Home CBD Column SEC Weekend Preview (April 2nd-4th)

SEC Weekend Preview (April 2nd-4th)

by Brian Foley
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The SEC enters the third weekend of conference action with a couple of good matchups. The biggest series takes place in Gainesville between the Florida Gators and the Vanderbilt Commodores. The Auburn and Alabama series features two squads that have struggled over the last week. Auburn enters the weekend after losing on the road at Troy on Wednesday by a score of 5-4 while Alabama lost to UAB on Wednesday by a score of 6-4. The other matchups this weekend see Kentucky visiting Arkansas, Georgia going to LSU, Mississippi State heading to South Carolina, and Ole Miss hosting Tennessee.

 

Auburn (17-8, 4-2 SEC) at Alabama (17-7, 2-4 SEC)

Auburn
Players to Watch
Brian Fletcher (.398 BA, 9 HR, 33 RBI)
Hunter Morris (.396 BA, 8 HR, 32 RBI)

Pitcher to Watch
Cole Nelson (4-1, 3.12 ERA, .222 BAA)

Alabama
Players to Watch

Taylor Dugas (.439 BA, 11-15 SB)
Josh Rutledge (.412 BA, 3 HR, 27 RBI)

Pitcher to Watch
Jimmy Nelson (4-0, 1.78 ERA, .219 BAA)

Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday (6 p.m. CT)- Auburn: So. LHP Cory Luckie (1-1, 8.84 ERA) vs Alabama: So. LHP Adam Morgan (3-0, 3.55 ERA)
Saturday (4 p.m. CT)- Auburn: Jr. LHP Cole Nelson (4-1, 3.12 ERA) vs Alabama Jr. RHP Jimmy Nelson (4-0, 1.78 ERA)
Sunday (2 p.m. CT)- Auburn TBA vs Alabama  TBA

Predictions
Brian Foley: Alabama 2-1
Allen Kha: Alabama 2-1
Sean McCarty: Alabama 2-1

Auburn Series Notes
Alabama Series Notes

Kentucky (17-9, 1-5 SEC) at Arkansas (20-5, 4-2 SEC)

Kentucky
Players to Watch
Chris Bisson (.383 BA, 2 HR, 17 RBI, 12-16 SB)
Chad Wright (.349 BA, 2 HR, 20 RBI, 7-9 SB)

Pitcher to Watch
Logan Darnell (3-2, 3.79 ERA)

Arkansas 
Players to Watch
Zach Cox (.414 BA, 5 HR, 27 RBI)
Andy Wilkins (.319 BA, 10 HR, 34 RBI)

Pitcher to Watch
Drew Smyly (2-0, 1.69 ERA)

Probable Starting Pitchers

Friday (6:30 p.m. CT)- UK Jr. LHP Logan Darnell (3-2, 3.79 ERA) vs. ARK Sr. RHP Mike Bolsinger (3-0, 3.18 ERA)
Saturday (2 p.m. CT)- UK Fr. LHP Taylor Rogers (3-2, 3.99 ERA) vs ARK So. LHP Drew Smyly (2-0, 1.69 ERA)
Sunday (1 p.m. CT)- UK So. RHP Alex Meyer (4-2, 6.15 ERA) vs ARK Jr. RHP Brett Eibner (2-2, 2.28 ERA) 

Predictions
Brian Foley: Arkansas 3-0
Allen Kha: Arkansas 3-0
Sean McCarty: Arkansas 2-1

Kentucky Series Notes
Arkansas Series Notes

Vanderbilt (23-4, 4-2 SEC) at Florida (18-6, 4-2 SEC)

Vanderbilt
Players to Watch
Bryan Johns (.388 BA, 12 RBI)
Brian Harris (.372 BA, 3 HR, 19 RBI)

Pitcher to Watch
Sonny Gray (4-2, 2.25 ERA)

Florida
Players to Watch
Austin Maddox (.382 BA, 7 HR, 33 RBI)
Preston Tucker (.359 BA, 4 HR, 20 RBI)

Pitcher to Watch
Alex Panteliodis (5-1, 2.01 ERA, .189 BAA)

Probable Starting Pitchers

Friday (6:30 p.m. ET) VU So. RHP Sonny Gray (4-2, 2.25 ERA) vs UF So. LHP Alex Panteliodis (5-1, 2.03 ERA)
Saturday (4 p.m. ET) VU Jr. RHP Taylor Hill (3-1, 2.55 ERA) vs UF Fr. LHP Brian Johnson (2-1, 3.42 ERA)
Sunday (1 p.m. ET) VU So. RHP Jack Armstrong (3-0, 4.70 ERA) vs UF Fr. RHP Hudson Randall (2-2, 5.00 ERA)

