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There are seven games on slate in SEC baseball on Thursday, May 18th. Seven seems to be the number today, as seven ranked SEC teams also take the field, including three ranked-on-ranked matchups.
The first ranked matchup of the day is No. 6 LSU going on the road to face No. 13 Mississippi State. This is the first game of a three-game series that will decide who will win the SEC West title. LSU has a one-game lead on Mississippi State going into the series. The Tigers have been playing well of late, winning their last four games. The Bulldogs have been struggling lately, dropping two out of three to Georgia last weekend. The pitching matchup in this one will be between State’s Konnor Pilkington (6-4, 3.44 ERA) and LSU’s Alex Lange (6-5, 2.92 ERA). The game can be caught on the SEC Network at 7 p.m.
The second ranked matchup of the day is No. 7 Kentucky going on the road to face No. 5 Florida. This matchup begins a three-game series between the two teams that will decide who wins the SEC-East. Florida currently has a one game lead in the division over Kentucky. The Gators are coming off a sweep of Alabama last weekend, while the Wildcats are coming off a sweep of Tennessee. The player to watch in this one is JJ Swartz, who hit .357 last week with three home runs and six runs batted in. You can catch this game on ESPN at 7 p.m.
The last ranked matchup of the day comes when No. 16 Arkansas goes on the road to face No. 22 Texas A&M. The Razorbacks currently hold a game-and-a-half lead over the Aggies for third place in the SEC-West. Arkansas comes in hot, winning three of their last four, including a series win over Vanderbilt last weekend. Texas A&M comes in struggling, losing three of their last four, including a 8-2 loss against Sam Houston St. on Tuesday. This one can be caught on the SEC Network+ at 7:30 p.m.
There are four other games on slate for Thursday, including No. 23 Auburn hosting Ole Miss at 7. Tennessee hosts Missouri at 7, while Georgia goes on the road to take on South Carolina at 7 as well. The last game is Alabama going on the road to face Vanderbilt at 7:30. All of these games can be caught on the SEC Network+.