The SEC enters their second weekend of conference play with the Florida Gators leading the SEC Eastern Division with a perfect 3-0 record. Kentucky, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt are all tied for second with 2-1 records while Georgia and Tennessee are tied for fifth place with 1-2 marks. The Western Division is led by the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers who have identical 2-1 records. Arkansas, Ole Miss and Mississippi State are tied for third place with 1-2 records while the LSU Tigers round out the division without recording a win in their first three games.
The biggest series of the weekend in the SEC will take place in Gainesville between the defending national champion South Carolina and number 1 ranked Florida Gators. The Gamecocks are coming into the weekend on a four game winning streak taking the final two games of their series with Georgia before defeating College of Charleston and URI in mid-week series. The Gators on the other hand enter the series on a 10 game winning streak including last weekend’s sweep of LSU in Baton Rouge and two midweek victories over Winthrop.
The only other series featuring two ranked squads sees the Vanderbilt Commodores head to Fayetteville to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks. The best pitching matchup of the weekend is on Friday night between Sonny Gray who sports a 5-0 record with a 1.34 ERA taking on Arkansas lefty Cade Lynch who is 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA.
The other weekend matchups sees the LSU Tigers heading to Athens, GA to take on the Georgia Bulldogs. The Tigers will be looking for their first SEC victory on the year in the series after getting swept last weekend by Florida. Auburn will head to Mississippi State, Kentucky plays at Alabama, and Tennessee will host Ole Miss.
#6 South Carolina (16-4, 2-1 SEC) at #1 Florida (20-2, 3-0 SEC)
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: USC Jr. LHP Michael Roth (4-1, 1.34 ERA) vs UF So. LHP Brian Johnson (4-0, 1.53 ERA)
Saturday: USC Jr. LHP Steven Neff (2-0, 2.49 ERA) vs UF So. RHP Hudson Randall (3-0, 0.85 ERA)
Sunday: USC TBA vs UF Fr. RHP Karsten Whitson (3-0, 2.52 ERA)
Prediction
Brian Foley: Florida 2-1
#2 Vanderbilt (20-2, 2-1 SEC) at #12 Arkansas (17-4, 1-2 SEC)
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: VU Jr. RHP Sonny Gray (5-0, 1.34 ERA) vs Ark So. LHP Cade Lynch (2-0, 2.70 ERA)
Saturday: VU Jr. LHP Grayson Garvin (3-1, 2.78 ERA) vs Ark Fr. RHP Barrett Astin (2-0, 2.95 ERA)
Sunday: VU Sr. RHP Taylor Hill (1-0, 3.25 ERA) vs Ark TBA
Prediction
Brian Foley: Vanderbilt 2-1
#10 LSU (16-5, 0-3 SEC) at Georgia (9-12, 1-2 SEC)
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: LSU Fr. RHP Kurt McCune (3-0, 1.15 ERA) vs UGA So. LHP Alex Wood (2-2, 3.60 ERA)
Saturday: LSU Fr. RHP Kevin Gausman (2-1, 2.76 ERA) vs UGA Jr. RHP Michael Palazzone (2-1, 2.64 ERA)
Sunday: LSU Sr. RHP Ben Alsup (3-2, 3.42 ERA) vs UGA Jr. LHP Craig Gullickson (1-1, 6.00 ERA)
Prediction
Brian Foley: Georgia 2-1
#22 Auburn (14-7, 2-1 SEC) at Mississippi State (15-6, 1-2 SEC)
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: AU Jr. LHP Cory Luckie (1-1, 4.50 ERA) vs MSU Jr. RHP Devin Jones (2-3, 3.03 ERA)
Saturday: AU Jr. RHP Will Irvin (3-0, 3.70 ERA) vs MSU So. RHP Chris Stratton (3-1, 2.38 ERA)
Sunday: AU Jr. RHP Derek Varnadore (3-0, 3.09 ERA) vs MSU TBA
Prediction
Brian Foley: Auburn 2-1
Kentucky (14-8, 2-1 SEC) at Alabama (15-7, 2-1 SEC)
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: UK Jr. RHP Alex Meyer (3-2, 2.60 ERA) vs UA Sr. RHP Nathan Kilcrease (2-1, 2.30 ERA)
Saturday: UK So. RHP Jordan Cooper (1-1, 5.40 ERA) vs UA Jr. LHP Adam Morgan (3-1, 4.23 ERA)
Sunday:UK So. LHP Taylor Rogers (2-1, 4.45 ERA) vs UA So. RHP Tucker Hawley (4-1, 2.67 ERA)
Prediction
Brian Foley: Kentucky 2-1
Ole Miss (16-6, 1-2 SEC) at Tennessee (17-4, 1-2 SEC)
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: OM Jr. LHP Matt Crouse (5-0, 1.34 ERA) vs UT Jr. LHP Steven Gruver (3-1, 2.08 ERA)
Saturday: OM Jr. RHP David Goforth (0-3, 2.87 ERA) vs UT Sr. RHP Rob Catapano (2-0, 3.27 ERA)
Sunday:Jr. LHP Austin Wright (2-2, 3.95 ERA) vs Jr. RHP Levi Dean (4-0, 1.35 ERA)
Prediction
Brian Foley: Ole Miss 2-1
