The Rundown for SEC Baseball: February 26

If you missed Erik Mauro’s recap of the weekend, here it is.

Let’s delve into what’s on tap tonight.

Kentucky is looking to get back on the right pathway after being swept over the weekend. The 3-3 Wildcats start their midweek round of action with a game against Eastern Kentucky. EKU is 6-2 after winning their last four against UMES. They also tagged Florida A&M and Prairie View A&M with losses, with their only defeats coming to Grambling State and Louisville. This game will be at 4 p.m. ET on SEC Network+.

Also at 4 p.m., South Carolina aims to keep things rolling against Appalachian State. The Gamecocks swept Utah Valley over the weekend and have lost just once so far this season. This is their only midweek game and serves as a warmup for their huge weekend series against a ranked Clemson squad. The Gamecocks and Tigers are, of course, heated rivals, but obviously SC will be looking to take care of business on Tuesday night first.

Elsewhere, Tennessee looks to maintain their unbeaten status as they host Liberty at 4:30 p.m. ET. The Vols are a surprising 7-0 to start the season and have been led by the play of Evan Russell. Russell is the team’s leader in hits, doubles, home runs, OBP, SLG and OPS so far so... basically he’s doing everything. The Volunteer pitching staff has also been outstanding, as they’ve posted a team ERA of 0.57 through the first seven games of the season.

Speaking of undefeated, Georgia hosts LIU Brooklyn on Tuesday night at 5 p.m. ET. The Dawgs are not so surprisingly 6-0 so far this season. Riley King, LJ Talley and Cam Shepherd are each hitting north of .500 through the team’s first six games of the season and King and Talley are both slugging over .900. Those are rather ridiculous marks to say the very least. Look for them to keep things rolling as they begin midweek action.

Three games will go down at 5 p.m. First up, Mizzou hosts Alabama A&M. The Tigers are off to a skittish start as they’re 4-4 on the young season. They come off a series win over Rhode Island, in which they took two of the last three games. We shall see if Chris Cornelius and Kameron Misner can keep up their hot starts at the dish.

Next, the focus is on the state of Mississippi. Ole Miss will play UT Martin, while Mississippi State faces off with Jackson State. The Rebels and Bulldogs are each ranked and have super high aspirations, and have gotten off to great starts. Thomas Dillard has been awesome at the plate for the Rebels, unsurprisingly, and Keegan James has been great on the mound for the Bulldogs.

Later, at 5:30, the second-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores go back in action against SE Missouri State. Vandy is fresh off taking two from Pepperdine while having to deal with washout conditions that postponed the first two games. They’ve shown why they’re one of the best teams in the country so far, and will hope that fact remains true after going through SEMO on Tuesday night.

Next, third-ranked Florida will battle Jacksonville at 6 p.m. The Gators remain near the top of the rankings this week even after hitting a bit of a rough patch, losing three times last week. They rebounded to take the final two against Miami but they’ll have to reverse course and hope for better results this time around.

Meanwhile at 7, Alabama will face North Alabama as midweek action begins for the Tide. ‘Bama has just two losses on the season so far, one of which came on Saturday to Ball State, but ‘Bama was still able to take two of three. Kolby Robinson and Keith Holcombe have been the catalysts at the dish for the Tide, both hitting north of .475 this season. Holcombe has showed off plenty of pop, with a SLG of .905 on the early season.

Finally, at 7:30, LSU and Texas A&M will each be in action. The Fighting Tigers will face South Alabama while A&M hosts Houston Baptist. LSU is the top-ranked team in the nation and they’ve shown why with their offensive outbursts. Look for them to keep those bats hot against the Jags. A&M, meanwhile, is led by their strong pitching efforts and have jumped out to a 7-1 start on the season as a result.