(Photo by Vanderbilt Athletics)
By Chris Marler
Day 3, and the Quarterfinals of the 2025 SEC Baseball Tournament went down on Thursday with Tennessee versus Texas and Oklahoma versus Vanderbilt. Here’s where things stand so far.
Game 9: Texas-Tennessee
A game that felt like we were robbed of seeing in the regular season delivered everything we could’ve hoped for Thursday afternoon in Hoover. Tennessee and Texas. New blood versus blue blood was absolute cinema as the kids say. In the end, the Vols continued their tear through the Hoover Met and beat the No. 1 seed Longhorns 7-5 in a 12 inning instant classic.
The storyline we expected coming in was Tennessee having a dominant performance on the mound. That came to fruition. However, it didn’t come in the form of All-American and SEC Pitcher of the Year, Liam Doyle. It came in the form of reliever Brandon Arvidson who went 5.1 innings and struck out nine in his best, and longest, outing of the year. Gavin Kilen did the damage offensively for the Vols. Not only did he belt a go ahead bomb in the tenth, but also delivered a game winning 2 RBI double in the 12th.
The Vols advanced to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament for the fourth time in the last five seasons and will take on in-state rival Vanderbilt for a shot at the Title on Saturday.
Final Score: Tennessee 7 Texas 5
Next Game: Tennessee vs Vanderbilt | Saturday 12:00 PM CT
Game 10: Vanderbilt-Oklahoma
Tim Corbin and Vanderbilt did what Tim Corbin and Vanderbilt seem to always do when it matters most – win. The Commodores defeated a worn out Oklahoma team playing its third straight day of tournament baseball 6-1 in Hoover. The Dores were led by a gem of a performance on the mound from JD Thompson who went five innings allowing just one earned run and striking out 11.
The bullpen was equally dominant allowing zero runs and zero hits while striking out seven in the final four frames. Center fielder RJ Austin was great at the plate going 2-for-4 with three RBIs, and equaling the total hits from the Sooner offense by himself. The Dores will now get a day off before they face Tennessee on Saturday in the Semifinals of the tournament.
Final Score: Vanderbilt 6 Oklahoma 1
Next Game: Vanderbilt vs Tennessee | Saturday 12:00 PM CT
This story will be updated after the completion of Arkansas vs Ole Miss.
