SEC Baseball: Florida, Mississippi State Take Division Leads

Mar 12, 2017; Nashville, TN, USA; SEC logo on the goal post inside Bridgestone Arena prior to the championship game of the SEC Conference Tournament between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Arkansas Razorbacks. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 12, 2017; Nashville, TN, USA; SEC logo on the goal post inside Bridgestone Arena prior to the championship game of the SEC Conference Tournament between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Arkansas Razorbacks. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

There was a lot of movement in the SEC baseball standings this weekend. (7) Florida and (6) Mississippi State are now leading their respective divisions.

Mississippi State (32-17, 16-8) took advantage of their opportunities this weekend, taking two-of-three from (20) Texas A&M (34-15, 14-10). The Aggies took game one from the Bulldogs, with help from Braden Shewmake’s grand slam. The Bulldogs took the next two games, sealing the series.

Mississippi State entered the weekend tied with no. 13 Auburn (32-17, 14-10) for the lead in the SEC West. Thanks to Alabama’s (18-29, 5-19) sweep of the Tigers, Mississippi State now leads no. 15 LSU (32-16, 15-9) by one game, and A&M and Auburn by two.

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On the other side of the conference, the no. 7 Florida Gators (35-13, 16-8) managed to move their way into first place this weekend. Florida swept Ole Miss (29-20, 11-13), their second straight conference sweep, and their ninth win in a row.

The Gators got unlikely help from a rival this weekend, as Georgia (19-29, 7-17) won the series against no. 9 Kentucky (32-16, 15-9). The Wildcats entered the weekend one game up on Florida, but were unable to continue their offensive success against Georgia. Florida now leads Kentucky by one game with two weekends to play.

As the season begins to wind down, battles for conference position are only going to heat up. Looking ahead to next weekend, our marquee matchup is (13) Auburn and (15) LSU, as both Tigers try to make a move on Mississippi State.