SEC Baseball Weekend Preview: Rivalries renewed


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We’ve reached the halfway point of the season, and it’s already time for another rivalry weekend. There are incredible matchups across seven of the eight series in the SEC. Then there’s whatever you want to call Missouri and South Carolina facing off in the furthest distance possible both geographically and in relevancy.

Don’t be surprised if one of those games ends in a tie since neither team has learned how to win.

RPI rankings

Whatever the RPI Rankings are smoking, I want some.

The latest RPI rankings were released on Thursday prior to the weekend. To say there were some surprises would be a massive understatement. While RPI doesn’t carry the same weight it once did in postseason resumes, it still offers a good indicator of which teams are truly strong and which might be paper tigers.

No. 2 – Alabama

No. 3 – Texas

No. 6 – Florida

No. 7 – Auburn

No. 12 – Mississippi State

No. 13 – Ole Miss

No. 16 – Texas A&M

No. 17 – Kentucky

No. 20 – Oklahoma

No. 23 – Georgia

No. 45 – Tennessee

No. 57 – Arkansas

No. 75 – LSU

No. 91 – Vanderbilt

No. 99 – South Carolina

No. 113 – Missouri

Best series

There are some really deserving match-ups this weekend, but Texas at Texas A&M is the best of the bunch.

There are so many storylines in this one that it should be absolute cinema at Blue Bell Park. Speaking of Blue Bell, the Aggies will try to make it a Rocky Road for Jim Schlossnagle in his first trip back to College Station.

You remember Schlossnagle. He’s like the Benedict Arnold of Texas. For a lot of people in that state, he’ll probably be the most hated man at the ballpark. And, that’s saying something considering Ted Cruz exists.

Texas will travel to a ranked opponent, yet again. This time they will be doing it in front of what might be the richest crowd in college baseball history. The ticket prices for this regular season matchup opened on the secondary market at $553. As of Thursday, some sets have risen to over $1,200. That oil money ain’t no joke, guys.

Upset alert

I’m a big believer in Georgia this season. They’re off to one of their best starts in the last two decades, and are fresh off a sweep over a top five opponent on the road.

This week they head back to Athens to host their biggest rival, Florida. The Gators have been wildly erratic and less consistently stable than decade old Ikea furniture. Their enigmatic season has been as perplexing as it has been entertaining.

Florida is fresh off a home series loss to Ole Miss in conference play. Their midweek, however, could not have gone any better. The Gators completed a series sweep over No. 5 Florida State. Florida is a very flawed and inconsistent team. There’s no reason they should go on the road and beat the conference leader and top five, Georgia Bulldogs. That’s exactly why it’ll probably end up happening.

Greatest idea since sliced bread and mini helmet ice cream

Whoever handles marketing for Texas Tech baseball deserves a raise, how has no one thought of this? Also raises an important question: which frat can actually rake in BP, and which one’s swinging like my nephew in tee ball, striking out every time but melting down if I’m not there?

The answer is KA. The answer is Sigma Nu.

Chris Marler

SEO Content Writer / Social Media Manager