2023 SEC Baseball Reaches Halfway Point

SEC Baseball continues to heat up in competition. For the first time this season, all home teams won their respective series over the weekend.

The SEC divisional standings at the halfway point in conference play.

*Ties are alphabetical pic.twitter.com/56Rl3mdHNX

— SEC Baseball (@SECbaseball) April 17, 2023

Florida – Georgia

During Sunday’s match-up against the Georgia Bulldogs, Florida pitcher Brandon Neely had a massive strikeout after what was a very close final game. Shortly after, Neely was ejected from the game due to his celebration.

One inning later, the Gators leading homerun hitter, Jac Caglianone hit a grand slam. With 21 home runs this season, Caglianone has been one to watch and a primary reason for Florida’s success.

The Gators closed the game 11-6 and pushed their record to 30-7. Georgia’s record now stands at 19-17.

https://twitter.com/SECNetwork/status/1647697184677044226?s=20

Florida’s record: 30-7 (11-4 SEC)

RPI: 11

Home: 22-6

Road: 8-1

Georgia’s record: 19-17 (4-11 SEC)

RPI: 38

Home: 12-9

Road: 5-7

Vanderbilt – South Carolina

Despite a depleted pitching staff, No. 4 Vanderbilt persevered and secured a series win against South Carolina.

The Commodores had a tough start to the series, getting taken down 14-6. Nonetheless, they recovered and won 8-5 on Saturday and 6-4 on Sunday. Vanderbilt felt the absence of their starting pitcher Hunter Owen, who was out due to fatigue.

South Carolina put up a good fight throughout the weekend. The Gamecocks hit eight home runs across all three games, whereas the Commodores hit only three. Despite all odds, Vanderbilt’s strong defense kept their team alive and strong for the remainder of the series and took two of three games.

That's a series dub. #VandyBoys | #AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/l9vVJFcuVW

— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) April 16, 2023

Vanderbilt’s record: 29-7 (13-2 SEC)

RPI: 7

Home: 19-4

Road: 6-1

South Carolina’s record: 30-6 (10-4 SEC)

RPI: 2

Home: 20-1

Road: 8-5

Arkansas – Tennessee

No. 5 Arkansas took down the Tennessee Volunteers with a series sweep. Within each of the first two innings, the Razorbacks scored three runs on Tennessee’s starter Drew Beam. With this defeat, Tennessee have now lost three straight SEC series.

The Volunteers had three straight series against top 10 teams and went 2-7. During their game with Arkansas, they only scored seven runs across all three games.

Arkansas’ Dylan Carter had a commendable performance for the Razorbacks. Carter threw 4.2 scoreless innings and moved to 6-0 on the season. He threw a season-high of 73 pitches while working on six hits, striking out three.

https://twitter.com/SECNetwork/status/1647727290778894337?s=20

Arkansas’ record: 29-7 (11-4 SEC)

RPI: 5

Home: 24-3

Road: 3-3

Tennessee’s record: 23-13 (5-10 SEC)

RPI: 23

Home: 21-3

Road: 1-9