Predictions
Brian Foley: Florida 2-1
Allen Kha: Florida 2-1
Sean McCarty: Florida 2-1

Vanderbilt Series Notes
Florida Series Notes

Georgia (9-15, 1-5 SEC) at LSU (21-3, 5-1 SEC)

Georgia
Players to Watch
Zach Cone (.381 BA, 4 HR, 24 RBI)
Christian Glisson (.339 BA, 1 HR, 8 RBI)

Pitcher to Watch
Justin Grimm (2-2, 4.71 ERA)

LSU
Players to Watch
Leon Landry (.369 BA, 3 HR, 24 RBI)
Micah Gibbs (.367 BA, 4 HR, 26 RBI)

Pitcher to Watch
Anthony Ranaudo (NR, 0.00 ERA, 7 IP)

Probable Starting Pitchers

Friday (7:30 p.m. CT) [ESPNU] UGA Jr. RHP Justin Grimm (2-2, 4.71 ERA) vs LSU Jr. RHP Anthony Ranaudo (0-0, 0-00 ERA)
Saturday (4 p.m. CT) [FSN] UGA Sr. RHP Jeff Walters (0-2, 9.36 ERA) vs LSU Jr. RHP Austin Ross (3-1, 4.54 ERA)
Sunday (Noon CT) [CSS] UGA So. RHP Michael Palazzone (3-2, 7.48 ERA) vs LSU TBA 

Predictions
Brian Foley: LSU 3-0
Allen Kha: LSU 3-0
Sean McCarty: LSU 3-0

Georgia Series Notes
LSU Series Notes

Mississippi State (14-11, 2-4 SEC) at South Carolina (20-5, 5-1 SEC)

Mississippi State
Players to Watch
Connor Powers (.398 BA, 9 HR, 38 RBI)
Luke Adkins (.310 BA, 1 HR, 9 RBI)

Pitcher to Watch
Chris Stratton (2-3, 3.48 ERA)

South Carolina
Players to Watch
Whit Merrifield (.350 BA, 5 HR, 19 RBI)
Kyle Enders (.347 BA, 14 RBI)

Pitcher to Watch
Blake Cooper (4-0, 3.32 ERA, .211 BAA)

Probable Starting Pitchers

Friday (7 p.m. ET) MSU Fr. RHP Kendall Graveman (1-1, 6.20 ERA) vs SC Sr. RHP Blake Cooper (4-0, 3.32 ERA)
Saturday (4 p.m. ET) MSU Fr. RHP Chris Stratton (2-3, 3.48 ERA) vs SC Jr. RHP Sam Dyson (2-0, 4.15 ERA)
Sunday (2 p.m. ET) MSU TBA vs SC Sr. RHP Jay Brown (1-0, 3.38 ERA)

Predictions
Brian Foley: South Carolina 2-1
Allen Kha: South Carolina 3-0
Sean McCarty: South Carolina 3-0

Mississippi State Series Notes
South Carolina Series Notes

Tennessee (13-13, 0-6 SEC) at Ole Miss (20-6, 4-2 SEC)

Tennessee
Players to Watch
P.J. Polk (.354 BA, 4 HR, 19 RBI)
Cody Hawn (.322 BA, 4 HR, 21 RBI)

Pitcher to Watch
Stephen McCray (2-3, 1.98 ERA, .195 BAA)

Ole Miss
Players to Watch
Tim Ferguson (.346 BA, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 14-14 SB)
Alex Yarbrough (.337 BA, 18 RBI)

Pitcher to Watch
Drew Pomeranz (4-0, 1.23 ERA)

Probable Starting Pitchers

Friday (6:30 p.m. CT) UT Jr. LHP Bryan Morgado (2-2, 4.42 ERA) vs OM Jr. LHP Drew Pomeranz (4-0, 1.23 ERA)
Saturday (4 p.m. CT) UT Sr. RHP Stephen McCray (2-3, 1.89 ERA) vs OM Sr. RHP Aaron Barrett (6-0, 2.13 ERA)
Sunday (1:30 p.m. CT) UT So. LHP Steven Gruver (1-1, 4.76 ERA) vs OM TBA

Predictions
Brian Foley: Ole Miss 3-0
Allen Kha: Ole Miss 3-0
Sean McCarty: Ole Miss 3-0

Tennessee Series Notes
Ole Miss Series Notes

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