC Championship Outright
  • LSU and Vanderbilt win (LSU 20-9, Arkansas 20-10, Florida 20-10)

Florida Gators on Saturday

The Gators dropped game two at No. 19 Kentucky by a score of 6-4 to even the series at Kentucky Proud Park on Friday night.

Wyatt Langford(2-for-4) popped two home runs in the defeat, marking the eighth multi-homer game of his career.
 
Langford gave the Gators (41-13, 19-10 SEC) an early one-run lead against the Wildcats (36-16, 16-13 SEC), depositing a 1-1 offering over the left-field wall for his 15th home run of the campaign. Kentucky got the run back in the bottom half of the frame, tying the game with an RBI single to left-center field off the bat of Devin Burkes.
 
UF starter Brandon Sproat rebounded in the second, using just 10 pitches to strike out the side in order. Florida swiftly took advantage, with Jac Caglianone blasting a two-run shot to left-center field to put the Gators on top, 3-1.

In the fourth, the Wildcats knotted the game back up at three runs apiece on solo homers by Reuben Church and Grant Smith. One inning later, Burkes gave Kentucky its first lead of the night with an RBI double down the left-field line. Church added a two-run single to center before the inning was done to make it 6-3 in favor of the Cats.
 
Faced with a three-run deficit, Langford brought the Gators within two in the top of the sixth. Langford picked up his second homer of the night in the frame.
 
Sproat (7-3) was charged with the loss after allowing six earned runs over five innings. The right-hander surrendered seven hits and two walks while striking out seven.
 
Wildcats starting pitcher Zack Lee (5-2) picked up the win.

LSU and Georgia will start at 1:00 pm EST. Florida and Kentucky will play at 2:00 p.m. EST. Arkansas and Vanderbilt are scheduled for a 3:00 pm EST first pitch.