Easter weekend provided another exciting go-around of college baseball matchups, specifically in the SEC, including two top-five ranked teams falling.
Here’s what you need to know:
Kentucky wins series at No. 4 Tennessee
For the first time in nearly a decade, Kentucky baseball is heading home with a series win in Knoxville.
The Wildcats capped a gritty Easter weekend with an 8-2 victory over No. 4 Tennessee, clinching the series 2-1 and earning their first road series win against the Vols since 2016.
Behind a composed start from Ben Cleaver and a late offensive effort, Kentucky (22-15, 8-10 SEC) broke open a close game with five runs across the final two innings. Cleaver tossed seven strong frames, striking out seven while limiting Tennessee (33-7, 12-6) to two runs on five hits.
The Vols’ early miscues set the tone. A wild pitch, a pair of walks, and a fielding error helped Kentucky take a 3-0 lead through four innings. Hunter Ensley’s two-run homer in the sixth cut the deficit to 3-2, but the Wildcats silenced any comeback hopes with a three-run eighth and two more in the ninth.
PATTY!!@DylanKoontz3 with an RBI groundout and @PatrickcHerrera with a soft liner into no man’s land.
T8 | UK 5, TENN 2 pic.twitter.com/JJGJ81jaZT
— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) April 20, 2025
Griffin Cameron came off the bench to provide a spark with a pinch-hit RBI double in the ninth, while Carson Hansen went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Devin Burkes added two hits, a stolen base and an RBI, and Patrick Herrera drove in another with a base hit.
On the mound, Simon Gregersen recorded the final six outs to close out Kentucky’s most impressive win of the season.
It was a rough day for the Vols’ pitching staff, which dealt three walks and allowed 11 hits. Freshman starter Tegan Kuhns was chased after just 1.2 innings, and Tennessee committed two costly errors on defense.
With the series win, Kentucky now owns four victories over top-10 teams and continues to climb after facing one of the SEC’s toughest opening stretches. The Cats have now won five of their last six games overall.
Texas A&M stays hot, wins series over No. 2 Arkansas
Texas A&M continued its red-hot play in April, collecting a 2-1 series win over No. 2 Arkansas after a monstrous performance by junior center fielder Jace Laviolette. The victory marks the Aggies second top-two ranked series win of the month, both on the road.
After splitting the first two games, the two teams settled the score in the rubber match.
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, Laviolette did the heavy lifting early for Texas A&M with two home runs in the first and fifth inning, and the Razorbacks answered with two runs off sac flies. Entering the sixth, the Aggies led 3-2. That’s when TAMU turned it up a notch in Baum-Walker Stadium.
They scored six unanswered runs, three in the seventh and ninth, to shut the door on Arkansas. Junior second baseman Ben Royo started the 6-0 run with a home run to right center field, while graduate third baseman Wyatt Henseler hit a sac fly and sophomore catcher Bear Harrison hit a two-out RBI single to right center.
Bear comes through with a two-out RBI single!#GigEm | @bearharrison32 pic.twitter.com/egXE3W9xj5
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) April 19, 2025
Texas A&M would go on to win 9-2 and six players ended with at least one RBI by the end of the contest. The Aggies had 10 base runners in the last three innings compared to the Razorbacks’ three. Redshirt sophomore right-hander Luke Jackson was elite in the finale, striking out five in the last third and two-thirds innings and giving up zero runs.
Laviolette played on a different level in the series, batting .417 with four home runs, seven RBIs and eight runs. Quietly, TAMU has turned its season around after a subpar start. They’ve won nine of their last 10 games, and three straight series wins, including then-No. 1 Tennessee.
LATEST POWER RANKINGS: Texas moves to No. 1, LSU tumbles in Week 9 college baseball Power 10
No. 19 Vanderbilt sweeps No. 5 Georgia
No. 19 Vanderbilt showcased its best series performance of the season yet, sweeping No. 5 Georgia to win its first-ranked series of the season.
The Commodores gave the Bulldogs, who’ve overpowered most opponents, a taste of their own medicine, outscoring Georgia 21-10 over the three games. And it all started on the back of junior left-hander JD Thompson’s pitching performance in game one.
After giving up a home run in the first inning, Vanderbilt’s ace settled in and set the series tone, striking out 14 over eight innings of work. The Commodores went on to win 3-1 and Thompson’s 14 strikeouts were the most by any Vanderbilt pitcher in over three years.
Eight innings. 14 strikeouts. One run allowed.
Standing ovation for @JDThompson_33 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/J2DGDs7yhN
— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) April 18, 2025
The Commodores took a page out of UGA’s book in game two, hitting four home runs and a seven RBI masterclass by freshman third baseman Brodie Johnston. They won 13-7, highlighted by a six-run sixth inning.
Vanderbilt put it all together in the final matchup of the series, shutting down Georgia’s bats and successfully executing with runners in scoring position.
Besides a two-out, two-run big fly by junior Riley Nelson in the fifth, the Commodores scored their other three runs by fielder’s choice, an RBI single and sac bunt — the latter two in the seventh. The RBI single and sac bunt gave Vanderbilt a 5-2 lead entering the eighth, and senior right-hander Sawyer Hanks earned his sixth save of the season, striking out two and giving up zero runs to the seven batters he faced.
The series sweep marks the Commodores’ second over a top-five opponent since the 2023 season.
No. 16 Oregon takes series over No. 10 UCLA
No. 16 Oregon bounced back on Easter Sunday with a statement win, riding a late offensive surge to defeat No. 10 UCLA, 10-6, and take the series 2-1 at PK Park.
After being run-ruled in Saturday’s loss, the Ducks (27-11, 14-7 Big Ten) responded with 12 hits, three home runs and four insurance runs in the eighth to pull away from the Bruins (29-10, 13-5). Mason Neville led the charge with a 3-for-4 day, including a three-run homer in the fourth and a double in the eighth, while Jacob Walsh and Anson Aroz combined for four hits and three RBIs.
It was a back-and-forth game early. UCLA took a 4-2 lead in the top of the fourth thanks to a solo homer from Carson Martin and a pair of RBIs from Dean West and Roch Cholowsky. But Oregon flipped the momentum in the home half of the inning. Aroz launched a solo shot before Neville’s three-run bomb gave the Ducks a 6-4 lead they wouldn’t give up.
The Bruins chipped away with runs in the sixth and eighth, but Oregon’s bullpen held firm. Reliever Logan Mattox entered in the eighth with the tying run on base and got the Ducks out of a jam, then retired the side in the ninth to secure the win.
𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆
True Freshman @LeeMabeus unties the game on the first pitch he sees with a solo shot. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/adn0nsYRGf
— Oregon Duck Baseball (@OregonBaseball) April 21, 2025
Oregon broke it open in the bottom of the eighth. Blake Mabeus crushed a solo homer to left, Walsh drove in two more with a single, and Devin Smith added a sacrifice fly to make it 10-6.
The Ducks outhit UCLA 12-11, and each of Oregon’s top five hitters reached base at least twice. The Bruins stranded 11 runners and were held scoreless over the final inning and a half.
The win marks Oregon’s fifth over a top-10 opponent this season and adds another series victory to its resumé.
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