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College  | Story  | 5/27/2016

Tigers continue to roll in SEC

Matt Czechanski      Chris King      Blake Dowson      Jheremy Brown      Patrick Ebert     
Photo: LSU Athletics




Perfect Game Top 25 | Conference Championships Hub | Field of 64 (May 18) | Video Vault
Conference Championship Recaps: Day 1 - Tuesday | Day 2 - Wednesday


SEC Tournament

No. 2 Texas A&M 4, No. 7 South Carolina 1

The first of the higher seeds to get bounced from the tournament, South Carolina, took an uninspiring 4-1 loss at the hands of the Aggies. A&M will advance as one of the final six games and play Vanderbilt on Friday.

The star for the Aggies was sophomore Brigham Hill who tossed a masterful seven innings on the mound allowing one unearned run on five hits and three walks, while striking out eight batters.

Hill, stands at 6-foot, 195-pounds with a long, loose arm action from a three-quarters slot. He got downhill exceptionally well and threw really easily with a super fluid action. He used a short, quick stride to the plate with sound lower half mechanics and got good extension down the mound. He stayed tall through his backside and showed upper level athleticism on and off the mound.




The draft-eligible sophomore utilized a fastball that ranged between 90-93 mph over the course of his outing with subtle arm-side run. He has good arm speed, above average and used it with his fastball and replicated with his changeup. His change is the far more advanced of his two secondary offerings with good deception from the same slot topping out at 84 with good fade low and out of the zone. He was confident in the pitch and threw it frequently, doubling hitters up with it. Hill also featured an 11-to-5 shaped curveball at 80 mph that showed more as a get-me-over offering. What he did was mix his pitches exceptionally well and show high levels of pitchibility.

Opposing Hill on the mound for the Gamecocks was freshman righthander Braden Webb. Webb stands at a very athletic 6-foot-2, 195-pounds with lots of room to fill and continue to add strength. He showed a short, compact arm action and a clean hand separation. He showed above average arm speed and created good angel downhill. He coiled well through his hips and had good lower half drive as well.

Webb worked 90-93 mph to open the game and then saw his velocity jump to 93-95 mph and touched 96 in the fifth inning. He had good wiggle to his fastball and it rates as an above average to plus pitch. He also mixed in a changeup with fade at 85 and a curveball with 11-to-5 bend at 76. The curveball broke up out of his hand, but did flash sharpness. At foot strike, Webb hooks his arm behind his head and that hurts his command at present. With such young age and projection left, he’ll be one to watch in the coming years.

Senior outfielder Jonathan Moroney stands at an athletic 6-foot-3, 215-pounds with good strength and bat speed. He knocked in one of the four Aggie runs on the day with a single in the second inning. That was one of his three hits he collected on the day with a simple, line drive swing and good feel for timing.


No. 5 Florida 4, Alabama 4

In a game that teetered back and forth consistently, the Gators behind a strong spot start from Brandon Singer, as well as a three-hit day at the plate from Mike Rivera, advanced with a 5-4 win over Alabama, knocking the Crimson Tide from the tournament. The Gators next game will come on Friday.

The initially scheduled starter, Logan Shore did not pitch, but freshman righthander Brandon Singer stepped up with a strong six-inning performance. Singer did not miss many bats, but what he did successfully was pitch to contact with 13 of his recorded outs coming on the ground.




Singer has a very long, lean projectable build as he’s listed at 6-foot-5, 190-pounds with endless room to add strength and durability. He’s also highly athletic on the mound and fields his position exceptionally well. It was a longer arm action, but a small arm circle with a quick stab at the end. It was a really effortless, clean action without much effort. He threw from a three-quarters arm slot with plus arm speed and good extension downhill.

His repertoire included a 93-96 mph sinker with tons of heavy life. When thrown lower in the zone it allowed him to do what he did best, generate groundballs, but when left up he found barrels and saw it flatten out. Singer mixed in a changeup with arm side fade and good depth at 90 mph, as well as a slider at 81 mph with 10-to-4 shape. The slider would flash as a plus pitch Both secondary pitches could be refined further, but the writing is on the wall for Singer to follow in the line of top Florida arms.

The pair of Alabama hitters that delivered in their big three-run second inning were Daniel Cucjen, who kept his hands inside on a fastball and delivered a two-run double, as well as Hunter Webb, who took an elevated fastball to the left-center field gap. That gave the Crimson Tide a 3-1 advantage after two innings.

The Gators stormed back in the top half of the third to jump back on top. Starting with Buddy Reed and Dalton Guthrie walks, J.J. Schwarz and Jonathan India punched groundball base hits through the left side to drive in runs. Deacon Liput plated their fourth run of the game on a fielder’s choice.

A key cog in the Gators’ offense Thursday was sophomore catcher/designated hitter Mike Rivera. After turning in a gritty performance in Wednesday night’s marathon game against LSU in which he caught all 14 innings, he was relieved of his catching duties for the day game. With less defensive pressure, Rivera continued to show a strong feel for barrel timing and strength in his swing. He generates good torque through his lower half and drives the ball consistently around the field.

Sophomore J.J. Schwarz did impress with the catching opportunity popping a sub 2.00 to nab a would-be base runner and showing an exceptionally strong arm behind the plate. It was a lightning quick transfer and he gained ground well on the throw.

Things moved quickly until the bottom of the seventh. Singer was removed after allowing a walk and hit by pitch with no outs. Connor Short earned a pinch hit chance with the game on the line and delivered with a single through the right side to tie the game.

After a Mike Rivera base hit, Danny Reyes delivered his second double of the game in what was only his third start of the season. The base hit brought Rivera around to score and make it 5-4, which would hold.

Florida sent out their closer, 6-foot-5, 230-pound junior, Shaun Anderson. Anderson showed impressive arm speed and a physical presence on the mound. He threw only sliders between 84-86 with tight 10-to-4 break. The pitch easily grades as plus with nasty spin that helped him collect a pair of strikeouts in route to the save.


No. 10 Ole Miss 12, No. 9 Vanderbilt 9

Ole Miss continued their torrid stretch on Wednesday with a big 12-9 upset over Vanderbilt and their ace starting pitcher, Jordan Sheffield. They advance to the seminfals on Saturday and will take on the winner of the Texas A&M and Vanderbilt matchup played Friday.

Vandy starter Jordan Sheffield, a former PG All-American, came in with first round promise after an exceptional sophomore season. He tossed a perfect first inning and then ran into problems as the middle of the Rebel order tagged him for four runs. Cameron Dishon opened things up with a two-run double that came loud off the bat.


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