The South Carolina Gamecocks are predicted to win the 2014 Southeastern Conference baseball championship by a slim one-vote margin, as voted by the league’s 14 baseball coaches in the 23rd annual preseason SEC poll. The Gamecocks, ranked No. 14 nationally in the preseason USA Today Coaches’ Poll, seek to capture their fourth SEC Championship. LSU and Mississippi State, ranked second and fourth in the USA Today poll respectively, received four votes each in the overall vote.
LSU has 15 SEC Championships in its program’s history, while Mississippi State has 10, the last of which came in 1989. Vanderbilt also received one vote to win the league title.
In addition to picking a preseason SEC champion, the league’s head coaches voted a predicted order of finish in the SEC Eastern and Western Divisions. In the Western Division, LSU was the narrow favorite with 84 of a possible 91 points. Mississippi State came in second with 83 points, with Alabama and Texas A&M tied at third with 58. South Carolina received 86 points in the Eastern Division. Vanderbilt was second with 82, while Florida finished third with 69.
Mizzou was picked for 7th in the Eastern Division. Last season the Tigers went 18-32 with a 10-20 SEC record. Offensively, Mizzou brings back the bulk of last year’s production but lost Dane Opel, who led the team in runs, batting and RBI while tying for the team-lead in extra base hits. The biggest holes for the Tigers this season will be in the pitching staff as they look to replace a pair of drafted lefties, including Friday night starter and second-round draft pick Rob Zastryzy. He threw a team-high 90.2 innings and has 3.38 ERA while striking out 82. He was the Tigers’ Friday Night starter for two seasons and part of his freshman year. Mizzou is also tasked with replacing do-it-all reliever Jake Walsh, who was drafted by the Nationals and began his professional career. Walsh led Mizzou with 30 appearances last season, including 19 in league games.
Mizzou baseball team opens the 2014 season on the road with four games as part of the North Florida Best Bet Tournament. The Tigers open with Richmond on Feb. 14 at 5:30 p.m. (CT) before playing host UNF in a doubleheader beginning at 2:30 p.m. (CT) on Feb. 15. The weekend will conclude with an 11 a.m. (CT) game against Liberty on Feb. 16.
Eastern Division
Team Pts.
1) South Carolina (9) 86
2) Vanderbilt (5) 82
3) Florida 69
4) Kentucky 47
5) Tennessee 39
6) Georgia 38
7) Missouri 24
Western Division
Team Pts.
1) LSU (6) 84
2) Miss. State (7) 83
3) Alabama 58
Texas A&M (1) 58
5) Arkansas 44
6) Ole Miss 35
7) Auburn 21