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What to Watch for: Race for the SEC Championship

By Cooper Ashcraft

Mar 12, 2017; Nashville, TN, USA; SEC logo on the goal post inside Bridgestone Arena prior to the championship game of the SEC Conference Tournament between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Arkansas Razorbacks. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 12, 2017; Nashville, TN, USA; SEC logo on the goal post inside Bridgestone Arena prior to the championship game of the SEC Conference Tournament between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Arkansas Razorbacks. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports /
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As we head into the final two weekends of the regular season, contributor Cooper Ashcraft dives into the things to keep an eye on with teams battling for the SEC regular season crown.

The College baseball regular season is coming to an end with just two more weekends of SEC play remaining and the race for first place couldn’t be any tighter. Four teams — Mississippi State, Florida, Kentucky, and LSU — are all within one game of first place. Three others — Arkansas, Auburn, and Texas A&M — are within two games.

Sunday capped a wild weekend in SEC play that saw an Auburn team come into the weekend tied with Mississippi State and Kentucky for first place, get swept by the last place Crimson Tide at home. Kentucky, on the other hand, dropped a pair of games at home to a thirteenth place Georgia club. Florida was able to sweep Ole Miss at home and move into a tie with Mississippi State for the top spot in the league.

Mississippi State was able to distance themselves from Texas A&M after taking two of three in College Station, while LSU continued their surge in the standings by taking two of three from South Carolina at home. The Tigers have won five of their last six SEC games.

Something very unusual occurred this weekend in the Arkansas vs Tennessee series that could cause shock waves throughout the league when it’s all said and done. The series was scheduled to be played on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, but rain cancelled the games scheduled for Thursday and Friday. Due to the weather, the two teams concluded game one on Saturday morning and played a seven inning game after the conclusion of game one. Game three was cancelled. This one less game played could have major effects on SEC tournament seeding as Arkansas fights for the top of the SEC and Tennessee looks to keep their season alive by making the conference tournament.

Florida (35-14,16-8 SEC) and Mississippi State (32-17,16-8 SEC) will play the last place teams in each other’s divisions, Georgia (19-29, 7-17 SEC) and Alabama (18-29, 5-19 SEC), this weekend. The two teams tied for first place in the conference will finish the season with the second place teams in their own divisions: LSU and Kentucky. If everything goes as expected (which it rarely does in the SEC), the top spot will likely be decided in the final weekend when the top four teams in the league all play one another: Kentucky at Florida and LSU at Mississippi State.

This time last week Auburn (32-17, 14-10 SEC) was tied with the Bulldogs for first in the West, but after dropping all three games to Alabama this weekend, the Tigers are in a must win situation on the road at LSU (32-16, 15-9 SEC).  Not only to stay near the top of the league, but to stay in the conversation to host a regional. Auburn will host Ole Miss (29-20, 11-13 SEC) to close out the regular season.

On the other hand, LSU will be looking to take the series over Auburn to enter next weekend’s series against Mississippi State either tied or within a game of the Bulldogs to decide the SEC champion.

Kentucky (32-16, 15-9 SEC) will host Tennessee (24-19, 7-15 SEC) this weekend — where they will look to stay within striking distance of Florida before heading to Gainesville for a showdown of two of the premier ball clubs in the SEC.

Arkansas (35-13, 14-9 SEC) looks to stay near the top of the league when they host Vanderbilt (29-18, 12-11 SEC) this weekend, and Texas A&M (34-15, 14-10 SEC) looks to do the same as they travel to Oxford to take on Ole Miss. Arkansas and A&M will face off in College Station to close out the regular season.

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Get ready for a wild ride over the next two weekends in SEC play with seven teams within striking distance of first place in the league. The SEC remains one of the premier conferences in collegiate baseball, placing seven teams in the top 25, leading all other conferences. The SEC regular season championship usually takes until the final weekend to decide, but this may be the craziest finishes in recent memory.

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