Florida looks to return to Omaha in 2017 (Photo by Michelle Bishop)
SEC baseball is set to kick off the season with a bang this weekend as there are several big matchups out-of-conference.
NCBWA has six SEC teams in the top 25, and four of them are in the top six, so it should be another strong year for the conference.
Statement Games
There are three matchups this weekend where unranked SEC teams are facing teams in the top 25.
Kentucky will travel to Chapel Hill to take on number nine North Carolina in what should be a great opening weekend matchup.
The Wildcats were 32-25 and 15-15 in the conference last year, but were bounced by Alabama in the first round of the SEC Tournament and missed out on the postseason.
Evan White was named a first team All-SEC player this preseason after hitting .376 with 5 home runs, 40 RBIs, and 44 runs in 2016. Zach Reks and Riley Mahan also return after hitting over .300 last year, so the Wildcats should be solid offensively.
Kyle Cody and Dustin Beggs will be huge losses to the pitching staff, so someone will have to step up in the rotation.
It would be quite the accomplishment if Kentucky is able to come away with two wins this weekend. Their offense will need to pile up some runs.
The next matchup involves Ole Miss hosting number 10 East Carolina. The Rebels finished 43-19 (18-12) last season and lost to Texas A&M in the semi-finals. Then they went two-and-out in the Oxford Regionals.
Ole Miss loses its top two hitters from last season, but they do return Tate Blackman who hit .322 with 48 runs, 3 home runs and 38 RBIs. Colby Bortles also returns after hitting 8 home runs and driving in 50 a year ago.
However, they lose their best starting pitcher from a year ago, so they will be breaking in a new rotation.
After the way last season ended, Ole Miss needs to get out to a good start in 2017. I think they have the ability to take two-of-three at home against a good East Carolina team.
I’m really looking forward to the matchup between Mississippi State and Texas Tech this weekend. The two teams will play twice, and they’ll also play two games with Western Illinois.
The Red Raiders won 47 games last year and were 19-5 in the Big 12 conference. They hosted a regional and won it, and then beat East Carolina at home in the Super Regionals to go to the College World Series where they won one and lost two – with their last loss coming to the eventual champs in Coastal Carolina.
Meanwhile, Mississippi State won 44 games themselves last year and swept the Starkville Regional before getting eliminated by the College World Series runner-up in Arizona during the Super Regionals.
They return a couple of key hitters to their lineup in Jake Mangum and Brent Rooker. Mangum hit .408 and scored 40 runs last year, while Rooker hit .324 with 11 home runs and 54 RBIs. They do lose one of the best starters in the country from last year in Dakota Hudson, as well as Alex Sexton. They’ll need to figure out their rotation soon with Texas Tech’s bats coming into town.
Good Matchups
South Carolina has a pretty difficult test to start the season hosting a UNC-Greensboro team that won 38 games last year. The Gamecocks are ranked fourth in the country to start this season after losing to Oklahoma State in the Super Regionals last year.
Alex Destino is the team’s leading hitter that is returning from last year after he hit .321 with 10 home runs and 59 RBIs. Adam Hill and Clarke Schmidt return to form a strong rotation after both guys posted ERAs under four last year. Schmidt struck out 129 batters in 111.1 innings.
The Bulldogs of Georgia will also have a tough matchup at home to start the season facing a College of Charleston team that won 31 games last year. Georgia won just 27 games in 2016, but did make the SEC Tournament where they lost to Ole Miss.
Michael Curry is back after hitting 11 home runs last year and driving in 34 runs, but they lost just about everyone in their starting rotation. This could be another bad year for the Bulldogs, and it will be tough for them to win two games this weekend.
Cupcake Games
Just like in college football, most teams start out the season against a lesser opponent to work out the kinks and prepare for conference play. There are several games of that nature in the SEC this weekend, so we’ll give a brief preview of each.
Auburn and Alabama were picked to finish last in the SEC West in the preseason poll, but both have a chance to get some easy wins this weekend against George Washington and Presbyterian respectively. Both programs need to come away with two wins this weekend. Anything less could signal a long season for that club.
The Razorbacks had a disastrous season last year winning just 26 games and failing to make the SEC Tournament with a 7-23 conference record – the worst in the conference. They’ll try to get things off on the right foot this weekend against Miami (Ohio).
Florida begins the season as the highest ranked SEC team coming in at number two, but we won’t learn much about them this weekend against William & Mary. This should be an easy sweep. The same can be said for 20th ranked Texas A&M as they go up against Bowling Green this weekend.
LSU will play host to Air Force and Army this weekend. And while it will be a good time to celebrate our troops, it should be an easy weekend for the fifth ranked Tigers.
Missouri won just nine conference games last year and are predicted to finish last in the SEC East. However, they have a chance to get some early wins as they face Eastern Michigan this weekend.
And finally, number seven Vanderbilt will travel to the Westcoast to play a San Diego team that went 27-29 last year. The Commodores swept San Diego to being last season, and I expect the same will happen this year; however, this time they will be the away team so I wouldn’t be surprised if they slip up and lose one.
All but four teams (Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri and Vanderbilt) will have their games carried on SEC Network plus this weekend.
Enjoy the first weekend of baseball!
