Programs in the SEC keep knocking one another from the top spot in college baseball. Another Monday brings a new No. 1 in the top 25 polls, with Texas taking over the catbird’s seat. For LSU (31-6), the Tigers tumbled after Auburn broke out the brooms on The Plains.
Baseball America dropped the Tigers five spots from third to eighth. The top 4 in order are Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, then Arkansas. The first three mentioned each won two out of three in the weekend series, with Arkansas losing to Georgia. Auburn grabbed the seventh spot ahead of LSU.
Perfect Game dropped LSU from the No. 4 spot to No. 10. Texas was No. 1 followed by Clemson, Georgia, Arkansas, Tennessee then Auburn. Ole Miss (12), Alabama (20) and Oklahoma (21) rounded out SEC schools in the top 25.
Texas also sat atop the D1 Baseball Top 25. Seven SEC schools landed in the top 11, including Arkansas (2), Tennessee (4), Georgia (5), Auburn (7), LSU (9) and Ole Miss (11). Alabama (15), Oklahoma (18) and Vanderbilt (19) also grabbed spot in this week’s rankings.
Texas took two-of-three at Kentucky last weekend, while Tennessee did the same at Ole Miss. Georgia won the series against Arkansas and Oklahoma edged out Vandy. LSU, South Carolina and Missouri were all winless in league play.
After 15 conference games, the Longhorns sit in first place with a 13-2 SEC record, followed by Arkansas (12-3), Tennessee (11-4), Georgia (10-5) and LSU (10-5). Texas hosts Auburn this weekend for a big series in Austin. Below is a look at the league standings after five weekends of play.
Texas (13-2, 29-5)
Arkansas (12-3, 32-5)
Tennessee (11-4, 31-5)
Georgia (10-5, 32-6)
LSU (10-5, 31-6)
Auburn (9-6, 26-10)
Ole Miss (9-6, 27-9)
Alabama (8-7, 29-8)
Vanderbilt (8-7, 26-10)
Oklahoma (7-8, 25-10)
Kentucky (6-9, 19-14)
Texas A&M (6-9, 20-15)
Mississippi State (5-10, 22-14)
Florida (4-11, 24-14)
South Carolina (2-13, 20-17)
Missouri (0-15, 12-23)
The Tigers are at home over the next two weeks, with No. 21 Alabama coming to town for a Thursday-Saturday series this week, followed by a Friday-Sunday series with No. 4 Tennessee at The Box. A road trip to College Station kicks off the festivities in May, with a home series against No. 2 Arkansas and a road trip to South Carolina closing out the regular season slate.
LSU has to get back on track at the plate after going 20-for-101, hitting just .198 against Auburn, including 4-for-27 with runners in scoring position for a .148 batting average, leaving 25 runners on. As Glen West noted, the trio of Derek Curiel, Jared Jones and Daniel Dickinson batted just 10-of-39 (.256) with four RBI, all of which came in the Friday game. It was a down weekend for the majority of the offense, but those three guys are the ones who need to set the tone every weekend at the plate.
Arkansas leads the league with a .327 batting average as LSU has dipped to second, hitting at a .317 clip. The Tigers continue to pace the league with 87 doubles but are tenth with 54 homers. LSU’s pitching staff is third in the SEC with a 3.51 ERA and fifth at opponent’s batting average (.216).
LSU returns to action on Tuesday against McNeese State at Alex Box Stadium, with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m.
