It’s finally that time of the year, conference baseball tournament time. Much like in college basketball, teams run in the postseason usually begins in the conference tournament, regardless of their performance leading up to the tournament. For many teams, this is where the Cinderella story begins on the road to Omaha.
The SEC Baseball Tournament is one of the premier baseball tournaments in the nation. It is only open to the top eight teams of the twelve team conference and is played at the home field, Regions Park, of the Double-A White Sox affiliate, Birmingham Barons. The tournament spans over the next five days and is in double-elimination format.
Each game will be broadcast live on television and radio. If you are in the northwest Arkansas area, Cox Sports Television (Ch. 119) will be carrying the games. Also, in addition to the television coverage, all games will be streamed live at ESPN3.com and aired nationwide at XM Satellite Radio (Ch. 199) and Sirius (Ch. 214). In other words if you are a college baseball fan, chances are you will be watching this tournament because history shows that the SEC will send at least one of its teams to the College World Series in Omaha.
Here is a brief preview of each of the first day’s games:
#2 Auburn vs. #7 Alabama
Who would have guessed that this big rivalry would match up for the very first game of the 2010 SEC Tournament. The only downside to this game is of its early start time, 9:30 a.m. I’m not sure that the fans in the state of Alabama will be awake enough to create the environment needed for this large of a game, but then again it is a rivalry that dates back many years. Prove me wrong Alabama!
The Tigers come into this game playing their best baseball in years as they secured their first spot in the tournament since the 2003 season, let alone their first SEC West title since the 1995 season. They hold the league’s most potent offense, leading the SEC in batting average (.354), slugging percentage (.597), on base percentage (.430), runs scored (527), hits (724), RBI (493), home runs (114) and total bases (1,221).
However if any team is going to stop this offense, it might be Alabama as they have a pitching staff that has seen an amazing turnaround over the last six games. Junior RHPs Jimmy Nelson and Nathan Kilcrease have pitched nine innings in each of their last two starts, with three complete games. The duo has worked 36 innings and allowed nine runs (8 ER) on 23 hits with 30 strikeouts and six walks.
Favorite: Auburn – almost any great offense in college baseball can thrive against decent college pitching.
#3 South Carolina vs. #6 Ole Miss
The Gamecocks reached the conference tournament for the 14th consecutive season under head coach Ray Tanner. That’s 14 straight appearances, the longest current streak for any SEC school. USC is led by junior outfielder, Jackie Bradley Jr., who leads the team with a .364 average, with nine HRs and 43 RBIs. His average is also good for ninth in the SEC and has killer speed on the basepaths.
The Rebels have one of the best pitchers in the nation in Drew Pomeranz. Pomeranz holds a 7-2 record on the season and leads the conference in strikeouts (127) and ERA (2.39). There is no doubt that with a much lower seed than usual, the Rebels are putting all their marbles in for this first game in hopes of knocking off the Gamecocks in the first round.
Favorite: Ole Miss – Hard to go against the soon-to-be first round draft pick, Drew Pomeranz.
#1 Florida vs. #8 LSU
Florida freshman left-hander Brian Johnson (5-2, 3.62) will oppose LSU junior right-hander Anthony Ranaudo (3-2, 8.49). Johnson was 4-2 with a 3.00 ERA in his nine league starts, with 30 strikeouts and 10 walks. Johnson has totaled 42 K and issued 11 walks and four of his five wins on the mound came in league action.
However, the Tigers are sending a potential MLB first-round pick to the mound in Anthony Ranaudo. Ranaudo has been plagued by injuries this year, but came up clutch in last year’s tournament, where the Tigers are the defending champions. LSU does have the second best offense in the SEC (.317), but their pitching has the fourth highest ERA in the conference (5.70).
Favorite: Florida – Its hard to deny a team that has played well all year long, even against the defending national champions.
#4 Arkansas vs. #5 Vanderbilt
A rematch of just the week before, where the Hogs won their first series against the Commedores over the last three series and seems to be riding a little bit of momentum. However, the injury bug has plagued this team again heading into the postseason as they could possibly be without their top two pitchers, Drew Smyly and Brett Eibner, to minor injuries.
VU will be sending their top pitcher to the mound, Sonny Gray, who stymied the Hogs in the first game of their regular season series, good for his eighth win of the year and allowing only three runs on seven hits through eight innings. As a team, the Commedores lead the league in ERA (3.66) and are third in batting average (.316).
Favorite: Vanderbilt – Being from Arkansas, its hard to pick against the hometown team, but with so many injuries, including the possibility of All-American Zack Cox not playing, I think Sonny Gray will pitch the gem that his team needs to advance to round two and send Arkansas to the losers bracket.
For all coverage and updates of this year’s tournament, check back with us everyday here at uatvonline.net. Also, follow our brand-new sports only Twitter feed @UATVsports, for game finals and in-game updates of the Arkansas-Vanderbilt game.