NCAA Baseball: SEC Series Review for Week Eight
By Ryan Wright
The outstanding play seen in the SEC during the 2012 college baseball season continued in week eight action. All the hype leading up to the top weekend series between LSU vs. Ole Miss, South Carolina vs. Arkansas, and Florida vs. Kentucky all lived up to the promises. There were even a few surprises along the way.
Not just SEC fans but all of college baseball was excited to see then No. 7 Florida take on No. 3 Kentucky. The matchup had national seeding implications along with divisional race ramifications.
The Gators were coming off a series loss at home to the Razorbacks and appeared to be losing steam as the season winds down.
Kentucky also entered the weekend slightly wounded after losing their first SEC series of their 2012 campaign to then SEC East last place team, Vanderbilt.
Kentucky had taken over first place from Florida with South Carolina slipping in for a share of the East. After the three-game set was finished, Florida regained their standings on the national scene and added drama to the last two weeks of SEC action by taking two of three from the Wildcats (5-3, 5-1, 1-2).
South Carolina bolstered their claim as a top five team by taking two of three in Fayetteville.
The Hogs found another way to lose a close game after having the Gamecocks down 6-0 Friday before USC came back to tie up Arkansas sending the game into extra frames.
South Carolina won game one 8-6 in 11, lost game two 7-6, but closed the series with a 10-7 victory.
LSU did all that was needed to maintain their top spot in the West and not lose ground in the national polls by beating Ole Miss 2-1 in Oxford.
The Rebels gave the Tigers a scare Friday before bowing out 4-3. Saturday Ole Miss rallied to tie the series 1-1 winning 7-4. But as the Tigers have done all season long, they found a way to win the decisive game winning series posting 12 runs on Sunday to the Rebels 3.
The LSU pitching staff deserves special consideration for holding the Rebels to 13 runs over a three-game series.
The same consideration is needed for the Georgia Bulldog staff after holding Auburn to 10 runs over the weekend. Georgia swept their first SEC series of the year winning 5-2, 6-5, and 9-3.
Vanderbilt continued their hot streak taking two of three on the road against in-state rival Tennessee. The Commodores dropped game one 8-2, but settled in to win Saturday and Sunday’s games 7-4 and 12-6.
The Vandy wins put the team three games ahead of Tennessee for last in the East helping their odds of making the SEC Tournament.
Mississippi State took two of three from Alabama pushing the Bulldogs into a tie with Arkansas for second place in the SEC West.
MSU and Arkansas are still mathematically alive for a shot at the SEC West divisional title but LSU appears to have wrapped up that race.
The big question left is who will win the SEC East. South Carolina followed by Kentucky and then Florida are one game apart from the other with six conference games to play.
This weekend the Wildcats get Alabama at home; count two if not three wins for Kentucky. Florida hosts a tough MSU team, a series that could go either way; smart money on a 2-1 series victory for the Gators. Newly appointed SEC East frontrunners, South Carolina, gets a tough draw against Georgia on the road.
The Bulldogs always find a way to win one game in a series. If Georgia does more than that the Gamecocks can say goodbye to the SEC East divisional title with LSU coming to town on the last week of conference play.
Kentucky closes with MSU while Florida takes on Auburn; both SEC East teams are on the road to close out their conference regular season.
SEC East (Overall Record, SEC Record)
Kentucky 36-12, 15-9
South Carolina 36-12, 16-8
Florida 35-13, 14-10
Georgia 28-20, 12-12
Vanderbilt 23-24, 11-13
Tennessee 23-24, 8-16
SEC West (Overall Record, SEC Record)
LSU 38-11, 16-8
Arkansas 34-15, 12-12
Auburn 25-22, 10-14
Mississippi State 29-18, 12-12
Ole Miss 31-18, 11-13
Alabama 18-30, 7-17
* Standings and records through May 7
SEC Players of the Week
JaCoby Jones, 2B, LSU
JaCoby Jones batted .400 (7-14) through four games last week for the Tigers. He had two extra base hits (one home run), seven RBI, one stolen base, and three runs.
Against Ole Miss Jones hit .417 for the series (5-12).
SEC Pitcher of the Week
Alex Wood, LHP, Georgia
Woods shut the mighty Auburn offense down on Friday tossing eight innings while only giving up two earned runs. His performance was highlighted by striking out 10 Tigers on the way to a 5-2 win.
Woods is now 6-1 with a 2.64 ERA on the season.
* SEC players of the week are selected by SECDigitalNetwork.com.