SEC baseball power rankings: Chalk holds in week 10 of conference play
Week 10 of SEC baseball play was fairly chalky. The higher-ranked team in last week's power rankings won six of the seven series, with the only upset being No. 4 Tennessee over No. 3 Kentucky.
With that chalk came a bit more success on the road, as four teams (Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas A&M and LSU) won road series. However, there was only one sweep: Mississippi State over Auburn.
Here's how we size up the league with four weeks to go:
All rankings, records and stats as of games April 21
1. Texas A&M
Texas A&M retains its hold on the top spot after winning a road series at Alabama. This offense is nearly impossible to pitch to, though the pitching staff and in particular ace Ryan Prager, showed some cracks against the Crimson Tide. The Aggies host Georgia this weekend.
Record: 35-5 (13-5 SEC)
Last week: 1
2. Arkansas
Arkansas also picked up a road series win by defeating South Carolina. The story with this Razorbacks team remains the same as it has been: the pitching is a murderer's row, but the offense is just OK. Arkansas hosts Florida this weekend.
Record: 34-6 (14-4)
Last week: 2
3. Tennessee
A road series win over Kentucky was loud for the Vols, who have the SEC's top offense statistically and has now proven it can win away from Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The biggest question is how well a relatively thin pitching staff will hold up.
Record: 33-7 (12-6)
Last week: 4
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4. Kentucky
Kentucky may not have the star power of some of the SEC's other teams, but the Wildcats keep on winning with strong production on both sides of the ball. Despite the loss to Tennessee, Kentucky is in good shape as it prepares to travel to South Carolina.
Record: 32-7 (15-3)
Last week: 3
5. Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt took care of business in picking up a home series win against Florida. The Commodores are back home this weekend against Mississippi State but have struggled to win away from Hawkins Field.
Record: 29-11 (10-8)
Last week: 5
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6. Mississippi State
The series loss to Ole Miss hurts, but the Bulldogs got back on track by sweeping Auburn. Mississippi State has one of the top rotations in the SEC after struggling immensely in that area a year ago.
Record: 26-14 (10-8)
Last week: 8
7. South Carolina
South Carolina has been competitive against almost everyone, but at some point you have to actually win the games, and the Gamecocks have only won two of their six conference series so far. With an offense and pitching staff that both grade out as average, South Carolina projects to finish around .500 in the SEC.
Record: 27-13 (9-9)
Last week: 6
8. Alabama
One of the more confusing squads in the SEC, Alabama's high-end wins can match anyone's (series wins over Arkansas, Tennessee and South Carolina) but the Crimson Tide have not been competitive on the road, have already been swept twice and are four games below .500 in the SEC. Alabama will need to avoid the same fate in a trip to Ole Miss.
Record: 25-15 (7-11)
Last week: 7
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9. Georgia
All of Georgia's series wins have come against teams below .500 in the conference. The schedule gets a lot more difficult after this, starting with a trip to Texas A&M, and the concern is that the offense has dropped off a bit in conference play, while the pitching staff is still one of the league's worst.
Record: 29-10 (9-9)
Last week: 10
10. Florida
After a series loss at Vanderbilt, Florida will have difficulty even qualifying for a regional after finishing as national runner-up a year ago. The Gators needed a win the final game against the Commodores to stay over .500 overall.
Record: 20-19 (8-10)
Last week: 9
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11. Ole Miss
Ole Miss lost its series at Georgia. The Rebels have two series wins over mid-tier teams in South Carolina and Mississippi State but have also been swept twice. They do finish with a relatively manageable schedule, beginning with hosting Alabama this weekend.
Record: 21-18 (6-12)
Last week: 12
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12. LSU
LSU finally won its first series of the season, but the Tigers are still outside the postseason picture due to their conference record. LSU will need a strong performance this weekend against Auburn.
Record: 25-16 (5-13)
Last week: 12
13. Missouri
Missouri has looked better since its poor performance in nonconference, but all six of the Tigers' SEC wins are by one run. The pitching has been better than expected, but the offense is the worst in the league by a large margin.
Record: 18-23 (6-12)
Last week: 13
14. Auburn
Auburn, which has yet to win an SEC series, blew a late lead in the series finale against Mississippi State. The only sliver of hope for the Tigers is that no team has finished a 30-game SEC season without a single series win.
Record: 19-20 (2-16)
Last week: 14
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on Twitter @aria_gerson.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: SEC baseball power rankings after week 10 see minor changes
