12th-seeded Oklahoma beats No. 5 Georgia in SEC Baseball Tournament
12th-seeded Oklahoma beats No. 5 Georgia in SEC Baseball Tournament
Dayton Tockey hit an RBI groundout to break a sixth-inning tie and Brayden Horton followed with what would be the game-winning RBI single as 12th-seeded Oklahoma beat fifth-seeded Georgia in the Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament second round Wednesday, 3-2.
The Bulldogs brought the potential tying run to the plate three times in the ninth inning. But OU closer Dylan Crooks retired three of the four batters he faced to finish things.
Oklahoma ace Kyson Witherspoon kept the Bulldogs at bay for most of his 7 2/3 innings. He allowed the game's first run on a sacrifice fly in the third and a second run in the seventh on a solo home, but ultimately that was all he gave up in surrendering five hits with no walks while striking out eight.
After Georgia opened the scoring, Oklahoma immediately responded with Horton's sacrifice fly in the next half-frame. He was able to get it after Easton Carmichael singled to start the inning and Jaxon Willits moved him to third base with a double.
The Bulldogs' loss eliminates them from the tournament and may have been enough to keep them from earning a national seed in next week's NCAA Tournament. Georgia is still likely to host, however.
If Oklahoma keeps winning, the Sooners may re-enter the hosting conversation. Regardless, it seems OU is likely to land as second-seed in a different NCAA Tournament Regional next week. In the meantime, Oklahoma readies for its quarterfinal game in the SEC Tournament on Thursday against No. 4-seed Vanderbilt. OU took two of three from the Commodores during the regular season in Normal.
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