Arkansas pitchers make SEC history
HOOVER, Ala.—A trio of Arkansas pitchers combined for the first no-hitter in Southeastern Conference Tournament history Thursday and Chad Spanberger homered three times as the Razorbacks breezed to a 12-0 victory over Auburn.
Dominic Taccolini, Matt Cronin (3-0) and Josh Alberius kept Auburn hitless while striking out seven, walking seven and hitting a batter. The 10-run mercy rule shortened the game to seven innings.
Taccolini started and went two innings, Cronin pitched three innings of relief and Alberius worked the final two innings.
Spanberger’s three homers and seven RBIs set SEC Tournament single-game records. Spanberger hit a solo homer in the first inning, a tworun shot in the third and a grand slam in the fourth.
S. Carolina 10, Missouri 2
HOOVER, Ala.—Carlos Cortes hit a pair of three-run homers Thursday as South Carolina trounced Missouri 10-2 in a Southeastern Conference tournament elimination game.
South Carolina (34-24) next plays Friday against the loser of Thursday night’s game between LSU and Kentucky.
Cortes hit his homers in consecutive innings. His fifth-inning blast gave South Carolina a 6-1 advantage. His second homer of the day capped a fourrun outburst in the sixth that extended South Carolina’s lead to 10-1.
BIG 12 Okla. St. 8, W. Virginia 4
OKLAHOMA CITY—Colin Simpson hit two home runs to help No. 8 seed Oklahoma State defeat West Virginia 8-4 on Thursday night in the winner’s bracket of the Big 12 Tournament.
Simpson went 4 for 5 with five RBIs and three runs scored for the Cowboys (28-25), the tournament’s lowest seed. Oklahoma State needed to beat Oklahoma twice at the end of the regular season just to make it to the league tournament. Now, the Cowboys need just a win on Saturday to reach the final.
TCU 9, Oklahoma 4
OKLAHOMA CITY—Jared Janczak threw five shutout innings to help No. 2 seed TCU defeat No. 3 seed Oklahoma 9-4 on Thursday in a Big 12 Tournament elimination game.
Janczak, an All-Big 12 firstteam pitcher, gave up three hits and struck out eight to improve to 8-0 on the season. Elliott Barzilli had three hits and Cam Warner knocked in two runs for the Horned Frogs (40-15).
Texas Tech 4, Baylor 1
OKLAHOMA CITY—Ryan Long was 3 for 3 with an RBI double to help top-seeded Texas Tech bounce back from an opening loss at the Big 12 Conference tournament with a 4-1 win over Baylor on Thursday.
Steven Gingery (9-1) earned the win for the Red Raiders (43-14), throwing six scoreless innings in the elimination game. The sophomore left-hander allowed seven hits and struck out six for Texas Tech, which advances to face the loser of West Virginia and Oklahoma State on Friday.