Just three days after sweeping formerly top-ranked Kentucky out of contention for an overall SEC title, No. 7 seeded Mississippi State kept the offense going, thumping Arkansas 9-1 in the opening round of the 2012 SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover, Alabama.
State got a little help sealing the game from Arkansas, whose defense imploded in a six-run, half-hour top of the ninth. The Bulldogs would score with the help of two throwing errors and a wild pitch, smashing what had been a very tight 3-1 game. The Hogs' only previous mistake was a Wes Rea three-run homer in the second inning, a lead Arkansas cut to two on a Matt Vinson RBI single in the sixth.
The No. 7 seeded Bulldogs will now advance to play No. 1 overall seed LSU on Wednesday (1 p.m. ET, Sports South). The winner of that game will face No. 4 seed Kentucky, who defeated Ole Miss 2-0 in the first game of the day on Tuesday.
For more on the SEC baseball tournament stay tuned to this Storystream and SB Nation's SEC blog Team Speed Kills.
