Hogs blow past top-seeded Gators for 8-2 victory

HOOVER, Ala. — No. 4 seed Arkansas defeated No. 1 seed Florida 8-2 to clinch a semifinal berth in the SEC baseball tournament.

Arkansas freshman Casey Martin continued his SEC tournament hot streak, launching a two-run shot in the second to put the Razorbacks in front. Martin hit two home runs in Wednesday’s game against South Carolina.

With one out and two runners on base in the third, Florida’s Nelson Maldonado knocked the ball into center field, where Dominic Fletcher made a diving catch and then showed off his arm by throwing out the runner at third to end the inning.

Fletcher delivered at the plate too, extending the Hogs’ lead in the sixth with an RBI single. Razorbacks senior Jared Gates also hit a single in the sixth to tack on another run.

The Gators’ first run came from a sixth-inning home run by SEC Player of the Year Jonathan India, his 17th homer of the season. UF’s Austin Langworthy cut the Razorbacks’ lead to 4-2 with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly.

With Florida looking to rally, Razorbacks LHP Matt Cronin struck out Brady Smith to strand the Gators’ two tying runs.

Hunter Wilson blasted a grand slam in the top of the ninth to add some insurance for the Razorbacks. With Auburn’s Edouard Julien and South Carolina’s LT Tolbert hitting grand slams on Wednesday, this marks the first time in SEC tournament history with three grand slams in the same year.

Arkansas starter Blaine Knight improved to 10-0 on the season. The right-hander threw four strikeouts across six innings, allowing just one run and four hits.

UP NEXT: The Razorbacks advanced to Saturday’s second semifinal game. The Gators face No. 8 seed LSU in an elimination game tonight at approximately 7:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network.